1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,840 Hi, my name is Jordan. I am a special education teacher from the UK. I share my passion for 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:11,040 everything communication, sensory regulation and fun lesson ideas for my classroom of disabled 3 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:17,120 pupils aged 4 to 11. Each week I am joined by experts in the field answering your questions 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:22,800 and sharing our knowledge and experience working alongside our beautiful young people. Let's get started. 5 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:31,040 Everybody, I thought we'd have a little Q&A today because I get so many amazing questions in my DMs 6 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:37,600 and I love answering them. But not all of you can see the answers if they're in the DMs. 7 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,760 What do you do when my son is sensory seeking? So there are lots of different ways you can 8 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:48,160 sensory seek. What kind of senses is he seeking? Because that is a good place to start. So what do 9 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:52,240 you do when my son is sensory seeking? Sensory seeking can look in like lots of different things 10 00:00:52,240 --> 00:01:01,040 so it can look like biting, it can look like jumping, it can look like licking, it can look 11 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:09,440 like eating, it can look like hoarding, it can look like lots of different things. And usually, 12 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:14,720 well always, it's because it's meeting a need, a sensory need that they're not getting otherwise. 13 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:20,000 So it's really good to try and find if it's not a safe, it's really good to try and find the safe 14 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:27,360 alternative that they can meet that need. Wiggly and noise with mouth. Okay, okay, so they're really 15 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:36,560 wiggly and they love making noises. Okay, so they obviously have lots of excess energy to get out 16 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:43,360 and so a really good way of doing this is by having regular movement breaks. And some people 17 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,840 don't do this how I think they should be done and they just do the movement break. So they have a big 18 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:53,280 dance around or a jump around or they have a trampoline and then they expect that that's let 19 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,920 them all out and then they just come back inside and they're still not okay. But what all you've 20 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:02,480 done there is you've raised their heartbeat and you've got them so excited that they're even more 21 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:06,720 wiggly and then you're like why aren't they sitting still they should be exhausted by now. But really 22 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:11,680 you've just, you know, made them even more excited. So there's two other steps that we're missing here. 23 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:16,560 You do the alert stage which is the jumping and the dancing and the running around and get that 24 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:22,400 heartbeat raised. And then there's two others. The first is organizing. So you want to do some kind of 25 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:30,080 cross-body activity or fine motor activity where they have to really organize their bodies. 26 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:37,680 So it could be balancing is a really good one. It could be stacking is another good one. It could be 27 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:43,760 what are the ones? Yeah there's lots. I've got a whole sheet about it basically. And then the third 28 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:49,120 step you want to do because you're still not quite ready yet. The third step is grounding and that 29 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:56,960 can look like squeezes or it can look like weighted blankets or it can look like slow 30 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:03,840 press-ups or breathing exercises. So for those really wiggly children I would be suggesting those 31 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:08,640 three steps and doing it regularly not just when they need it but even if they don't look like they 32 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:13,920 need it I would still be doing it regularly. And regularly means at least every hour I would say 33 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,680 at school and at home. And if they're not getting it at all at school then you're probably finding 34 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:23,280 at home that they're getting even more wiggly because they've got so much excess energy to let 35 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:29,520 out. And then with the noise with the mouth it's obviously it's sometimes really pleasurable for 36 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:35,920 our children to yeah make noises with their mouth. It could be because it feels good making that 37 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:44,080 shape with their mouth and their tongue. So our tongue is the only muscle in our bodies that is 38 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:50,160 accessible which is why crunchy foods are really good and vibrating toothbrushes are really good 39 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:55,520 because you get a lot of sensation through the tongue. So it could be that the noise that they're 40 00:03:55,520 --> 00:04:02,320 making is really pleasurable for the feeling of their mouth but also could be auditory as well. 41 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:08,160 They could really genuinely love the sounds and the pitch of the sounds that they're making or 42 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:14,720 the echo that occurs. They could also like your reaction as well because when they're you know 43 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:21,680 quiet and getting on you know you get on with your day and that's fine you know everybody does. But 44 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,520 if they're making these noises and wiggles and pushing and all those kind of things and then it 45 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:30,960 makes it a bit like a game with you then that could be a learned way of them having a fun 46 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:38,880 interaction with you if their social skills aren't neurotypical. That could be a learned way that they 47 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:44,960 have yeah learned to interact with you and have a fun game with you. It also could be that they're 48 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:51,040 sound sensitive to other noises around the house if it's a bit of a busy environment or even if 49 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:57,040 it's like quite busy as in not even sound but even just looking if it's quite a cluttered environment 50 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:01,920 then they could be making noises to kind of distract from that kind of thing as well. So sometimes 51 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:07,600 ear defenders work really well and sometimes echoing their sounds works really well because 52 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:12,800 then they get a bit of a conversation a two-way conversation with you is a really really fun way. 53 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:18,400 It kind of lets you know that you're trying to learn their language which is really really lovely 54 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:24,560 and often gets a really lovely and fun response and also maybe some sound toys as well because then 55 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:29,840 there's an off button. I hope that helps I hope that answers your question. Let's go to the next one. 56 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:38,800 Hey would you recommend your curriculum to a mainstream non-verbal room? That is an interesting 57 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:44,880 question. I wonder why you have a whole room of non-verbal in the mainstream classroom but I 58 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:53,920 suppose lots of people do now. Yes so my curriculum is built for my class specifically who are working 59 00:05:53,920 --> 00:06:01,600 at who are all have a speech something one of them is echolalic or has gestalt language processing 60 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:10,000 but all the others are non-speaking so it is built for them and they are all working from zero about 61 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:17,440 six years old maximum but maybe like five years old maximum so regardless of what age your children 62 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:25,040 are if they're working at a zero to age six level if they are needing to learn in a sensory way 63 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:34,080 if they have language you know needs or social care needs extra needs then I would say it would 64 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:40,800 be pretty perfect and even if your school has a curriculum already lots of the topics I cover 65 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:47,360 are very typical topics so you can kind of reorder it and there is a button as part of my curriculum 66 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:53,600 that says edit so you could put your own edits and ideas in there make it specific for your class 67 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:58,480 because I'm really aware that I've never had one class the same and one child comes in and it 68 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,840 