Positive Behavior Solutions

I have learning disabilities and ADHD. What accommodations will help me with my school work?

2008-02-21T10:08:00Z

One thing that probably is very important to accommodate your learning disabilities is to use as many visual supports as possible. Here are a list of things that need to be on your IEP accommodations page. They will help you immensely!

*Teacher to provide desk copy of all information written on the board or overhead.
*Teacher to provide copy of notes for lectures.
*Use graphic organizers for all work that complex such as writing or understanding verbal lectures.
*Use enlarged print for handouts.
*Allow student to write in test booklet.
*Demonstrate or show completed projects before a lesson.

You can do some of these things yourself. Here is a good website to get graphic organizers. www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/ There are many more if you don't find what you need.

The reason that I suggest graphic organizers is so that you can add a structure to your mental schemata. When ideas are organized into concepts, then they are easier to remember. Because you are gifted, these could be the answer to a lot of things.

Because of your learning deficits, I suspect that you are a hands on, kinesthetic learner because these are the areas that are not impacted by your disability. This also supports your ADHD.

Also, It may be very difficult for you to envision a whole from the sum of it's parts, which is very common in kids with SLD. They are holistic learners who do best when they see the big picture before parting it out.

Here is a pretty good website for taking a detailed test. When I took it, it was quite accurate.

www.learning-styles-online.com/

Why does my autistic student bite me?

2008-02-18T16:28:00Z

In terms of behavior analysis, it is helpful to understand that if a behavior continues, it is being reinforced in some way. So the behavior has a purpose and it will be helpful to find out what that purpose is.

Organisms only do things for three reasons:
*To get something, like attention or a preferred activity.
*To avoid or escape something, like a non-preferred person or activity.
*To communicate their needs.

Given that, it would be helpful to note the type of activity that you are doing before he bites you. This is called identifying the antecedent to the behavior. If you can figure this out, you may find that he is trying to escape a non-preferred activity.

This sounds more like an escape related behavior than an attention seeking behavior, but we can't rule that out. It may be that you are attending to other people when he bites you, which then could be considered attention seeking.

At any rate, the main problem for autistic children is communication. You may want to try to figure out what he is trying to say when he bites you and to teach him another way to express himself. Sometimes allowing him to use some visuals to say what he wants can be helpful.

Be very careful with your reaction when he bites you. Try not to show anything on your face or in your voice. I know this is going to be hard, but ASD kids are very alert to emotional expressions.

Finally, you may want to consider a cost response in that when he bites you, he loses a preferred activity and when he doesn't bite you he gets an extra treat. You MUST make a visual If/Then chart so that he understands the concept.

For an example, I had an ASD girl who was taking off her clothes and running around the room tearing things off the walls. I made an If/Then chart which showed clothing on the ground and a girl ripping things off the wall. On the Then side, I had a picture of a swing set with a line through it.

For the positive side, I showed a girl doing her work and for the Then side, I had a big blue ball that she truly loved.

I worked with her before she had the problem and when she did the behavior, I went over the chart with her and held her back from recess. It didn't take very long to get the idea across.

Asperger's Syndrome - Three children I have known.

2008-02-18T16:23:00Z

I'll give you several examples of Asperger's kids I have known. All of the children are diagnosed with Asperger's:

Marla
Marla was a six year old girl with a fascination with mythical creatures and oceanography. During free time, she played with some small toy horses which she named with mythical names like Zeus and Aphrodite. She had no interest in the other children and only was interested in adults because they could take her horses away. One time, her horses were taken away because she refused to go to her math group. After some initial screaming, she did her work. When her horses were returned to her, one was missing. Another kid had taken it. She had a two hour tantrum and obsessed on the missing horse for a month. She also walked half bent over and had not a clue that she was different that other kids.

Another child, Gavin, was included in a regular 2nd grade class. He had serious problems with calling out and did not understand the concept of waiting his turn and would answer rhetorical questions like, "Well class, it seems like we are having a nice day today." He would blurt out telling her what a nice day HE was having. He had serious difficulties understanding time and sequences. One time a teacher was reading a standardized test math question to him. The date of the test was May 2006.The question went like this: See the calendar? It is July 2006. If the date is July 15th, what day does it fall on? He answered, "It isn't July 2006 yet, I'll have to wait."

And then their was Space Pup. Patrick, a 6 year old ,decided that he was Space Pup. He wasn't named Space Pup, he WAS Space Pup. He could do the things that Space Pup could do, but wouldn't do the things that Space Pup couldn't do. He also knew almost every animal in the kingdom and could tell you where if lived and what it ate.

Asperger's children need to have a curriculum that emphasizes social skills. They usually don't have academic or communication problems like autistic kids. They just don't take in social skills almost unconsciously as most of us do, so they have to be specifically taught. Scott Bellini's book, "Building Social Relationships: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Social Difficulties," is a wonderful place to start.

What is dyslexia really?

2008-02-18T16:20:00Z

Dyslexia is a basket term for having a specific learning disability that affects reading and is thought to be language based. Getting this type of diagnosis really doesn't help you with anything. It is much better to be tested for learning disabilities by a psychologist. You school district will do it if your child is doing poorly at school.

A learning disability is a neurological disorder. The person's brain is wired differently and though he or she may be as smart as anyone else, they have trouble with reading, writing, organizing and remembering. Some of the recognized learning disabilities that affect reading (and other things) are deficits in the following:

Auditory Sequencing - Confusion with number sequences, lists or lists of directions. Hearing ninety-four instead of forty-nine.

Auditory Memory - Difficulty remembering what was heard, difficulty remembering important items from a lecture. Spells poorly.

Visual Sequencing - Problems in using a separate answer sheet. Loses place easily. Problems with reading. Reversing or misreading numbers of letters. Reading words incorrectly. Difficulty with equations.

Visual Memory - Difficulty remembering what was seen. Reading comprehension. Difficulty with math equations. Poor recall of information.

Dysgraphia - Inability to form letters correctly. students cannot read their own writing.

Visual Motor Integration - Mechanical problems in test taking. Difficulty copying from board or book. Spaces poorly. Poor written work. Unorganized.

Punishment is Not Always the Answer

2008-02-18T16:05:00Z

I am often asked the question, "What is a good punishment for children who are rude to adulst?" Rather than take this tack, I would rather answer the question, "How can I teach my child to speak respectfully to adults?" I don't like punishment as a way of eliminating problem behaviors because punishment doesn't teach anything but to act a certain way while you are around.

Instead, you need to discuss with the child why he or she is rude to adults. They may only be rude when the are cornered or caugt doing something wrong. In any case, you need to teach the child exactly what to day and then reward the new behavior.

These are called replacement behaviors for the problem behavior. You must teach and reward them. Practice role plays during your discussion. Have the child practice what he is to say, in a given situtation and reward it.

The thing is, we teach other things to kids, but we rarely take time out to teach behavior. It is the fatal flaw to most punishment plans. With punishment, we take away something for the misbehavior, but we don't teach anything to take its place.

We also reinforce kids who get an "A" on their spelling test, but we ignore it when a child improves their behavior. So tell him that he if he can use what you have taught instead of being rude, he will get a small treat. Later, you can replace this treat with praise only.

If you think you need a punishment, make sure it fits the crime, so to speak. If he is rude to someone, he should have to apologize or perhaps be excluded from the situation.

Welcome to My World!

2008-02-18T14:52:00Z

This is my first blog on this website. I will be offering solutions to common problem behaviors both in the classroom and at home relating to common school issues. I will also entertain any questions that you might have.

So far I have been having quite good success with managing and changing children's behavior by using positive methods. I will explore some of those methods in upcoming blogs.