Teacher here looking for help from the experts!!!

tryingteacher

New Member
Hi All,
I am new to the boards and really hope Special Education teachers are welcome. I need some advice from the experts and I consider parents to be the experts. I am having a very very hard time with a student of mine. I have a self contained class for children with behavior and emotional disabilities. I have a student that I can't seem to reach. I have tried sticker charts, behavior contracts, extra privleges, and even paying him with real money and nothing seems to help. He is extremely aggressive and violent. I have been bitten, kicked, hit, and called every name in the book. I have been bruised and on antibiotics due to his aggressivenss towards me. He has been destructive towards property and other students as well. I just don't know what to do. It makes me feel so so sad that I can't figure out how to teach this child not to hurt people. I so want him to be successful. I am so scared for him and what middle school is going to hold. The school year is almost 3/4's of the way over and I really want to do all I can to help this student.
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
Welcome! It's so wonderful to see educators seeking assistance with their students.

You may want to repost this on the General Board as it has more traffic. This section of the site is mostly viewed by those seeking assistance in working with the schools, i.e., obtaining an IEP for their child.

The first questions are going to be: What is the child's diagnosis? Is he on medications? Does he have a Behavior Plan in place with his IEP? If not, I would think an IEP meeting would be in order so you could brainstorm with the other members of the IEP, including the parents.
 

Sheila

Moderator
Ditto wyntersgrace2 .

We can move your thread to the General Forum or you can cross post this thread there.

Wlecome to the site. :smile:
 

tryingteacher

New Member
It would be great if you could move it. I have been visiting this site for a while now because I learn so much from reading others posts. I was nervous about posting because I am not a parent but I tell my students that I am their school mom. As for my student that is having such a hard time....He has an IEP and a BIP as well as an FBA. He is on several medications but I am not sure what they are. He is diagnosed with ODD, ADHD, and a mood disorder not otherwise specified. He is a smart little guy and is extremely creative. He has made no progress on his IEP goals which are all based on his behaviors so I have chandged his goals in hopes of showing growth. His mother is not doesn't trust the school system and thinks that I am out to get her child when all I want is for him to be successful. We have monthly team meetings with many many people in attendance. Any suggestions would be great. I am currently bruised in several places from his last rage. I mayself could be considered a reformed difficult child I have ADHD PTSD and BiPolar (BP) disorder. That is one thing that frustrates me. I know and can see his potential. I overcame so much to get to where I am and he can do it to but I don't know how to make him want it when is mom is always looking for someone else to blame for the choices he makes. Thanks for the responses. I just want to know when this year ends that I served this child to the best of my ability and that I left no stone unturned when it comes to interventions. Oh I also helped get him Occupational Therapist (OT) services but he spends so much time in crisis mode that the Occupational Therapist (OT) is having a hard time implementing her ideas. Thanks again!!!
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
Given the circumstances you described with the mom, I don't know how feasible this would be. Do you think she would be open to you having a controlled and very limited link of communication with his psychiatrist? The only purpose of this being to let the doctor know directly what you are seeing in class and not to get any "confidential" information from the doctor. It seems like that may help the doctor get a better idea of what is going on in school. Also, are there any specific triggers? I'm sure you're already doing this but if not, maybe keep notes on what you see triggering his rages and report to the parent or the doctor.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment, sorry. But it is very nice to see a teacher on here!!!
 

Kathy813

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Hi! Welcome to the CD board from a fellow teacher.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I am currently bruised in several places from his last rage. </div></div>

I think that there should be a special place in heaven for teachers like you. I have to admit that I would absolutely draw the line if I was being physically assaulted.

It sounds to me like the student needs a more restrictive setting. He should not be allowed to hurt others or himself.

Has that been suggested by anyone? Maybe a self-contained classroom is not enough. Is there a special school in your district for cases like this one?

Let me congratulate you on all that you have overcome in your life. It's great that you are reaching out and helping others.

Good luck but be careful.

~Kathy
 

JJJ

Active Member
My son --who rages at school -- has a 1:1 aide and a crisis plan in place to keep him and others safe. Is something similar addressed in your student's BIP?
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
I think it's wonderful to see a teacher here. :grin: Welcome!

With Mom not being very open to communication, I'd try the suggestion of keeping a journal on his behaviors and each time he acts out jot down everything that was going on at the time and make special note of anything out of the ordinary. That might help you identify his triggers more quickly, and may have the added bonus of helping you spot ways to encourage him forward.

