A Mental Health Primer for First Year Teachers

Transcript:A Mental Health Primer for First Year Teachers:
A Mental Health Primer for First Year Teachers Presented by: Steve McRae, LCSW (JCPS Jackson County Director) Raymond Turpin, Psy.D. (JCPS Clinical Director) Jackson County Psychological Services September 30, 2014 Western Carolina University School-Based Behavior Management Challenging Students Externalizing Disorders: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity, impulsivity. Off-task, disorganized, walking around, noises. Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) A pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior. Disruptive. Challenges to authority, arguing, etc. Conduct Disorder Basic rights of others or major societal rules are violated Internalizing Disorders: Anxiety Disorders Uncontrollable excessive worry, restlessness, poor concentration, sleep disturbance. Avoidant, somatic complaints/bathroom issues, excessive tardiness/absences. Depression Depressed mood, decreased interest, hopelessness, fatigue. Isolating, not completing work, no motivation, disinterested in help. Trauma Distress, avoidance, intrusive thoughts related to “traumatic“ event. Shut down, reactive, irrational, inconsistent responses. Learning Disorders Difficulties learning and using academic skills. Avoidant, frustrated, acting-out better than being labeled “unintelligent”. Autism Spectrum Persistent deficits in social interaction, restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior/interest. Poor socialization, does not respond to typical social cues, can appear as passively defiant, unresponsive to general strategies Classroom Structure Token Economy and Contingency System (Reward/Consequence) for early grades. Lots of initial work and adjustment required. A moving target for some students. Incremental periods of evaluation based on attention ability, potential for success. Simple rules, clearly and positively stated. Behavioral Assignment (3rd grade up)-have a simple written exercise for students to complete when they have a significant behavioral issue. It should identify what was going on before, during and after incident. It should identify what they got out of the behavior, and they should come up with better alternatives to meet that need. Should take them about 10 minutes of their free time to complete when they are calm and collected. Contract. Move on… Classroom Management- Approaches and Techniques Personal Style-you have had all kinds of teachers, think about what worked and what didn’t for you and others. Habits… Clear directives, positively framed as much as possible. Firm but supportive Consistent follow through. Give yourself some range and have the range of response aligned with seriousness of concern. Awareness Differences in perceptions, intentions, and interests between students and teacher, miscommunication. Cultural differences-things that may guide interaction such as male vs female roles, eye contact, social status, etc. Be attentive to sensory modalities Visual, auditory, kinesthetic. Boundaries-professional role (friend vs mentor) Ownership of classroom-students as guests. Use reframing to