changes the whole class so I thought it was really important when building a curriculum 69 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:07,680 that it's just as editable as we do every single year for our classes so yeah that's an option as 70 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:13,120 well if you wanted to make it even more specific with as far as like learning objectives go and 71 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:19,360 just day-to-day planning if you wanted to make it more specific more personal then yes it's always 72 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:23,840 full another question I'm loving these questions so far I watched your lives the first week of the 73 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:29,600 holidays and mentioned you were moving away from pecs just wondered why and what you use instead 74 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:34,240 oh that's a great question y'all you guys are coming up with the questions yes I am moving away 75 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:44,320 from pecs and most people are as well because it is seen as non-autism affirming and what I mean by 76 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:53,440 that is it doesn't it's very limited so for pecs it's very much requesting isn't it it's I want this 77 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:59,600 I want this so I want food or I want toy well what if they wanted to say there's so much more to 78 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:04,160 conversation than that isn't there what if they wanted to say huh that was a really funny joke 79 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,960 or isn't the sky really lovely I don't know you can do that in to a certain extent in pecs like 80 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:15,040 later on but actually it's a really crucial part of of language and the enjoyment of language just 81 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:21,280 commenting on things not just requesting all of the time so that's the first reason why I'm moving 82 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:29,120 away the second way reason is because the official way of teaching pecs kind of always found a little 83 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:35,840 bit odd you need two adults for a start so one it's it feels pretty impossible in a class 84 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:41,040 to have that much going on you know I don't have that many adults to do that in the first place 85 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:47,680 but even if I did the it's not child led it's very adult led if they pick the wrong thing you're not 86 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:55,040 supposed to give it to them it can be it's like hand over hand and it's very like this is how you 87 00:08:55,040 --> 00:09:02,400 do it don't get me wrong it works I've used it for 15 years in my class and it does support learners 88 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:08,240 to find a voice and I'm all for that which is why I still have it around in my class I still have 89 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:13,200 symbols I still have symbol books and I'll never take it away from a child if they're already using 90 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:20,400 it however with my new learners so the four to six year olds what I've started doing is having 91 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:26,240 choosing boards around so they can still say that I want in da da da da but also having other things 92 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:33,040 that they can comment on something silly something's funny different emotions you know just different 93 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:38,400 things rather than just requesting all of the time and I like doing that with the AAC other reason 94 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:46,080 is that it takes so long to make the symbols and the symbols are so limiting so if I don't make a 95 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:51,680 symbol for the child they can't ask for it even if it's their favorite thing if I haven't made it 96 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:56,560 they can't ask for it and usually it's their favorite things that the symbols always get ripped 97 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:02,880 and wrecked and then it takes what a day minimum to make a new symbol so they've lost their voice 98 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:08,960 for a whole day whilst they're waiting for me to make another symbol whereas with AAC which is what 99 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:14,640 we're going to the iPads it's always there and if they need it it can be there within seconds 100 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:19,440 because I can just find it or they can find it or we can create it and it's there it doesn't 101 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:26,400 tarnish it doesn't rip it doesn't break it's just there and it's always in the same place it doesn't 102 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:35,120 get lost so just from a practical level as well they've got their whole voice at all times in 103 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:41,120 home and in school it doesn't get lost so yeah there's lots of reasons why we're going away from 104 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:48,720 pecs speech and language therapists will more and more more will be going away from pecs and 105 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:57,600 going to more autism-affirming practices like AAC. I also use sound buttons in my class so for 106 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:05,360 children that aren't yet understanding symbols or photos they are using sound buttons and this will 107 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:12,160 usually start with a finished sound button so before we rather than just moving the child on 108 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,680 from here and then here and then here and then here is what it must feel like you know they're 109 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:22,000 like whoa where am I what am I doing we're saying finished and then it's the same sound every time 110 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:27,120 it's like an instrument maybe and then they get used to oh okay this is coming to an end and I'm 111 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:32,800 about to go somewhere else and then we start to do the sound button alongside an object that 112 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:38,720 represents where they're going next so it'll be finished and then now it's a pad because we're 113 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:43,200 going to the toilet or now it's a plate because it's snack time or a bit of astroturf because 114 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:50,720 we're going outside and it's the start of us using a schedule it's the start of using symbols to 115 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:56,320 match it's the start of using an AAC device and so we also use that a lot in my room as well 116 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:01,600 yeah there are all sorts of communication going on in my room and we will always use symbols 117 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:08,240 because for some children they just need it and some places you can't take iPads like I've just 118 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:14,400 been swimming with my foster child and you can't take an iPad swimming so we'll have to find other 119 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:19,760 ways that we can communicate with each other in the pool for example and maybe laminated symbols 120 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:24,720 is a good way of doing that maybe so yeah it's we're always trying to find new ways but for the 121 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:32,800 most part in my room we are going much more the AAC route I have a little boy six diagnosed with 122 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:39,440 autism who is constantly throwing everything he also has a stim which is hitting something 123 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,840 into his chin over and over which is cutting and bruising it yeah I've seen this before actually 124 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:52,640 again your chin is really tough isn't it really tough you feel it it's got a big bone there 125 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:59,120 and it does actually feel quite nice to press I quite like it anyway and often this is an area 126 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:03,760 that you will see children hitting and here as well again it's quite a tough place and you'll 127 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:09,760 often see this kind of movement I don't know if you've seen that before again that's quite tough 128 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:15,840 and that's quite tough isn't it so basically they're sensory seeking right they're seeking 129 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:23,280 that pressure that deep pressure and there are two things that I found that really help this one is 130 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:27,200 finding ways that you can give them that deep pressure a little bit more safely that's not 131 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:31,920 hurting them there are lots of different things you can ways you can do that or because this is 132 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:38,160 the problem is that they need that deep pressure but actually they find being so close to a person 133 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:44,720 completely intolerable when they're in that state of dysregulation or anyway but when especially 134 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:50,080 when they're in that state of dysregulation so these pee poachers give you a massive hug all 135 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:56,400 