If you were a parent asking this, I'd be thinking along the lines that the child could really use a mood stabilizer, or medication change.

When my N is unstable, it honestly doesn't take anything to "set her off". You can just walk past her and she blows. If she has triggers, other than her brother, I've yet to find them. She'll be 18 in 2 months. :faint:

(((Hugs))))
 

sameold sameold

New Member
Hi

My son was verbally and physically abusive to the staff when he was in public school. He really could not be there and be safe to himself or others. We eventually moved him to a special all purpose private school. He blossmed. These type of kids are the only kids they deal with and have lots of different plans and supports in place. Maybe this little guy also needs a private special all purpose school. Don't feel like you have failed him, if you can get him placed somewhere that can "reach" him, you have given him a special chance. Good luck
 

tryingteacher

New Member
This is a great idea. The school already has a signed release for the agency his p-doctor is with. I have sent her excel charts of what I have seen but his mom sugar coats everything. Speaking with his doctor has been intimidating to me but I think you are right and opening those doors of communication is a great idea.
 

tryingteacher

New Member
You know I have been recording his behaviors but not what is going on in the classroom at the time he explodes. This is a great idea and I will implement it Monday. As far as triggers go...he flips out whenever he is asked to do anything he doesn't want to do. I have an issue with being told by people that I need to be more consistent. What I mean by this is I have a rule in my classroom that if you throw anything it is an automatic timeout. Well when this child is told that he has a automatic timeout he rages and it lasts over an hour and my other students have to be sent out of the room and he is very violent. I just can't bring myself to enforce this rule with him. When I have all the people his mom, the county behavior specialist telling me I need to be more consistent how do I tell them I can't spend my day waiting for him to quit raging and to decide to go into timeout. I am not legally allowed to transport him so when he begins going off all I can do is get out of the way until he is so dangerous that he has to be restrained. A while back we were coming out of a restraint and he promised he wasn't going to hit or kick anymore. I was still on the ground and the another adult was helping me up and he kicked me. I am so worried about what is going to happen with this kid next year. Niddle school is hard and they are more strict and hard on kids in middle school. I only have 11 weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions for teaching him to not attack people and to not destroy property. I am going to try showing him picture to try to de-escalate him instead of using words. I think I sometimes use to many words. Thank you so much to the link for teachers. I appreciate teh warm welcome and kind words. I really really do!!!
 

needabreak

New Member
i wish there were more teachers like you.my son has a couple of teachers that work very hard with him.and then there is always one who just thinks there just bad.it is nice to see you aretrying to better your self to help this child.there are so many children out there who need the help and just are not getting it.thank you and to all teachers like you..
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Warning - long post. Sorry.

Hi, and welcome. I'm sorry the mother sees you as a problem, it is always better, I feel, to be able to work with the school. There have been times when I have disagreed with the school but we always talked about it, often in writing to avoid misunderstandings. And I think if she's sugar-coating things it's because she's in denial to a certain extent, about his impact on others. The trouble is, SHE is the one who interacts with his specialists and if they're not getting feedback from school as well, they could be misdiagnosing. The level of violence seems extreme to me.

In Australia, a child being medicated during school hours means that the school MUST know what he is being given. Often the school is told anyway, for the purpose of full and frank communication. Of course there are a lot of things I preferred to not share with the school but if it was relevant to his management, of course I told the school.

Keeping a written record is brilliant. Usually I'm recommending parents to ask the school to support this. I recommend that a Communication Book travels between home and school, so both groups can put in anything of possible relevance. But to do this you would need the mother to not get upset when you report his actions accurately. If you could try to convince her that you're trying to help him by tracking possible patterns, with a view to finding a better way to help him overcome some of his difficulties? For example, if certain subjects set him off and his Communication Book helps identify the pattern, you may be able to find another way to ease him into the subject that is less confronting for him. Or if the combination of her information plus your observations demonstrates a link between worsening behaviour and him getting ill, THAT is useful, especially for his mother. difficult child 3 showed such a pattern - his behaviour would suddenly get worse for the three days BEFORE he developed obvious symptoms of a cold. It got so teachers would send home the message, "He was very obstinate and aggressive yesterday and today, I hope you haven't got anything important with him planned for the day after tomorrow because going by past patterns he may be getting a cold."
Also, when difficult child 3 had a cold coming on (he was also a problem during the recovery period) his teachers demanded less of him and excluded him more NOT as punishment but because he simply was able to work better away from the rest of the class. If he was unwell she wouldn't keep trying with him, she would immediately remove him, when on other days she might keep trying to keep him working but in the classroom.

