Advice On Behaviour Of A Child

[Guest]

have a child who can be very aggressive if things dont go his way, eg if he doent wnat to come in from outdoor play for lunch,

 

he will bite, hit, swear, kick, shout in adults face etc

 

we have noticed it is when he dosnt want to do something so ensure we give plenty of warnings and time beofre things change or happen and we are introducing a visual timetable.

 

there are othr problems too though

 

he doesnt really eat, mum thinks it is a phobia of some foods so she gives him whatever he wnats or whatever sh knows h will eat (sandwichs, pizza, fish fingers) but he eats none of the nursery food and she doesnt want us to prepare any speacial meals for him.

 

she has had advice from HV about trying new food and keeping at it but says she becomes frustrated that h doesnt eat the food she prepares and doent wnat to keep throwing food away or wasting her time cooking food that wont be eaten, and also she gets upset that he is hungry, so gives in

 

also his general bhaviour is quite bizarre, its really hard to explain but ill try. his imagination is quite wild and he can tell the most strange stories or make unusual comments (1 example- out of the blue "you dont put rabbits in th washing machine do you?"), while in interaction with an adult he will blurt things out or talk about things that are inappropriate to the conversation already happening, he is a loner and doesnt interact with other children, and other children seem to make no attempt at involving him in their play.

 

if attempting to talk to him he will try and distract you with a story/tale- or if you say X can you do this he will say im not X im a dog/cat/rabbit/horse and carry on what he is doing.

 

mum is adamant he shows no aggressive behaviour at home, and that he dont see or hear swearing or aggrssive behaviour at home- but we are unsure of this and she did admit at a later date she has shouted at him in the past

 

 

any suggestions as to what w can do, mum seems to not wnat any help with his diet but could this be affcting his behaviour/concentration?

i know i havnt really explained his "strange" bhaviour very well, but any ideas?

[Guest]

Hmmm, How old is he?

Has he always displayed this type of behaviour or is it new, or is he new to your setting?

 

Do you think his verbalisations are a clever avoidance technique he's discovered or maybe an indication of his understanding / assimilation of concepts?

 

Is he aggresive at other times or is it always linked to 'not getting his own way'?

 

What is his language development like? Would he play language games to help you ascertain his comprehension / communication levels? ie: talking about picture cards (or objects), placing pictures or objects into a story sequence etc.

 

What are the consequences when he does kick bite etc, how does he handle this?

 

The eating issue is a difficult one which needs mum on board to maintain consistency of approach, also making too much of an issue of food, as I'm sure you are aware can exacerbate the situation. Strange mum has used the term 'phobia' about food, rather than like or dislike.

 

 

How is he esponding to the visual timetable? Is it changes in routine that cause aggression? Could you plan a reward type routine, ie: if you come indoors you can then play......something else he likes.

Same at snack bar, if he eats ( or even takes a little bite of) something he's not keen on then the reward something he likes.

 

How is he with full group activities such as circle games / songs?

 

I'd suggest doing event sample obs, try to determine his cognitive level re: language and ask for area SENCO and HV to visit for a chat.

 

 

sorry lots of questions.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

My advice would be to get your Area Senco involved as soon as possible. Another pair of experienced eyes is always helpful but I was thinking how slow the process is if you need to involve external agencies at some stage and the earlier you start the better for all involved. If the Area Senco doesn't see a problem you've lost nothing. Don't forget you will need to have specific permission from the parent. Maybe the Senco is already involved with another child and could do a general visit.............

[Shiny]

Would mum come in for a session? She could see first hand if there was any aggressive behaviour displayed. She may also see that his behaviour is different from the other children of a similar age.

 

The food thing is really hard though. If mum is not on board it would be almost impossible to break the cycle. I have a very fussy eater on my snack table, every day he turns his nose up at fruit, vegetables, cheese, crackers, bread, toast, sandwiches, well everything really. After peaking to mum I started to let him investigate food, pulling it apart etc. When he was comfortable with it on his hands I encouraged him to give it a kiss etc. The other day without thinking he put a piece of cucmber in his mouth, realised it wasn't horrible and ate it!! You could have knocked me down with a feather!!

[Guest]

I agree with others that you should get area SENCO involved ASAP. It sounds like he may have Aspergers/ be somewhere on the autisti spectrum. A visual timetable should help and also getting him to feel in control, by giving choices, e.g. at coming in time. 'Do you want to line up at the front or in the middle?' so that he makes a choice but it is still on his terms. The area SENO should have lots of ideas, hopefully.

[Susan]

I have to say that these sound typical of the symptoms of the autistic spectrum and you should involve your SENco etc as soon as possible. Marie has some good ideas.

[Guest]

Well done Shiny - way to go! Bet you were really chuffed!