the way down and give you a big squeeze another one is a weighted blanket it's fantastic for 136 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:03,360 giving you that squeeze kind of feeling without having that really close contact that's fantastic 137 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:08,880 another thing is it's called a hug it's like a waistcoat it's basically straps around your 138 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:13,760 chest and it has two velcro straps either side I think it's called like a hug belt or something 139 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:19,680 and that again it gives you that deep pressure without having somebody so close to you so that 140 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:26,240 could be really good rather than them doing this kind of thing but usually this comes from yes 141 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:34,160 sensory seeking but also frustration so I'd really look into what is making them feel frustrated 142 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:38,560 because behavior is communication so think about what they're communicating what is making them so 143 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:44,400 frustrated is it a demand that you could just reduce and just get rid of you know do they need 144 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:50,160 to do that thing like do they need to wear their shoes to get into the car or could you just walk 145 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:56,880 barefoot and then and then you know put your shoes on when you get there you know or do we need to 146 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:00,560 leave right now is it because we're rushing them and actually do we need to just give them a bit 147 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:06,320 of more time to reduce that demand so they don't get as frustrated so that's another option is it 148 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:12,320 anxiety so do they know what's happening next and maybe some kind of schedule would help 149 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:21,040 do they have a good communication method so rather than showing frustration by doing this maybe they 150 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:26,560 could show I'm getting frustrated and you know what what strategies would you have around that 151 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:32,000 maybe they have a a box that you bring out that has some kind of vibration tools in it or hard 152 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:37,680 chewies you know chewing something with your teeth is much better than chewing something here 153 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,400 or you have something vibrate in your mouth might give the same effect and then you could offer that 154 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:46,960 box to them when they if they're showing those frustrations or if they're asking for it they 155 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:51,920 could have the box it's about it's about thinking about why are they doing those things what is the 156 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:59,680 trigger and offering a safer alternative for them and if it is genuinely meeting that need 157 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:04,960 they don't want to be hurting themselves either so they will take the easiest route to get their 158 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:10,640 needs met so as long as it is meeting their need then they will go for it if they don't go for it 159 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:16,480 then it's obviously not quite meeting that the right need and you can keep experimenting I've 160 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:22,480 seen a lot of self-harm type behaviors with our children and it's really really it's probably one 161 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:27,840 of the hardest as a caregiver to see that it's really really hard really emotionally hard 162 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:35,200 hard but try not you know it's not personal and just know that it is okay and there are 163 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,840 ways of going around it another thing that really helped one of my pupils that was going through an 164 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:45,360 episode of this is intensive interaction so it's almost like doesn't feel like it should be linked 165 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:52,640 at all but intensive interaction is a beautiful way of just relationship building so when they're 166 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:57,680 in a state of regulation when they're in a state of calm so not when he's doing any of these things 167 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:04,080 but when he's in a state of calm like kind of follow his flow of movements and sounds 168 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:14,480 so we say if he's rocking and babbling and stimming like this then you find something that you can 169 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:20,480 rock and stim and babble with too and really find that flow and when he flicks it you flick it 170 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:27,280 and then when he says a certain phrase or sounds you say a certain phrase and sounds and eventually 171 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:32,240 he'll notice that you're doing that and kind of conduct you in a way and he'll really enjoy that 172 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:37,280 you're learning his language and he'll often find it quite often they find it quite fun but it just 173 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:44,560 tells them I get it I'm here for you I understand you I'm trying to understand you at least you can 174 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:50,560 speak to me I'm somebody that can relate to you and I'm really trying hard and then when it does 175 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:57,440 get to the frustrating times you'll be even more of a person that that he trusts and because you've 176 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:02,720 built that loyalty in that relationship it's a really really wonderful tool and it really helped 177 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:08,320 to build relationships with the people that sounds very similar to this one that you described 178 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:12,160 I have a young man who pushes his tea into the desk yeah exactly similar so similar kind of 179 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:18,480 feeling it's a really hard bone there but it actually doesn't hurt too much to actually hit it 180 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:26,160 I find the same with foreheads as I know if you hold forehead butters and it's quite a hard bone 181 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:31,520 isn't it you get quite a lot of stimulation from from that because it's quite tough not as much 182 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:37,520 from your cheeks you know a bit softer but from the chin I can see why why that would um yeah 183 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,120 meet some needs this is a lovely comment as well I think a movement rate needs to be a change of 184 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:45,440 scenery that's a really good point and something that I haven't I haven't actually acknowledged 185 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:51,200 but yeah we always when we do a movement break we always change scenery we always either go outside 186 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:58,640 or we go to a different area in the classroom and yeah part of you're right part of the sensory 187 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:04,640 break and the act of doing a sensory break is just getting space as well and getting a breath of fresh 188 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:09,680 air and and coming back fresh so yes you've done all your movement breaks which keeps you fresh as 189 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:15,520 well but actually just stepping outside sometimes and coming back in a few moments later can also 190 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:19,760 have the same effect so I yeah I love that observation we do the same this is a good 191 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:26,800 comment okay so my son is four and non-verbal how can I get him to communicate he does pecs at 192 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:35,040 school but won't do them for me he's hand led I think that's okay I think it's okay that however 193 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:41,520 he chooses to communicate at home with you is perfectly fine don't see symbols as a step on 194 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:46,400 from hand leading it might be what they see in the reports like that's what we're doing next 195 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:53,520 but any communication is good communication also parents understand far more what their child is 196 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:59,280 asking of them than the school will so he'll have to be working harder at school to be able 197 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:04,400 to communicate and make his needs known because they they're staff and they have other children 198 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:09,120 to meet and he might be working a little bit harder so giving him a bit of respite from that 199 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:15,440 home is absolutely okay because that's his safe space and the fact that he's hand leading you is 200 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:24,320 fantastic I would say because he is requesting and he is communicating I would maybe to encourage 201 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:30,320 even more of that I would be modeling so model what you would like to see different maybe different 202 