Basically, kids like this have a hard time trying to hold their behaviour together. When they're tired or unwell, sometimes it's just TOO difficult. That's when you see breakouts.

You said, "he flips out whenever he is asked to do anything he doesn't want to do."
You didn't define "anything he doesn't want to do". Please observe and think about this - is it possible he is getting upset when he's asked to do something without having time to adapt to the change? What exactly is it that he doesn't want to do? WHY does he not want to do it?
difficult child 3 would refuse to do tasks involving writing, for several reasons - his hands hurt from double-jointedness plus he's very unco and has a poor pencil grip; and he dislikes the inevitable conflict in fiction (even though it does get resolved and he knows this intellectually) and finds story lines very distressing. As a result for a long time he tried to avoid them. difficult child 1 simply couldn't write stories because he couldn't hold a sequence of thoughts and ideas in his head (which you need to do, to write a story) until he learned to 'mind-map' (Edward de Bono).
Another BIG reason for a kid saying, "I don't want to do this new thing" is because he's got himself on a roll with whatever he is currently doing, and he needs time to adjust to making the change. If you force it and insist, "No, I want you to stop working on your maths NOW and come and do this next lesson" you will have major conflict, with these kids. They HATE task-changing. I've even seen this on a hot summer's day, when I've said to difficult child 3, "You can stop doing your homework now, let's go to the beach for a swim," and he will say, "No, I have to finish this." He could not accept, "You can finish it later," because it had taken some time and effort to get started and he didn't want to waste that. Mind you, he may not have been thinking anything so rational about it, it may just have been, "This is now, this is what I'm doing, I know this, I feel safe with this, I want to keep doing this until I run out, even if this is a bit boring, I do not like to change."
Of course, if you're trying to take him from something he obviously is enjoying (like playing computer games) to something he dislikes this will make the task changing problems far worse.

What I do to facilitate task-changing - I set a time limit, preferably one I've previously negotiated with him. I use brightly coloured Post-It notes and I write on one, "difficult child will stop Task A and begin Task B at x time." I stick it where he can't miss it and also tell him it's there. That way when he is reminded again he can't say that he wasn't told.
The aim of this exercise is to let him know that you are giving him ample warning of the need to make a change in activity. He needs to learn to see you as his helper, not his obstacle (which I suspect is his current view of you).
It's quite possible that you are seeing him at his worst and his mother gets him at his best. Usually it's the other way around, but there's something interesting here. She is doing something that works for him and you are doing what appears to him to be the opposite.
I'm not saying she is right and you are wrong - it's just from his perception. You really need to be able to talk to her, pick her brains and work as a team, but it sounds like she's not amenable to that. So you need to convince her (and him) that you ARE amenable. Not easy.

I got another clue from you - you said that you have strict rules that you expect all the kids to follow, in that certain behaviours earn a time out but if you give him a time out it leads to all sorts of problems which escalate to the point where you're now bending the rules for him.
I put to you - with some kids you NEED to have different rules. You are beginning to see this for yourself. Punishing a kid for explosive behaviour when it's the result of frustration, impulsivity and difficulty in communicating this any other way is like punishing a three-month-old baby for bedwetting. Where it would be appropriate to punish most other kids when you KNOW they have the control, it's not going to be for him.

What is the aim of punishment? Think hard and carefully. Now think - are you achieving that aim with him? Do not consider what the other kids will think in this; they understand probably a lot more than is usually credited. difficult child 3's classmates very quickly understood that difficult child 3 played by a different rule book. Any ideas we may have had to keep his disorder a secret - trust me, it's bleedin' obvious. So if they see him being handled differently - you may have to explain it, but they will understand. difficult child 3 was in a mainstream class but the teacher handled task-changing with a voucher system; a full sheet of vouchers and difficult child 3 got half an hour of computer game time while the rest of the class did lessons. The kids asked about it and the teacher explained (with my blessing) that it was needed for difficult child 3 because he is autistic. The other kids could manage well and therefore did not need the same reward system. Besides, the class time that difficult child 3 missed was maths, which he excelled at. He could miss some maths time and not suffer for it, while the other kids couldn't.

