Challenging Preschool Behaviors - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Challenging Preschool Behaviors

Terre Graham, PhD, CCC-SLP

October 4, 2018

KSHASlide2

Objectives

The learner will be able to describe challenging behaviors that may occur in a classroom or therapy session.

The learner will be able to identify strategies to prevent challenging behaviors from occurring.

The learner will be able to apply techniques that will provide support for those children with challenging behaviors.Slide3

Who Am I & Why Am I Here?Slide4
Slide5

When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it’s our job to share our calm, not to join in their chaos.

L.R.

KnowstSlide6

What Are Challenging Behaviors?

A pattern of behavior that interferes with a child’s:

Cognitive development

Social development

Emotional development

Can be harmful to the child, other children and adults.

Puts a child at high risk for later social problems or school failure (

Klass

,

Guskin

, & Thomas, 1995; McCabe &

Frede

, 2007).

Can signal difficulty with social and emotional adjustment – foundational competencies that are linked to children’s school readiness and later school success (

Fantuzzo

et al. 2007).Slide7

Points to Ponder

Research indicates that some children in urban communities experience conditions that contribute to risk factors for social and emotional delays (Fox, Dunlap, & Powell 2002).

There is a specific need to support children who live in poverty, as children in poor families are twice as likely to be at risk for developmental, behavioral, and social delays (Children’s Defense Fund, 2014).

While 10-21 percent of

all

preschool children show challenging behaviors such as aggression, noncompliance, defiance, tantrums, and property destruction, 30 percent of children who live in poverty exhibit such behaviors (Voorhees et al. 2013). Slide8

How Challenging Behaviors Make Us Feel…….

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-NDSlide9

Reaction to Challenging Behaviors

Self-doubt

Insecurity and defensiveness

Blaming others: the child, their parents, yourself

Hard to ask for help and accept it

IMPORTANT: TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEHIND THE BEHAVIORSlide10

Why Do Behaviors Occur?Slide11

Risk Factors for Challenging BehaviorsSlide12

Risk Factors for Challenging BehaviorsSlide13

Early Learning Standards

Research emphasizes a link between the strength of children’s strong social and emotional development and how well they demonstrate cognitive skills such as literacy and mathematics.

What do you think is the downfall of children in Kindergarten?

Misbehaviors often interfere with their and their classmates’ learning. Slide14

Social-Emotional Development (ELS)

The development of social-emotional competence in the first five years of life relies on the developing capacity of the child to:

Form close and secure adult and peer relationships;

Experience, regulate, and express emotions in socially and culturally appropriate ways; and

Explore the environment and learn

Center for Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning, 2008Slide15

Developmental Milestones

3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

Copies adults and friends

Enjoys doing new things

Wants to please friends

Shows affection for friends without prompting

Is more and more creative with make-believe play

Wants to be like their friends

Taking turns in games

Would rather play with other children than alone

Likes to sing, dance, and act

Shows concern for a crying friend

Cooperates with other children

Is aware of gender

Dresses and undresses self

Plays “Mom” or “Dad”

Can tell what’s real and what’s make- believe

Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or “hers”

Often can’t tell what’s real and what’s make-believe

Shows more independence

Shows a wide range of emotions

Talks about what he or she likes and is interested in

Is sometimes demanding and sometimes cooperative

Separates easily from family members

May get upset with major changes in routine

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013)Slide16

Preschoolers and Social-Emotional Development

Relationships with Others

Engage in pretend play with others;

Use words and sentences to express feelings and thoughts;

Skills improve over time with practice.

Self-Awareness

Improve their ability to control their bodies while participating in different activities;

Take turns and have conversations with peers;

Refer to themselves and use names of others;

Know when they’ve made a good/bad choice.Slide17

Emotional Regulation

Able to display emotions in a variety of ways – facial expressions, through words, etc.

Learning to manage and control their emotions in different situations and environments;

Need a great deal of guidance in practicing and developing these behaviors.

Independence

Able to follow predictable daily routines and activities at school and at home;

Identifies favorite friend/asks to play;

Can independently play and complete self-care tasks;

Can tell about their day.Slide18

Six Life Skills (Jenna

Bilmes

)

Attachment

Belonging

Self-Regulation

Collaboration

ContributionAdaptabilitySlide19

Attachment

Important life skill – be attached to one or more significant adults in their lives.

Any close, ongoing relationship that the child has with one or more adults inside and outside of the home.

Attachment demonstrated by:

Seeking out the teacher to tell them something, give a hug, respond with a smile, be compliant with teacher requests, seeks out a parent to share news or ask for help.

Unattachment demonstrated by:

Looks away or reacts when a teacher touches his shoulder, avoids sitting near the teacher, have no use for adults in their world. Slide20

Belonging

As children grow, social world becomes larger and centers around their families: parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, etc.

First sense of belonging is built on these relationships.

Belonging looks like:

Forming relationships with peers

Happy to come to school

Moves comfortably through the classroom

Not feeling like he/she belongs looks like:

Constantly asks if it is time to go homeTalks about no one liking them, not having friendsSlide21

Self-Regulation

The ability for a child to understand and safely manage strong emotions when they occur.

A child has to recognize that they have emotions.

Have to put some time between feelings and reactions.

Uses their words rather than hitting.

Have to have an understanding that other people have feeling too.Slide22

What does the term self-regulation mean to you?

How do you self-regulate?

What issues do you see this causing?Slide23

Collaboration

The skill of collaboration begins in early childhood.