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:37,040 words different foods he wants or toys that he wants and just model you know with no expectation 203 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:43,440 that he will copy or no expectation that he will even join you but just model model model and if 204 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:49,760 you want him to be able to use an AAC device like on the iPad you do it if you want him to use 205 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:55,200 symbols then you you use symbols to communicate if you want him to do sign you use sign and with no 206 00:20:55,200 --> 00:21:01,440 pressure with no demand on him and then maybe one of them will fit him better than than the other 207 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:06,400 but the fact that he's hand leading I would say is fantastic so I don't don't feel like that's less 208 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:11,760 than what he's doing at school I think it is perfectly great that he is communicating 209 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:16,640 in all areas okay this one's an interesting question any ideas to get a four-year-old boy 210 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:22,320 to sit with neurotypical group at preschool for activities so there's a difference there's an 211 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:27,360 order of development talking we're talking about here like obviously I don't know this boy there's 212 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:33,440 an order of things before sitting and concentrating and learning can happen it's do they feel safe are 213 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:40,320 they fed are they under shelter are they clothed kind of kind of level and then it's sensory so he 214 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:46,720 needs to be regulated in order to sit with his peers so I would be doing the three part sensory 215 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:55,280 circuits first of all so he's regulated and then there's fine motor control and gross motor control 216 00:21:55,280 --> 00:22:01,920 again that kind of comes into the sensory circuits and then there is some social skills and emotional 217 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:11,040 regulation so I'd be doing lots of work with him around turn taking and waiting for your turn 218 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:16,320 and for short stints and building up that and then it's also just about interest so I'd put 219 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:23,840 something super motivating that you know he loves on the table and just see if he comes to the table 220 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:28,960 maybe not even sitting maybe that's not the actual goal here maybe the goal is just for him to join 221 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:34,800 his his peers so I wouldn't worry too much about getting him sat because sometimes that can feel 222 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:42,080 quite entrapping so I would yeah just put something super motivating they all enjoy onto the table 223 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:50,000 and just see if he wants to he might find that the whole group or small group activity is just far too 224 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:55,360 overwhelming and just wants to observe and I would just take note of that as well and maybe just 225 00:22:55,360 --> 00:23:01,040 honor that because that's him that's great that's him regulating himself and we want to praise that 226 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:08,000 as well but if you feel like he can yeah definitely try and put something that motivates all of them 227 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:13,520 onto the table and see if he wants to join on his terms when he's regulated and when he feels ready 228 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:19,360 without pressure what other questions we got what's your advice on a non-viable child running out of 229 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:25,280 the room every day well first of all my classroom has locked doors it would be far too unsafe for us 230 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:31,920 to have unlocked doors so maybe that's an easy solution is to just have a pin code on your door 231 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:36,560 if you feel like that's the safest way if you feel like it's really unsafe maybe that's 232 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:42,480 you know a safe solution also have a think about why they're running so is it because they want 233 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:48,080 to run and they need the space so maybe think about um I feel like a broken record but having 234 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:53,440 a sensory diet consistently you know every hour every half an hour through your day so they could 235 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:59,440 get their their running in and getting a bit more regulated or it might be because the classroom is 236 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:03,360 a little bit too overwhelming maybe a bit too busy a bit too noisy and they need to get out and get 237 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:09,200 away and they need a break from that so kind of listen to this communication see it see this 238 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:13,600 behavior as a communication and think about okay what is it telling us is it telling us that he 239 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:19,040 needs a run is it telling us that they are finding this room too overwhelming and we need to build a 240 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:23,680 little space for them in somewhere in the room somewhere in the classroom that's a bit less 241 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:28,960 colorful a bit less hectic a bit less a little bit less busy and you can do this with blankets 242 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:35,680 you can do this with screens you can do this with you know little quiet corners and maybe that is 243 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:40,480 the solution but ultimately if you feel like your children aren't safe because they are running out 244 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:47,760 then it's absolutely okay to put a pin pad like a pin code lock on your door if that's going to 245 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:54,880 keep them safe whilst also honoring and listening to that communication that maybe something else 246 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:59,920 needs to change in the classroom too i hope that helps watch out who spits okay this is a really 247 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:08,480 tricky one isn't it because spitting is seen as so not okay and seen as really rude in our culture 248 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:14,400 often like adults find this spitting really difficult spitting and smearing is often the 249 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:20,640 ones i get you know problems with most because it's so not the done thing and whereas in other 250 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:27,120 cultures you know spitting isn't seen as quite so bad but it's seen as really unhygienic so again 251 00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:31,440 let's think about why they're doing this what happens when they are spitting is it because 252 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:37,360 they want people to get out of their space and by spitting it immediately moves people out of their 253 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:43,280 space and away from them maybe it's learnt behavior in that way you know that when i want somebody 254 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:50,480 to step back out of my face and out of my and stop talking to me i spit and it works so first of all 255 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:56,880 think about you know what is this what are they getting out of this behavior and then finding 256 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:02,880 another way of going around that maybe give them an opportunity to ask for space in a different way 257 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:08,080 maybe they have a certain symbol that's always honored and respected maybe you speak to your 258 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:13,840 adults about you know when they're starting to look like they're starting to wobble maybe step 259 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:19,600 back and get out of their space so they don't have to spit but also spitting can just be a really 260 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:28,160 enjoyed sensory activity i've had children that spit and smear on tables and on windows and kind 261 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:34,560 of like enjoy drawing with it and enjoy wiping with it and enjoy playing with spit it's really 262 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:42,880 common so what i've done for the spit drawers is i made a solution of washing up liquid really 263 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,280 really quite heavy on this washing up liquid and a little bit of water they kind of have a similar 264 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:52,320 consistency but obviously it's much more hygienic and then they could have that on their table at 265 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:56,480 all times and they they drew with that on the windows and the tables and that was i didn't 266 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,560 mind that that was absolutely fine by me and they could have that whenever they wanted and then a 267 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:06,400 little tissue beside them there's also children that i've had in the past that like to watch their 268 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:11,360 spit falling and then in that case i would just give them a cup of water or a spray