dealing with a problem child in reception
class
Question: I have a new child in
my reception class who is quite disruptive and negative. Whenever I ask her to
do something she says no, even if it is something she wants to do. She is quite
underdeveloped in terms of size and struggles with balance, often falling over
other children on the carpet. I am concerned about
her influence on other class members - they have begun to let her get her own
way to avoid her tantrums. I would appreciate some advice about how best to deal
with her.
Corinne Abisgold, Jft's educational psychologist,
answers: Thank you for your question. Separate issues come to mind in relation
to this child, so I have arranged them in sequence in accordance to action that
you might take.
The child's background?
How much
do you know about her previous experience? Has she attended nursery or is this
her first experience of a learning environment? If she has attended playgroup/nursery
it would be very helpful to talk to staff about how she behaved there and strategies
that helped. This will enable you to put her present needs in context. It
will also be helpful to find out as much as possible about her early history -
developmental milestones, speech, walking and so on. And if they were reached
age appropriately. When you have considered this information
you need to reflect on the curriculum on offer and whether it meets her needs/level
of development. If she is a developmentally delayed child in many areas she will
need a differentiated curriculum which might include time in a nursery setting
to develop language and play skills.
Who else has been involved?
When you meet with parents try to find out if other professionals have been involved.
(You may wish to talk to the family health visitor). If medical professionals
have not been involved, a referral to a child development team's paediatrician
for an assessment can be very helpful. They'll check her overall development,
including hearing and vision. As you have mentioned that she
is small in size and has poor balance I think an assessment would be very appropriate.
Child development/assessment teams often have clinical psychologists working with
them that can offer support to parents in relation to behavioural issues within
the home. Assess her level of understanding
You
mention that she always says no to your requests. The first thing to assess is
her level of language and understanding. Does she understand what you are asking?
Does she have developmental delay in her language skills/does she hear what you
are saying? Remember to keep your language simple and try
to repeat the same phrases. In order to avoid "no", give choices rather
than ask her to do something. For example, ask her whether she wants to play with
the Lego or look at a book. Try to build in success so that she can't say no,
choose activities she enjoys and ask her to choose between two positive choices.
Time out strategy
If she refuses to participate in an activity
after you have given her choices then you may need to use a time out strategy.
Withdraw her to a spot (a cushion or chair, for example) where she must wait until
she is ready to participate. You need to make it very clear
through the language you use that you are placing her away from the group and
from activities until she chooses to participate. The skill in time out is not
to make it rewarding by giving too much attention. If possible
avoid eye contact or raising your voice and ensure you give attention to the others
that are behaving appropriately - while giving firm verbal/physical prompts to
remove her to time out. Record instances of time out - how long it took for her
to calm down and choose to return to the choices provided - to monitor the success
of this strategy. I would only use time out if you are sure that she can participate
with understanding and enjoyment in the activities offered. Talk
to the other children
You may need to talk to the other children about
supporting this child when she is not present. You can ask them for ideas to help
her join in. You also need to enlist their understanding and help in ignoring
unwanted behaviour and praising/noticing positive behaviour. Using circle time
with the whole class (including this child) will model talking and listening skills.
Create an IEP
Finally, you will need to discuss
with your school Senco and then with parents about creating an IEP for this child
and also an Individual Behaviour Plan. In order to monitor change it is very important
to take a baseline measure of where the child is in relation to their behaviour
and the success over time of the interventions. Parents need
to be fully involved in goal setting and supporting changes, ideally working on
the same targets and methods within the home setting. Behaviour changes gradually
over time and it is important to recognise the small successes that are occurring. | 