Getting along with others.

Being able to join a group and participate in the activity vs. getting into constant disputes and lacking basic friendship skills.

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-NCSlide24

Contribution

The belief in one’s own gifts and talents and the desire to use those gifts to better oneself, one’s family, one’s community, as well as the world at large.

Contributing:

Baby learning to walk and their persistence in getting that accomplished

Wanting to help family members and peers

Difficulty contributing:

Defeated easily in learning new things

“I can’t” – “I don’t want help”Slide25

Adaptability

The ability to figure out how to be successful in different places and with different people.

Children need to be taught and reminded what behaviors are appropriate for different places.

To be adaptable is to try and comply with adult prompting and begin to internalize the rules and norms of different environments. Slide26

Emotional Literacy

Ability to label and talk about own emotions or feelings along with the emotions of others.

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-NC-NDSlide27

Inside Look at Yourself

Daily Routine

“Need for same”

Calendar

Daily schedules

Sensory

Self-regulationTexturesSlide28

Inside Look at Your Room

Is there a quiet area?

Is it organized even a little bit?

How close are the student’s to each other?

Is it obvious what happens in different places in your room?Slide29

Routines and Hidden Curriculum

Classroom routine

Homeroom

PE

Music

Library

ComputerLunchroom

RecessOther classrooms if they change classes

Hidden CurriculumRefers to the unwritten, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values, and perspectives that students learn in school.Examples??Slide30

Autism

Prevalence

Autism statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identify around 1 in 68 American children are on the autism spectrum.

Autism is 4-5 times more common among boys than girls.

1 out of 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the U.S.

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-NC-NDSlide31

Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity

Back and forth conversation

Reduced sharing of interests

Reduced emotions or affect

Failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.Slide32

Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships

Adjusting behavior to match various social contexts

Difficulties sharing imaginative play

Difficulties making friends

Absence of interest in peersSlide33

Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech

Lining up toys

Flipping objects

Echolalia

Idiosyncratic phrasesSlide34
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Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines

, ritualized

patterns

Extreme distress at small changes

Difficulties with transitions

Rigid thinking patterns

Greeting rituals

Need to take same routeEat same food everydayPreoccupation with unusual objects/interestsSlide36

Hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interests in environment

Indifference to pain/temperature

Adverse response to specific sounds or textures

Excessive smelling or touching of objects

Visual fascination with lights or movementSlide37

Visual Supports

A permanent product – can leave them for a student for them to refer to (on their desk).

Can include written words, symbols, photos, pictures or graphics, graphic organizers, timelines, scripts or objects.

We process visuals/pictures much faster than words.

Visuals strip the social layer of understanding from the communication.Slide38

Visual Schedule

How many of you have a classroom schedule posted?

Post small version on child’s desk – can break into morning and afternoon.Slide39

Other Examples of Visual SchedulesSlide40
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What Are Our Roles and Responsibilities?

Be knowledgeable

Appropriate expectations for the age of children we are working with

What might trigger behaviors in the age group

Preschool growth and developmental milestones

Be aware of the environment and our triggers

Our reactions will determine how well or how poorly the situation is handled

What can we do to intervene appropriately?

What happens before, during and after a behavior? Is the environment contributing to the occurrence of the behaviors?Slide45

Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction

Abnormal eye contact or body language

Deficits in understanding and use of gestures

Total lack of facial expressions

Nonverbal communicationSlide46

Environment

Finding the balance between being cluttered, too bright, too noisy, too stimulating…..

Nurturing and respectful of children, family and their cultures

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-SA-NCSlide47

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-SA-NCSlide48

Behavior Is A Means of Communication

Trying to communicate something

Trying to tell us about an object, a person, or activity that they do or don’t want

OUR JOB: Figure out what they are trying to communicate and help them find a better way.

Why is that so difficult and so often overlooked????Slide49

Strategies

Classroom Schedules and Routines

Have consistent schedules and routines

Content and length of activities are developmentally appropriate

Use visuals to teach routines

Give consistent feedback

Individualized visual schedule or a peer buddy

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-NC-ND

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-SA-NCSlide50

Strategies cont.

Transitions

Minimize number of transitions

Teach expectations

Model or provide visual examples of appropriate things to do while waiting (counting, singing a group song)

Allow children to transition at separate times or in smaller groups as needed

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-NC-NDSlide51

Strategies cont.

Large Group Activities

Length of activity appropriate for age

Shorten wait times and allow breaks for those trying to expand their attention

Visuals to make rules clear

Visuals to break and task into smaller steps

Ongoing feedback to expand children’s understanding, participation, and learning

This Photo

by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-SASlide52

Types of Support

Visuals

Help children communicate their needs

Break down tasks

Clarify expectations

Timer

Provide a signal so children know when something is coming to an end

Adult Support

Facilitate small and large groups

Model and provide examples

Provide CHOICES

Peer Support

Model or be a buddy

Child Preferences

Increase children’s motivation and engagement in tasks that can trigger challenging behaviorsSlide53

Ideas

Choices

Fidgets – must teach how to use

Picking your battles

Parking lot

Prepare for changes

Peer helperIncorporate sensory breaks

Heavy workEscalation vs. de-escalationQuiet place

Helper – carry books to libraryMark areas where to stand, sit, activity, etc. Consider closeness to othersStructuring task/task analysisSlide54

When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it’s our job to share our calm, not to join in their chaos.

L.R.

KnowstSlide55