or some 269 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:16,960 pipettes and again like try and mimic what they the enjoyment they're getting out of the spitting 270 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:23,040 whether it's the spit falling or the spit landing or the mark it makes or whatever it is just try 271 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:30,800 and replicate it in a more appropriate or safe way and that might be a good way of round it as well 272 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:36,400 i have two boys in my class who tear up drawings or work they're proud or something that makes them 273 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:41,120 really happy of when i come over to see just wondering why they do it and how i can help 274 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:46,640 some children really struggle with praise i have a child in my school that if you praise him it's 275 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:52,400 a real trigger for him so you just have to learn like even though it feels good for us that he just 276 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:58,720 can't cope with praise and it could be it could be and learnt behavior so it could be that i don't 277 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:05,280 know he's been through some kind of trauma and for whatever reason can't cope with the praise or it 278 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:11,840 could be that he has very low self-esteem and can't cope with the praise or it could be that he 279 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:18,240 doesn't like the attention from like of all eyes on him when he is praised so just be mindful of 280 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:23,840 that and just respect that really no adults that don't like having a spotlight on them and being 281 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:30,400 praised either and so just kind of yeah try and respect that communication as far as ripping work 282 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:40,320 it can it can be a it could be a self-esteem thing as well if they're not if it's then it's not good 283 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:46,160 enough and they they might see through your false praises like that you've they've tried really hard 284 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:50,320 or whatever and but they know it's not perfect so it's not good enough and again you have to respect 285 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:56,960 that it's their work and maybe a social story around that and around building confidence and 286 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,720 about around things not having to be perfect and actually it's really difficult to have something 287 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:06,000 perfect and you can always get better maybe the social story around that would help alleviate 288 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:11,360 some of those feelings of everything having to be perfect but again it's really common 289 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:16,640 and especially with children with an ASD diagnosis that everything would have to be 290 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:22,880 perfect or right and to be good enough should I use symbols or real life images like photos 291 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:28,160 for now and next and timetables it really doesn't matter you can even use objects it depends where 292 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:37,840 the children are at so the usual level or the order of things would be an object first so the 293 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:44,000 actual object so if they are going home it would be their actual bag to go home you know and then 294 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:49,280 it's objects of reference so it's kind of similar it's still objects but the object would represent 295 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:55,040 something so it doesn't have to be their actual coat or the actual plate for lunch it's just a 296 00:29:55,040 --> 00:30:04,400 little plate or a coat that a toy coat for example that is a reference to what that means so that's 297 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:10,720 an object of reference and then the usual next step is photos so it would be a photo of the car 298 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:16,880 or a photo of the park or a photo of school because they're a little bit easier to recognise 299 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:25,280 and then it would be a symbol the symbol then represents a school or home or car or breakfast 300 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:29,840 but it might not be that exact one you know they're kind of getting used to that things out of context 301 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:34,000 can mean the symbol can mean lots of different things that's the problem with photos they kind 302 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:40,080 of only mean that one thing but symbol can mean lots of different things and then and I suppose 303 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:47,520 it would be signing and speech but I say that as an order like children can just choose one and skip 304 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:52,400 one and is you know it's not really linear like that it really is about preference and what works 305 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:58,640 for the child but that's that's kind of typical that I see most often so as for should I use 306 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:05,120 symbols or real life images for now and next and timetables just see what your child gravitates 307 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:13,920 towards maybe make photos and symbols and objects and just see what they get on best with and prefer 308 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:18,880 that's how I like to do it in my room that's why I have so many options on offer all of the time 309 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:25,280 my stories are crazy because they have sensory items they have signing I have objects I have 310 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:31,200 AAC going on I've got all sorts but it's because I want it to be accessible for all and to give them 311 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:36,480 all the opportunity to just pick whatever they want and sometimes it's surprising which child 312 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:41,600 will choose which one you know as a preference yes I would just have all of them and just see what 313 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:46,240 they gravitate towards you I've got such good questions somebody's asked about swimming any 314 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:53,040 ideas for a child when at the swimming pool swallowing water they just do it it's quite a 315 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:59,680 developmental thing as well if you have babies in the water they often will swallow a lot of water 316 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:05,680 maybe use using flotation devices to get their head up but ultimately it's really hard to stop 317 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:11,840 lots of the I go swimming every week and I swear the pool must be at half as deep when we get out 318 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:20,160 there's so much um pool water drank I um yeah maybe distraction I suppose rather than just keeping 319 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:24,560 from reminding them because it would get really boring really quickly I would just do distraction 320 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:29,680 maybe stay in the shallow so that they're kind of stuck and do some kind of pouring activities or 321 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:34,400 splashing activities and just kind of distract them from wanting to drink it but apart from that 322 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:40,320 just kind of gotta yeah go with it really this is a good one what is the most the best resource or 323 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:45,360 intervention that you have found to be the most valuable and why I think intensive interaction 324 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:51,360 because it is completely free there are no resources all you need is yourself and the child 325 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:59,760 and it is the most autism affirming intervention ever because you are literally getting your child 326 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:06,480 to conduct you they are leading it without even realizing and it's a really it's been going on for 327 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:14,480 ages now and all the other ones that I can think of around that time have kind of been phased out 328 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:20,320 phased out apart from this because it is so autism affirming I explained a bit a little bit about it 329 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:27,120 before it's by written by Dave Hewitt so if you go on to youtube or google Dave Hewitt intensive 330 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:35,440 interaction you'll find tons of examples of what I mean by the child conducting the adult and or 331 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:42,480 the ad or well I shouldn't say a child and adult the the the carer kind of following the flow 332 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:48,240 to the person that they're looking after and it is so affirming because you are learning their 333 00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:53,760 language you're not putting any demands on them you're not having any expectations on them of 334 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:59,200 something that they can't do in fact you're realizing how difficult it is to make their 335 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:06,560 sounds and their movements and they're