In Their Shoes... Control

There is a reason behind every behavior. As pointless as is may seem when a student tells you to "go to hell" or when they refuse to work... there is meaning behind it. Behavior is simply a way for a student to get their needs met.

The Problem

One of the biggest behavior issues I've seen stems from the need for control. A student may move very slowly getting her pencil out to make the whole class wait. A student refuses to complete his assignment, despite the fact he has the capacity and drive to do so. Why? Simply put, control. 

Students in special education (especially the more severe) have a life that is run by others. Their clothes are chosen for them each morning. Their meals are planned by someone else. They do not get to choose their classes in school. They have little independence and little control in their life. There is one thing they can control though. Their behavior.

The Solution

The struggle for control is usually pretty easy to identify. The problem arises when trying to come up with a solution to this problem. Obviously, the student feels like they have no choices in their life. So the goal is to introduce something they can systematically control. This may be in the form of a plant the student can grow and take care of. Maybe it's choosing from a list of snacks to choose from the store. Perhaps you get the family involved and the kiddo can choose their outfit each day. Whatever you choose to give them control over, make sure they won't have to relinquish that control too often (like letting them choose how long to take a break).

It may seem like it's just easier to do the opposite, because after all, don't kids need to learn how to behave when they aren't in control? True, but the first and foremost thing is that we meet our kids needs. Second, is teaching them. After meeting their needs is when we can address more complex things like how to react when we don't feel in control. Needs come first.

Special thanks to Jill Dolbeare, Kim Durrer, Fran Taylor, and Leah Green for input on this post.

Music Time

Music time is a very exciting part of the day for some of my students. While the older ones are out doing vocational training, the ones in the class get the pleasure of a fun filled 45 minutes of music and laughs.

Above is a picture of our music board. It's basically just a large, lightweight picture frame I picked up at Fred Meyer. Under the frame I placed 4 different colors of paper. On top of the plastic front is Velcro with picture icons (yes, they are hand drawn). Each color in the background corresponds to a different CD, containing that specific series of songs.

In case you're wondering how I keep track of which songs go to which CD's without looking each time, I write the song number on the back of the icon in that specific color. For instance, the icon for Five Little Monkeys has 31 (written in pink), so I know it goes to the pink CD.

This may seem like an overly complicated system, but when we are working on colors, I can put in the green CD and say to a student, "pick from the green section". This also allows me to have hundreds of songs to choose from, because I have 4 CD's worth of music. I have extra icons Velcroed on the back and can rotate them out at any time.

Survival Signs

A big part of life skills class, is training to be able to read and respond to survival signs in the community. Among other things, we like to use the Survival Words curriculum from Remedia Publications. It gives many good vocabulary words and starts many a conversations about what to do when you see certain signs.

A really fun activity is MAKING survival signs. The whole top half of my classroom is covered in signs my students have made. It's all about being hands-on. If you make a "No Loitering" sign, you are more prone to remember what it is and what is means.

Regarding Paraprofessionals

Paraprofessionals -or- parapros -or- EA's -or- IA's or... any other number of names they go by, are the life skills teacher's greatest asset (besides patience). They help when you are shorthanded, they take on duties you don't have time to do, they offer support (both educationally and emotionally), they instruct, they guide, they are.... indispensable.

But often times we expect that they will simply "jump in" without guidance. This can cause problems. Every person is so unique, so different, we can't expect them all to do things the same way. But, consistency is KEY when teaching life skills kiddos. So how do we solve this problem? One word... TRAINING!

When trying to maintain a SPED class, the last thing we have extra of is time. But, consider how important this is that each child is taught the same way from day to day, no matter who is giving the instruction.

I have many resources to share with you, regarding paraprofessional training. The following document is a general guideline I use to show my aides how to run a group lesson.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgzr544p_1dmqkngcf

Another helpful tool, is to have expectations laid out for the actual aide themselves. Everyone appreciates having guidelines (whether they will admit it or not). Plus, if an issue ever arises, you can always refer back to the guidelines you have set in place.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgzr544p_0dnbp7ffq

Feel free to take this documents and copy or edit them for your own purposes.

Timesheets

Here is an ActivBoard lesson I created for learning to use timesheets. The kids have the same timesheets that they fill out every week. At first, I write on the board as an example until the kiddos get the hang out it. Soon, they become independent and no longer need assistance. You do not need an ActivBoard to do this lesson. Get creative and use a projector against a whiteboard or use an old fashioned overhead projector.

Every day before students leave for vocational activities, have them sign in. When they return, remind them to sign out. At the end of the week, having the kids add up the hours is great math practice!