If you've been lurking you will have seen how much "The Explosive Child" by Ross Greene gets mentioned. Have a look at it. Of course it would be best if you could implement this with his mother's support, but currently he seems to be reacting very differently at home compared to school anyway.
The beauty of this method - it works well on normal kids too (sorry for the inappropriate terminology but it's quicker). There is some description of this book and implementation in Early Childhood. I got my first copy of the book from the local library, then I put an order in at my bookshop. It made a huge difference for us.

Basically, people vary. The sort of handling that works will also vary. Kids like this - the sort of stern, consistent discipline that has stood you in great stead for so long will actually make kids like this worse. It also pushes their stress up which makes them more reactive, more likely to kick, bite or disobey and the discipline for that misbehaviour then accelerates the problem.

I cant be in the classroom with you to observe, but I suspect you're disciplining the really bad outbursts. And I do understand why you are doing this. The worst ones - I agree with you, I think they are basket A (read the Early Childhood thread on the book). But wherever possible, put behaviour like that in basket B or C. Backchatting or being rude - basket B.

What makes this book work best is if you can get a handle on what makes the kid tick. What upsets them? What do they enjoy? What frightens them? Why? Then you use this knowledge to show them that you are a support, you are a tool that they can take advantage of.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the main aim you have for him is for him to learn? And controlling his behaviour is part of what you are trying to do, so you can also prevent him from disrupting the other students. But I think a big part of the problem is, trying to control his behaviour could be at least part of what is setting him off.

Giving kids like this some choice, some control over things that really are no big deal for you, can make a big difference to how he copes. If he enjoys maths but hates geography, but overall will refuse to turn in much work over a school day due to his behaviour issues, you may need to begin by letting him do one subject for as long as he wants to, even if the rest of the class is moving on to English or geography. Keep his worksheets available and if you can see he is receptive, give him his English or geography then. And let him work on THAT for as long as he can handle it. Task-changing can also be an issue for things they aren't enjoying much too (ie they will still keep working on a difficult subject for them, if they get 'on a roll'). It may help get him through curriculum work faster.

You say you're concerned that if you can't get his behaviour under control that he won't cope with Middle School - you're right. But chances are, he won't cope for other reasons and they won't cope with him either. Are there any other placement options for him for Middle School? Maybe the best you can do is help him cope NOW.

I don't know if your role extends to questioning the diagnosis. Purely for the sake of curiosity, check out the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) questionnaire on http://www.childbrain.com and see how he scores. Frankly, if he scores as Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) it changes nothing from your point of view if his mother insists it's ADHD. But it could help you understand him better. It will probably help you understand him better anyway, whatever he scores.

Speak softly and carry a tube of Hirudoid (for the bruises).

Marg
 

tryingteacher

New Member
Thank you so so much Marg!! I am going to print your post out so I can highlite pieces of it. I love the idea about the brite postit notes. I have currently been using a timer to help him transition but I will add the post it notes as well. My little guy has an above average IQ and no learning disabilities. Somedays it seems anything and everything sets him off from being asked to sit down to being asked if he wants to go outside to get his wiggles out. He percieves everything as a threat on days when he is extra touchy. I agree with you about the different rules but his mother and our county behavior specialist say I am not consistent enough. I believe this came out of a meeting when I made the comment that I was going to have to be more consistent with him and to enforce our classroom rules with him as well....referring to timeout for throwing things. What you said about kids needing different rules is so true. It is my job to get him to learn but I have yet to gain instructional control with him. I have given him easier work, I have let him pick his own work out, I let him make his schedule, he has a break every 30 minutes and 2 recesses a day. I am begining to think that he is a really sick kid but I just can't admit or bring myself to believe that he is beyond help. I just see so much brilliance and potential in him. I have a lot of new ideas to try come Monday morning so we shall see how it goes. Parents are wonderful. Thanks again!
 

dreamer

New Member
I PM'ed you. I think I mentioned some article called educating the bipolar child and educating the educator in my PM to you. There might be more helpful ideas there

I think those are posted at the CABF website....and maybe also at STarfish Advocacy website?
 

On_Call

New Member
I hesitate to post because this child sounds much like my son. He has often been physically agressive with school staff and completely out of control. He has often said he was done raging - and done a very convincing job at appearing that he was done raging - only to be let out of a restraint to kick at a staff member or throw a chair or something equally as horrible. He was often the catalyst for the clearing of a classroom. It brings back multiple visual memories for me.