an expert in their sounds and movements and you're now the 336 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:13,360 learner which is so affirming it is so great for confidence building relationship building boosting 337 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:22,080 self-esteem learning two-way conversation so many children I work with when I first work with them 338 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:29,760 seem so stuck in their own world because they can meet their own sensory needs they are terrified of 339 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:35,360 the outside worlds because it just is scary and it puts demands on them and they don't get it and 340 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:41,520 it's just terrifying so they've locked themselves away in their own world and they and it's really 341 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:46,000 hard to get in it's really hard to build a relationship with them and intensive interaction 342 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:55,200 is a beautiful way of tapping into their world and in turn building their confidence that they have 343 00:34:55,200 --> 00:35:00,480 been more interested in our world and maybe it's not so scary maybe there are people out there that 344 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:08,800 are willing to learn their language and and try just beautiful and we use it all the time in my 345 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:15,440 room so if I could just choose one resource or intervention it would be you as the caregiver 346 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:21,440 is the resource and the intervention would be intensive interaction I don't know if any other 347 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:28,560 practitioners agree with me with that but I think I'd drop anything else if for that okay so what 348 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:33,840 can stimming look like I have a new idea of urgent family and I don't know what it looks like so I 349 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:38,320 get super confused when they do something and I don't know if it's a stim or not stim is basically 350 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:46,240 just stimulating behavior that's all it means so it can be twiddling hair it can be waving something 351 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:54,160 in front of your eyes it can be flapping it can be rocking it can be enjoying light or shadows 352 00:35:54,160 --> 00:36:02,400 anything that is stimulating to them it can be coloring in even can be rolling something like 353 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:09,760 play dough it can be squeezing play dough any kind of repetitive enjoyable stimulating behaviors that 354 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:19,280 they're doing that could be classed as stimming they have ADHD and I um I pick my skin is a stim 355 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:25,920 that's quite a common one with women that have ADHD so I pick or I pick my nails and pick my hands or 356 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:31,040 pick my face pick my hair you'll see I touch my face a lot as well when I'm talking that 357 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:37,600 it's like a repetitive stimulating behavior yeah and I like to I like go up on my toes and I spin 358 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:42,400 as well and if I'm on a shiny surface I have got concrete floors all through my house so that's 359 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:47,360 something that I do that I notice and again it's just repetitive stimulating behaviors that either 360 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:54,160 you are aware of or aren't aware of but it helps you regulate so it could be yeah you'll see it in 361 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:57,440 lots of things if you've got a neurodivergent family you'll be seeing all sorts of different 362 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,760 if all the sorts of different types of stimming behavior what would you recommend for pupils who 363 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:09,440 bite staff or pupils this is also another really common one I get a lot because biting is seen as 364 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:14,960 really extreme and it can be really extreme sometimes I would be seeing that as communication 365 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:20,240 and see what demands you're putting on them unnecessarily that could be causing that 366 00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:26,400 frustration and what you could reduce so maybe reducing their timetable or demands on them 367 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:34,080 reducing anything that might be causing them that that extreme frustration if you can some things 368 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:40,080 you can't get rid of some things they have to be dressed or they have to do certain things at school 369 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:44,880 for example it's just part of you know you can't get rid of that they have to have a drink or 370 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:49,440 whatever you know whatever it is sometimes it's meeting their basic needs and then and then I 371 00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:56,080 I guess that there might be other things that you could do offer really hard chewies I've known lots 372 00:37:56,080 --> 00:38:01,440 of very very big hard biters and it seems to be doing the job they're kind of like knobbly and 373 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,680 and they're really good and there's four different shapes for their preference as well which I like 374 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:11,360 and so yeah if they're biting then maybe try chewies and also step out of their space they 375 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:18,400 can't bite you if you're not within mouth reach of them so as long as they are safe and not causing 376 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:25,360 harm to themselves then sometimes stepping into their space is only making things harder so I 377 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:32,640 would always opt for if you can safely just stay out of their stay out of their space and then they 378 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:39,040 won't bite okay how to help in a situation where a student deliberately pushes others buttons so 379 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:44,080 again you need to see this behavior as a communication maybe they don't know how to 380 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:51,680 make friends or play and interact in a appropriate way or what we see as an appropriate way 381 00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:58,720 so it's all about teaching them other ways they can get those interactions maybe the only way 382 00:38:58,720 --> 00:39:04,880 that they get that interaction is by you know pushing their buttons maybe that's the only way 383 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:12,160 they get that response or any response from them so I like to use the intervention Lego therapy 384 00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:20,160 with some more able learners or attention autism with classes like mine because it teaches other 385 00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:26,880 ways of getting those fun interactions with each other that are positive and that are enjoyed by 386 00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:33,360 all parties and really praising and having those on offer and modeling those that play as an adult 387 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:39,760 as well you know getting on the floor and modeling positive relationships and play again 388 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:47,200 intensive interaction is another great way of doing that is modeling those that reciprocal play 389 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:53,840 so that a child doesn't have to to deliberately push others buttons in order to get that response 390 00:39:53,840 --> 00:40:00,160 or that kind of interaction and without us modeling that they might not work that out on their own 391 00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:06,720 other questions okay um somebody said advice for wanting to get into sen teaching but being 392 00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:12,320 autistic and adhd myself i'm scared they will judge me as inferior if i tell them that is 393 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:18,320 absolutely not the case i haven't found that for sure in fact most of the staff in my room are 394 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:24,640 neurodivergent and i think that's what makes us so good at our jobs because we totally relate 395 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:30,480 to lots of what the children are going through so i would wear it like a badge if you feel proud 396 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:37,600 enough to and i would absolutely say that and speak about it as one of your strengths for the job 397 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:43,840 as an sen teaching assistant or teacher especially when it comes to relating to your students there 398 00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:49,520 obviously are downsides to it which i find as well sometimes organization sometimes mine is that's 399 00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:53,200 another reason to mention it in an interview is because maybe you need a little bit more support 400 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:58,560 in those areas and unless they know why they might not be able to offer that support so i would say 401 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:04,640 most schools would be incredibly understanding if you mentioned your neurodiversity in that way what 402 00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:13,280 did you do as your degree was it a pgce yes i did i did my route into sen teaching was to be a 403 