[Guest]

Hi I had a boy like that he was diagnosed as ADHD with Autistic tendencies. He still has problems at school. I would get his mother to get her health visitor to get him refered to your local paedatrician and then hospital/behaviour centre. If you can get a 1-1 for him it would take the strain off of your other staff.

Our little boy used to do the story bit and come up with very odd sentences that were totally out of context with the conversation around him. I think mum must leave him well alone at home that way he's no problem, and problably doesn't behave the same as at nursery/pre-school.

I'm sure your area SENCO would give you support.

Good luck I know our little one was very tiring on everybody

Steph

[Guest]

sorry forgot to say he is 3.

 

he moved to my pre school room about july from the todders, they didnt really have a problem with aggression but he didnt eat for them.

 

its interesting u ask (forgot who) about the verbalisations being avoidance as this is what i thought, trying to distract us from what we are asking/doing? should i ignore this then?

 

agression sems to always be linked to not getting his own way. we have started to give him choices, eg at wash hands time before lunch asking which sink are u using, this seems to work.

 

we try to assess each outburst of aggression befroe dealing with it depending on what has happened to cause the aggression,

we distarct or ignore shouting, swearing and this works but other times when he doesnt calm down we use time out- moved away from the other children and usually he lies down- still shouting, kicking out.

 

he has started to sit down for whole group activities like singing and story, which he didnt do before so i think he is responding well to knowing the routine, but if joining in smaller group activities, which he rarely does, he doesnt really say much. preferring to play alone or being imaginative

 

i will do some observations and go from there! feel stupid for asking but what does an event sample observation include?

Edited October 12, 2008 by Guest

[Guest]

Good to hear he is responding to some of your strategies.

 

No need to feel silly about your question, an event sample obs is mainly used to inform if there is a pattern to any specific behaviour, for example note down each time there is an outburst. The length of time is how long a length of string, keep doing them for say a period of one or two weeks to see if a pattern shows. Even if a pattern doesn't show it may indicate what triggers, and what works in de-escelations strategies used. So note ABC in your event obs, A=Antecedent, where, what happened just prior, B = the actual behaviour, C = the consequence- ie: strategy used, how adults dealt with it, how he responded.

 

The language could be inability to understand the social context of the situation, or be a diversion tactic on his part, again note these down, say something like that's interesting but we'll talk about that later at the moment I'd like you to......" then repeat assertively what you need/want him to do. Remember to soon after go to him and repeat what he said, asking for further conversation on what he said, it will be interesting to see his response.

It's also worth noting down all his positive behaviours (on same or different sheet) These may show a pattern of when he feels most secure and comfortable within the setting.

 

Good luck, let us know how it all goes.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

thanks for that

 

should i note down the language he uses or things he says as a seperate observation as and when they come up?

[Guest]

thanks for that

 

should i note down the language he uses or things he says as a seperate observation as and when they come up?

 

 

Now come on northernbird, have some confidence in your knowledge, you know the answer to your question. (conveyed in the nicest possible way). You do what works for you.

 

I'm sure you will do your observations in a way that gives you the information you need.

 

Peggy

 

p.s. My foster son comes out with many 'obscure' comments, you know the ones that make you do a 'double take'. I look at my hubby with a quizzicle expression and we ask each other, "Where did 'that' come from". Yes, when we don't fully understand a particular aspect of a child it does waver our confidence in our own knowledge of childrens development, but it is also these moments that make working with children so wonderful and special, doesn't it.

[Cait]

Some ASD children don't like eye contact, but some (I have found) actively seek it as reassurance. We had a little girl a couple of years ago who would be absolutely hyper until we squatted down, held her hand and gave her eye contact and told her it was 'ok' (whatever had been upsetting her). We also found using the computer great for a 'bribe' (come inside and you can have 5 minutes laying Pingu - and she watched as we set the timer to 5 minutes).

[Guest]

hi all

 

a while back i posted about my concerns over a child's behaviour in my pre school room (the child is 3.5year s old)

 

my concerns came from mainly his frequent aggressive outbursts, plus some inappropriate communication skills ( speaking out of context etc)

 

after my last post we used the ABC method of recording his outbursts and as we thought they were mainly surrounding his unwillingness to do things when we asked eg time to tidy up, time to sit at the table etc.

 

from this we introduced a now and next board for him, ensure we give reminders and choices eg wash hands time are u can use the twist tap or the push tap.

 

these have definately shown an improvement in his behaviour- only 1 major outburst like what we saw before- hitting bitin swearing, and this was aimed at a member of staff no t usually based in the room

 

there have been a few occasions he has shouted at staff member of staff- but i think we have more of an understanding of his behvaiour now so know how to redirect this.

 

 

my question is the strategies we have in place are defo working- but as the child does still show some agression- shouting- are the strategies enough or should i follow this further???

Edited November 25, 2008 by Guest

[Beau]

Hi northernbird,

 

I've merged your two topics together to save any possible confusion.