I commend you for attempting to work so hard to help your student, despite the obvious hurdles you are facing. Our son's teachers, too, for the most part have really tried to work with us and with him, which has been nice. He is also of above-average intelligence with no academic problems and can be very sweet, funny, caring, etc. We thank God for his good qualities, which we have to remind ourselves of during the particularly bad times.

I agree with Marg that your student's mother is probably in a state of denial at some stage. I've been there. It's nice there (hee hee) but not very realistic. I have signed an authorization so our difficult child's teachers can talk to the psychiatrists and vice versa. That would be a great step, if you can manage to get the mom to agree.

We don't have any special schools in our area that could cater to difficult children, so our son is currently in a collaborative day program that our school pays for and buses difficult child to. The contained classroom was still a bit too much for him to handle this past fall and we are not sure when he will be able to go back. He, too, is facing middle school next year and I am afraid for him as he will be in a new school setting with staff who does not know him.

I think you have been given lots of great advice by those who have posted before me. Again, I commend you for seeking out additional information and help. And, I wish you the best of luck at reaching this difficult child and helping him for the future.
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
This is in process of being edited as it is very old, but thought you could get some ideas out of it.


Classroom Management of
Oppositional Defiant Disordered (ODD) Students
The basics in ODD classroom management are:
1. Escape for the child (in a confrontation, no one wins)
2. Affecting attitudes of everyone
Escape means to "get away" or "get out of"... and when your in a classroom full of children this may seem pretty tricky.
What it means in terms of an ODD student is to "get away" from triggers that bring on the ODD behavior.
And "get out of" old beliefs and habits that do, too.
Ways to move towards ODD confrontations: (Things NOT to do!!)
* responding quickly
* trying to "convince"
* threatening
* raising the stakes
* creating an audience
* keeping it going for long time
* using sarcasm, anger etc.
* using bribes
* "cutting" the ODD child with words
Ways to move away from ODD confrontations: (Things TO DO!)
* giving simple, direct choices, that are real--not "do you want to follow
directions or get kicked out?" An ODD child will always pick "kicked out"
to have a confrontation.
* following the pre-determined behavior plan
* listening
* giving brief and direct responses
* private at all costs
* walking away
Now evaluate yourself and track your progress... do a mental report card
for yourself.
Did you buy into the struggle or did you just "window shop"?
When you are done with your evaluation.. share it with someone else...
another teacher perhaps or a supportive administrator who is struggling with
these same issues.
Or ..... You could be really pro-active and give the parents a call and tell
them of your successes and shortcomings in a situation and you may find that
not only have they tried that same technique but that when they did it.. "it
turned out like this".. This is called "sharing"... a unique concept that
somehow teachers and parents have lost the ability to do as we all bog down
in the legalize of special education law.
Affecting attitudes:
This is where it gets real tricky.. most ODD students are pretty savvy when
it comes to obvious attempts at positive reinforcement.. and you must
understand the they need to "save face" with their quality of ODD'ness and
will reject positive strokes because they think they are being "played".
So this will make them "on guard" even more.. if they think you are trying
to "control" them by "strokes".
Thus ... they get even more determined to "outsmart" you and sabotage your
game before the first quarter starts.
So without the fanfare that works very well for other students, you must
give them the positive stuff also.
But the trick is to "sneak" it past them without arousing their feelings of
being overly controlled.
1. Whisper it as you pass them ... "hey nice work there" or "love the
dreadlocks"... be brief and sincere.. plan your strategy early and be
determined to go with it at the first opportunity.
2. Notes... These can do a lot.. a simple note left somewhere for the ODD
student to discover is not public and the fun for you is in finding inventive
hiding spots for it. * imagine an ODD student finding a note from you inside
his 9 page outline for his science project...*
Most people have done secret pals.. and the fun was in leaving the surprise
without being discovered. Same concept.
Flash cards... This is a new variation on an old theme.
Emotion flash cards.. kept in a pocket or on a clip board... being small
and discreet are the keys to this.
Make a "level of emotion flash cards... 1-5 works great well for many kids.
Not too many but enough to have more than "mad, sad, and glad" which may be
the only emotions ODD students can identify at first.