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:21,440 sen teaching was i was ta a special education school so specialist provision school whilst i 404 00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:29,200 was doing my acting degree and then straight from my acting degree i did a pgc in primary education 405 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:33,840 and then i went straight back to that school as soon as i was qualified as an underqualified 406 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:40,640 teacher and then teacher and i was there for 10 years and then i ran my own consultancy business 407 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:49,600 for sensory parents and now i've come back full circle as a teacher and sen foster carer 408 00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:58,240 um i've been doing it for 15 years now which is crazy how do you deal with children that don't 409 00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:07,840 like sharing so how do i support children to share so i model it first of all with my turn 410 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:15,440 your turn and i also have a my turn and wait visuals as well you might have seen those in 411 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:20,880 my post a few days ago they're like ovals my turn and wait and they're colored green and red 412 00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:27,360 and i'll model my turn first then your turn and they will only have to wait like three seconds 413 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:32,560 at first and then it's their turn and then they might have to wait five seconds and then 10 seconds 414 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:37,520 and 15 seconds and gradually they'll get to build the understanding that this is a promise that i'm 415 00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:42,960 definitely going to get what i want and now lots of my children now can wait up to 20 minutes 416 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:47,360 for their turn because they have the weight in front of them and they know that's a promise 417 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:52,160 they're definitely going to get a turn and that's really great for sharing and turn taking so if 418 00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:59,520 there's one resource that all of them want then i use the green card for my turn and then everybody 419 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:04,560 else will have a weight symbol and then they will wait for their turn and it works really well if 420 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:09,280 used consistently and modeled by adults and that is in my google drive if you want that one do you 421 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:15,040 find it hard being a job share one of our children has two fantastic one-to-ones but he is making 422 00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:19,920 limited progress i've tried lots of things but wondered if it's to do with the change in adult 423 00:43:19,920 --> 00:43:25,920 it can be you know we're not robots however much we try and be consistent we're very much two 424 00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:32,240 separate humans and we do work in very different ways actually like naturally we're very naturally 425 00:43:32,240 --> 00:43:38,160 different people however what we are consistent with is the big things we run the class in a 426 00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:44,720 really similar way our expectations of the children and the adults are very similar and we use the same 427 00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:53,360 structures so we use the same language we use the same communication methods we use the same visuals 428 00:43:53,360 --> 00:44:02,560 and structure in that way and we talk constantly so we at least message two or three times a week 429 00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:06,800 in a really long like this is what's happened this is how i think what do you think and like 430 00:44:06,800 --> 00:44:13,920 kind of make decisions together however naturally staff and children might gravitate towards or 431 00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:20,720 prefer the way that one teacher works over the other and it could be just because of the subjects 432 00:44:20,720 --> 00:44:24,720 they teach like it might not even be anything personal to do with them and that's just human 433 00:44:24,720 --> 00:44:29,040 nature as well but it's just about being as consistent as possible and talking with each 434 00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:33,920 other it could be that he it's because of two people but there are lots of benefits from having 435 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:39,760 two people as well you know we both come with full energy usually when i was working full time by 436 00:44:39,760 --> 00:44:48,160 thursday i was flagging because as you can imagine you've seen my lives i give full energy all times 437 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:56,000 so by thursday i was so exhausted whereas now my colleague can tap out on a wednesday and i tap in 438 00:44:56,000 --> 00:45:01,920 on a thursday and i'm like ready to go full energy and it kind of boosts the room to like 439 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:07,920 keep going till the end of the week so i think actually there are more benefits than not just 440 00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:15,120 having that like change of face boosted energy fresh ideas being able to share burdens and 441 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:21,600 certain things and share ideas and certain things so yeah i think there is huge benefits 442 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:28,720 but if your child has autism or any kind of anxiety just that change in slight different ways of 443 00:45:28,720 --> 00:45:34,720 working because like i say we're not robots we are human really could affect them and it might take 444 00:45:34,720 --> 00:45:38,000 them a couple of days to kind of like get into the swing of the next person and then it's the 445 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:43,360 weekend and it's the next person so um yeah it really could be having an impact however it would 446 00:45:43,360 --> 00:45:48,400 also be having an impact if they only worked with one person because they'd only get used to that 447 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:53,200 one person and that one way of doing things and that's just not realistic in life like being 448 00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:57,920 velcroed and stuck to one person and their one way of working it's just going to be setting them up 449 00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:03,760 for failure so yes it might be limiting progress but that's kind of life isn't it they're not going 450 00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:08,320 to have that one person attach them all the time consistently forever and the rest of their life 451 00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:13,120 so it is good to chop and change and kind of get used to different ways of working as well 452 00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:18,240 within the boundaries of trying to be as consistent as possible okay this is an interesting one 453 00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:25,520 if a child who refuses to listen and doesn't make eye contact and listen to stories the one thing 454 00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:31,440 about listening is how do we know they're not listening just because they're not giving eye 455 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:37,280 contact we don't know that in fact lots of children find it much easier to listen when they're not 456 00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:44,720 giving eye contact especially those on the autism spectrum because it's so hard to give eye contact 457 00:46:44,720 --> 00:46:49,680 sometimes for some some people that all they'll be thinking about is that and then they're not 458 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:54,800 actually listening so in order to listen they have to look down or look away so don't assume that 459 00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:59,680 just because they're not giving eye contact they're not listening to the story always just assume that 460 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:06,000 they are listening and until proven otherwise if they refuse to listen then maybe it's just not 461 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:10,880 that motivating to them or interesting to them and i always think that if a child doesn't want 462 00:47:10,880 --> 00:47:15,840 to join one of my sessions it's because i'm not being fun enough or it's because i'm not making 463 00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:21,520 exciting enough for them or i'm not meeting their interests enough and that's not their fault that's 464 00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:27,920 totally on me as the teacher to make it more exciting more interesting more related to their 465 00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:34,640 interests so that they want to join me and they want to learn and they see it as necessary and 466 00:47:34,640 --> 00:47:42,000 they see um worth and value in it and they are engaged so maybe have a look at your your learning 467 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:46,480 and your story choices and how you can make those even more exciting so they can't resist it's 468 00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:51,360 absolutely irresistible and they want to they couldn't wait to join join you okay any advice 469 00:47:51,360 --> 00:47:56,560 for a child who is removing clothing when not appropriate and we have a plan in place for when 470 00:47:56,560 --> 00:48:00,160 it happens but preventing it is really challenging yes it's great that you have a plan but like you 471 00:48:00,160 --> 00:48:08,320 say it's really good to work out why it's happening because it's better to you know manage it before 472 00:48:08,320 --> 00:48:14,320 the behavior happens than after and i understand that this could