cant handle it

[bid]

Good on you for working with these very challenging children and well done for turning their lives around. i would love to hear more about how you teach behavioural skills to the young people at your school.

 

Alexis

 

Ah, it's a fantastic job and I've been very lucky to find the right niche for myself working on the night staff...all that routine and not too many awake people although I did used to work as day staff. I lead a small team who have become close friends

 

Because it's such a specialist school we have a Behavioural Specialist on the senior management team who co-ordinates all the behaviour strategies. Each young person has a very detailed Risk Assessment, which describes their diffculties, triggers, etc, and how staff can best support them and any behaviour plans that have been decided. We have our own in-house training department and we all have regular training in various different areas; for example I noticed the other day a course on Self Harm. We also have an in-house nursing team.

 

As I said before, the underlying approach is to have firm, clear boundaries coupled with very clear expectations of what is acceptable behaviour. This is coupled with concrete consequences/reward schemes presented in a very visual way as sticker charts for each section of the day, etc. Rewards are tailoed to the specific young person so that they really capture their imagination. For example, a student who is mad on football might have a red card/yellow card system as part of their behaviour plan. The way we speak to the young people is also detailed, using certain phrases and approaches that are non-threatening yet firm enough to make them feel safe. We also have a Quiet Room, and several sensory rooms as areas for time out/calming down.

 

Backing all this up, staff spend a long time helping the young people recognise and understand their emotions. We also work very hard to boost fragile self-esteem and confidence. The ethos is positive and very caring with the emphasis on having high expectations of our young people to turn their negative behaviour around with the right kind of support. We celebrate all their achievements and progress, however 'small' they might seem to the outside world. We are all so proud of 'our' kids when they work so hard to reach their full potential, including their behaviour

 

Of course, it's much 'easier' for us at work that for parents at home. We work in close, very supportive teams with professional advice and back up. We have breaks away from the units and of course we go home at the end of the shift! And we're not emotionally involved like their parents which makes a huge difference as I found when I started working there...I can remember dealing with something or other and suddenly realizing I would have been in tears at home with my DS.

 

Bid

Edited November 21, 2009 by bid

[bid]

 

 

OH heck cant be arsed getting into any of this.

 

 

Thanks for letting me have a moan .

Paula,

 

I'm really sorry if I've upset you

 

I interpreted your post to mean that you wanted other ways to help with managing aggressive behaviour so I thought I would describe the system we used successfully with my son...but I'm really sorry if I did this in a way that upset you.

 

I only mentioned my work because we use the same basic system as the one we were shown 12 odd years ago.

 

Anyway, you don't need anymore stress at the moment <'>

 

Bid

[JsMum]

bid:We also have a Quiet Room, and several sensory rooms as areas for time out/calming down.

 

I think this could be something you could impliment at home, a safe zone or a quite area for your son to go to, my son has a sensory room at home and it has been brilliant at desculating his behaviour.

 

So recommend an assessment with your SS for a quiet room/sensory room or OT.

 

JsMumxxxx

 

[bid]

I used to LOVE the sensory rooms when I was day staff!

 

Bid

[trekster]

Thanks bid, love your avartar!

 

Alexis

[Paula]

Hey i wasnt haveing a go at anyone i just meant all i wanted was a good old moan and to know i wasnt alone and it kinda turned into a big indepth debate and im not realy into that type of thing.Of course everyone has there own ideas of dealing with stuff and every child is different and no one way or the other is correct or wrong.I wasnt upset by anyones comments no one offended me.

 

Thanks all and take care..............