Start with:
Thrilled... and use it very very sparingly.
The ODD student should not see this except when something very positive has
happened.
Happy... this should express your contentment with the ODD student simply
doing what is expected of everyone with some effort.
Encouragement... this should be common.. "You can do this, I know you can.."
should be used often.
Concern... this should be flashed when the ODD student is beginning to show
signs of an angry confrontation and to "open the door" for the student to
talk to you if needed.
Disappointment... use this when the ODD student makes an inappropriate
comment during class discussion.. a "cue card" that you are unhappy with
something the student is doing that doesn't call audience attention to the
situation .
Now the way to use them... these should be small... palm sized if
necessary... and should be very casually flashed to the student when
appropriate.
Color coding works very well... and if the ODD student is placed properly in your class ( near where you begin instruction ) and way from distractors, only the student will see it.
* plan in advance to explain these flash cards to the ODD student.. this also will be a part of your written plan to avoid confrontations.
This works very well for students who are ADD, ADHD, and have processing deficits or reading difficulty.
Flash cards don't have to used. You can develop a secret system with the ODD student and parents in advance if you like.
* small plastic figurines on your desk work
* color mood charts... with slide to indicate color ( very discreet )
* hand signals
* audible signals like Morse code
* anything that is just between you and the student





Two Rules for Success:
1. When the ODD student is neutral or positive you should be positive and engaging, offering encouraging feedback and instruction.
2. When the ODD student is negative, you should be neutral (emotionless) and business like.. and follow through on pre-determined plans and consequences.
It takes a great deal of tolerance and emotional self-control to not "buy into" confrontations... but the cost of buying in can bankrupt any lesson plan or class.
Recognize the Stages of Anger:* irritation
* agitation
* loss of control
* resolution
Do's and Don't' with ANGRY ODD students:
DO:* use student's name
* remove the audience
* use humor to de-escalate (but never sarcasm)
* double your physical distance
* attempt to distract
* minimize discussion ( not a time to "process"... just allow cool down )
DON’T:* touch the ODD student
* raise your voice
* threaten consequences
* point your finger
* crowd the student
* feed the rage fuel
Watch your own body language!!!
* are you giving personal space?
* how is your posture.. firm and rigid or relaxed?
* eye contact... are you avoiding or engaging and asking to help?
Take inventory of your thoughts:
* are you concentrating or annoyed?
* are you reacting to your plans for the day and left over resentment about previous failed plans?
* concentrate on the ODD student's emotional state and how you are able to help at this crucial time.

Speech:
* calm voice
* slow cadence repeating calmly directions and support.
* communicate your confidence in the ODD student to regain control.
TIME OUT
(This is where so many rigid school rules really fail for ODD students)
In order to work, time out MUST get creative.. and MUST involve being:
* reasonable
* respectful
* fair
Sending the ODD student to principal's office to "fully report" his failure does nothing short of lighting the fuse and adding more fuel.
Sending the ODD student to the School Detention Center (or the land of lepers from child's point of view) only exacerbates the already low self esteem and regard that the ODD student has for him/her self.
So by knowing this in advance, a plan MUST be developed with all involved
to accommodate the ODD student's predictable losses of all behavioral control.
They must be anticipated and plans made to fully address them.
Teachers would not send a child with a bladder disorder to either of the above named places when his/her bladder failed.
So why do we persist in doing so for a behavior disordered child who has virtually no self-control when totally agitated (in a "meltdown")?
It doesn't work!
Never has!
Never will!
This is where you must get creative..
In one individual's behavior plan... * remember individual is first word in IDEA...* he walks off his meltdowns.
He is 11, and he gets a walking pass, and is respected enough to bring himself under control, and return when he is "composed"... he has only done it twice, but his self-confidence doubled each time.
Eventually he will bring himself under control in his seat without the walks. But for now, any control is better than a "total meltdown".

The teacher notices an impending “meltdown” (through her assessment of him that should begin every class period) and gives him an errand to run for her. Such “errands” prevent escalation and the teacher doesn't "out" him in front of class.
He is handed his plan and reads it on his own in hall walking and follows it.
I, ______________________,
1. Will walk fast, not run, down halls a,b,c.
2. Will not stop to look in classrooms or talk to students or staff in halls.
3. Will walk until "icky" feeling is gone.
4. Will think about breathing and remember to do breathing exercises.
5. Will return to class with when calm, return pass to teacher and take seat as quietly as possible.
6. Will talk to teacher as soon as possible about "icky" feeling and where it came from.
This works for him!
And modifications of this nature can work for any child.



Conclusion
This information is intended to give you a place to start with direct confrontation management.
There are also lots of classroom modifications that you are probably more familiar with because they are used all the time with ADHD students. Learning Disability (LD) or ADHD management strategies can be used to enhance the learning of students who have both ODD and ADHD or Learning Disability (LD).
 
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