be really really stressful for 473 00:48:14,320 --> 00:48:18,080 schools because at home they probably don't need to wear clothes like that's absolutely fine 474 00:48:18,080 --> 00:48:25,280 you wouldn't need to because i once heard from an ot that some children's skin is as sensitive as an 475 00:48:25,280 --> 00:48:31,760 eyeball and imagine if your whole skin was as sensitive as an eyeball how awful it would be 476 00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:36,080 to put clothes on like let's just think about that for a moment think how sensitive your eyeball is 477 00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:42,080 you can literally feel like a tiny little like eyelash in it and it is so painful now imagine 478 00:48:42,080 --> 00:48:49,360 getting your hair cut imagine using a razor like a shaver or imagine like wearing scratchy itchy 479 00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:55,040 material or labels so let's assume because we don't know that it's not let's assume that 480 00:48:55,040 --> 00:49:03,120 this pupil's skin is as sensitive as an eyeball now how would that change your attitude to how 481 00:49:03,120 --> 00:49:08,320 you are managing this behavior i think you would be so much more empathetic and so much more 482 00:49:08,320 --> 00:49:15,200 tolerant maybe of this behavior but the reality is you do need to wear clothes when out in public 483 00:49:15,200 --> 00:49:21,280 that's just that's just society isn't it so maybe talk to parents maybe it doesn't have to be school 484 00:49:21,280 --> 00:49:27,280 uniform though maybe it could be a kind of material that is seamless maybe that labels aren't are 485 00:49:27,280 --> 00:49:32,400 removed maybe he wears clothes inside out so the seams are on the outside or socks inside out seen 486 00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:38,160 that before maybe it's silk or some kind of shiny material that isn't as scratchy or itchy on his 487 00:49:38,160 --> 00:49:44,240 skin that would be the first thing so i'd look at it from a sensory regulation point of view first 488 00:49:44,240 --> 00:49:48,800 maybe get parents on board and don't worry about the colors or school uniform you know it's better 489 00:49:48,800 --> 00:49:55,360 that he's clothed and in than unclothed and in or you know not in school at all so let's like we 490 00:49:55,360 --> 00:49:58,960 want him to be in school we want him to be regulated let's try and get the clothes situation 491 00:49:58,960 --> 00:50:02,960 sorted and another thing i've seen if it's the actual undressing that he is enjoying and it's 492 00:50:02,960 --> 00:50:09,920 not actually a dysregulation to the textures then sometimes putting on clothes back to front can 493 00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:15,120 help there's certain so like having the zips at the back or velcro at the back can just help like 494 00:50:15,120 --> 00:50:19,200 manage that behavior so it's a little bit slower for them to get it off so you can kind of manage 495 00:50:19,200 --> 00:50:23,760 that and i've seen that before as well but ultimately that's again dealing with the after 496 00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:29,600 effect i would be looking more at why they are doing that and it's usually i'm sure because of 497 00:50:29,600 --> 00:50:34,160 either frustration or because of a sensory need and how do you engage a child that just wants to 498 00:50:34,160 --> 00:50:42,000 run i wouldn't make their learning all about running so if you're counting i would count the 499 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:48,480 count the different relays or if you're doing writing i would have the uppercase letters one 500 00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:52,400 side of the caution i'll have the lowercase letters the other and you have to run from one 501 00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:57,520 to the other and match them or if you're doing about colors i would be yeah like doing a relay 502 00:50:57,520 --> 00:51:04,480 race with colors and matching colors doing like a scavenger hunt outside so you can make it you can 503 00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:08,960 make their special interest part of the learning if you're in a special need school obviously 504 00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:14,240 that's the benefit of being a sped teacher is we can literally grab their interest be like great 505 00:51:14,240 --> 00:51:19,520 they like running let's make everything running i once wrote a full curriculum i wish i had it 506 00:51:19,520 --> 00:51:22,880 because oh my god i know as soon as i mentioned this some of you are going to want it and i don't 507 00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:28,640 have it but i once wrote a full curriculum all about duplo because well this boy in my class 508 00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:32,960 he didn't want to know anything apart from duplo that's all he wanted to know he wanted to build 509 00:51:32,960 --> 00:51:40,480 towers with duplo so developed a full curriculum where it all involved duplo his transition object 510 00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:46,640 was duplo maths was duplo english was duplo everything was duplo his symbols to request and 511 00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:51,280 everything was on duplo it had a huge impact on him because all of a sudden we were speaking his 512 00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:56,560 language and he was interested it's great that you have something that he wants to do and just 513 00:51:56,560 --> 00:52:02,080 run with it literally run with it if you have the resources to if you don't have the resources to 514 00:52:02,080 --> 00:52:06,080 if you're a mainstream classroom or your special needs classroom you don't he doesn't he's not one 515 00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:12,240 to one or whatever that is a little bit harder but maybe then provide running regularly in his 516 00:52:12,240 --> 00:52:17,360 sensory diet throughout the day running and then an organizing activity and then a grounding 517 00:52:17,360 --> 00:52:21,840 activity and then back to work and then running and then an organizing activity and then grounding 518 00:52:21,840 --> 00:52:26,160 and then back to work again but yeah ideally he'd just have a running curriculum right right this is 519 00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:33,120 going to be the last question i think advice on a year one child wanting to sit on adults laps 520 00:52:33,120 --> 00:52:40,000 facing the adult has been told not to allow her to sit on the lap as not appropriate yeah this is one 521 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:45,120 that we find as well and i do agree with it because even though children need comfort right and there 522 00:52:45,120 --> 00:52:50,000 are lots of different ways of giving that comfort without being on your lap and i'm talking as a 523 00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:56,080 foster carer and a teacher here one day that year one child so they're only six now but one day 524 00:52:56,080 --> 00:53:01,440 and it happens really quickly they're going to be 16 and it's just not appropriate and it's so much 525 00:53:01,440 --> 00:53:08,880 harder to undo that you know learned behavior and the way they can get that comfort than like 526 00:53:09,840 --> 00:53:18,080 if it prolongs now this child can get that comfort from her parents or her guardian 527 00:53:18,080 --> 00:53:22,320 or her siblings or other people that are close to her that that's appropriate with but i just 528 00:53:22,320 --> 00:53:28,000 don't feel like it's appropriate with professionals either foster carer or or a teacher because 529 00:53:28,880 --> 00:53:34,880 you can give the same comfort with them not sitting on your lap they could sit you could 530 00:53:34,880 --> 00:53:40,800 do sherborn movements and they could sit in front of your lap and you could give squeezes or you they 531 00:53:40,800 --> 00:53:46,800 could sit behind you and you can give squeezes or you can be next to or you can do swinging you can 532 00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:51,360 do you could be on the ball and you could do rolling there are loads of different ways to have that 533 00:53:51,360 --> 00:53:57,440 similar interaction without having to be on the laps sometimes it's just because they like to like 534 00:53:57,440 --> 00:54:03,600 be dipped into your legs like it kind of feels like a hug in a way doesn't it so you can find 535 00:54:03,600 --> 00:54:09,680 different chairs and different ways of an equipment that kind of gives them that same hug feeling 536 00:54:09,680 --> 00:54:16,400 without it being on you i do do it sometimes with children with mobility because that's part of their 537 00:54:16,400 --> 00:54:21,680 physio but again it's never on my lap it's actually they're sitting on the floor and like my legs are 538 00:54:21,680 --> 00:54:26,720 kind of around them so the physio it's just something that i've always done because i have 539 00:54:26,720 --> 00:54:33,440 worked with adults and like teens so i've kind of seen the transition i've seen how hard it is to 540 00:54:33,440 --> 00:54:38,640 then get out of that kind of because then at that time then it's inappropriate behavior right 541 00:54:39,200 --> 00:54:42,720 that's confusing for the children when all of a sudden they're allowed to do it one minute and 542 00:54:42,720 --> 00:54:46,880 then the next teacher then they're not because it's inappropriate behavior it's really confusing 543 00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:54,400 so if there is a way that you can give them that comfort or that sensory seeking without sitting 544 00:54:54,400 --> 00:54:59,040 on laps then then i would have a look at doing that i just love talking to you guys it makes 545 00:54:59,040 --> 00:55:06,400 it feel real these numbers on instagram are a bit ridiculous it's going it's the following is going 546 00:55:06,400 --> 00:55:11,760 up so fast and it's really nice to actually speak to the real people behind those numbers rather 547 00:55:11,760 --> 00:55:16,000 than getting completely overwhelmed by the numbers and it's really lovely to speak to 548 00:55:16,640 --> 00:55:22,000 you all it makes it just feel a little bit more real so yeah thank you for being here 549 00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:42,560 i hope you have a wonderful week bye