Re: Stubborn when it's time to work/Kent?

October 4, 2001

In a message dated 10/4/2001 6:35:39 PM Central Daylight Time,

gboughton@... writes:

<< They don't give me any communication. I was using a notebook to question

them about things and they thought I was being too negative. They have a

form that has icon pictures on it for Ted's day and he checks or marks off

the items that he did. Like group time, lunch, art, that sort of

stuff...but it doesn't really tell me anything.

Gail >>

Arggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

I'll send you a copy of 's if you'd like. it's a word doc I think. you

might want to try something like this. or did i already send it Anyway if

you'd like tosee it i'll email it to you, her sped teacher find tuned mine.

lol

Oh and Gail, kick some behind, there is no reason to hold Ted like that.

sigh. what ever caused him to get so angry? what is happening that sets him

off? are they so stupid they think he just flies off the handle for no

reason? ugh. Are you going to remove him from school again?

Good Luck

Joy.

October 4, 2001

<<What type of daily communication do you use besides the good day thing

Gail?

It might be necessary for you to start having them write down what he's

doing

that they don't like....>>

Hi Joy,

They don't give me any communication. I was using a notebook to question

them about things and they thought I was being too negative. They have a

form that has icon pictures on it for Ted's day and he checks or marks off

the items that he did. Like group time, lunch, art, that sort of

stuff...but it doesn't really tell me anything.

Gail

October 4, 2001

<<What type of daily communication do you use besides the good day thing

Gail?

It might be necessary for you to start having them write down what he's

doing

that they don't like....>>

Hi Joy,

They don't give me any communication. I was using a notebook to question

them about things and they thought I was being too negative. They have a

form that has icon pictures on it for Ted's day and he checks or marks off

the items that he did. Like group time, lunch, art, that sort of

stuff...but it doesn't really tell me anything.

Gail

October 4, 2001

<<Are you going to remove him from school again?

Good Luck

Joy. >>

I am seriously considering it.

Yes, Please send me a copy. I'd love to see it. Thanks

Gail

October 4, 2001

<<Are you going to remove him from school again?

Good Luck

Joy. >>

I am seriously considering it.

Yes, Please send me a copy. I'd love to see it. Thanks

Gail

October 4, 2001

I really cannot understand the problem with teachers

writing in the note books. I find it is a must for me

to communicate with about his day. I need to know

what he did good or bad so we can talk about things.

When he is doing his work and doing what he needs to

do...I like to make sure he knows I am proud of him.

Likewise if he is causing trouble I can have a chat

with him about what went on to see his view. (which is

pretty funny sometimes) and tell him better ways to

behave. Or just plain back the teachers up and give

him rewards or consequences. pam mom to erik 9

--- Gail Boughton <gboughton@...> wrote:

> <<What type of daily communication do you use

> besides the good day thing

> Gail?

> It might be necessary for you to start having them

> write down what he's

> doing

> that they don't like....>>

>

> Hi Joy,

> They don't give me any communication. I was using

> a notebook to question

> them about things and they thought I was being too

> negative. They have a

> form that has icon pictures on it for Ted's day and

> he checks or marks off

> the items that he did. Like group time, lunch, art,

> that sort of

> stuff...but it doesn't really tell me anything.

> Gail

>

__________________________________________________

October 4, 2001

I really cannot understand the problem with teachers

writing in the note books. I find it is a must for me

to communicate with about his day. I need to know

what he did good or bad so we can talk about things.

When he is doing his work and doing what he needs to

do...I like to make sure he knows I am proud of him.

Likewise if he is causing trouble I can have a chat

with him about what went on to see his view. (which is

pretty funny sometimes) and tell him better ways to

behave. Or just plain back the teachers up and give

him rewards or consequences. pam mom to erik 9

--- Gail Boughton <gboughton@...> wrote:

> <<What type of daily communication do you use

> besides the good day thing

> Gail?

> It might be necessary for you to start having them

> write down what he's

> doing

> that they don't like....>>

>

> Hi Joy,

> They don't give me any communication. I was using

> a notebook to question

> them about things and they thought I was being too

> negative. They have a

> form that has icon pictures on it for Ted's day and

> he checks or marks off

> the items that he did. Like group time, lunch, art,

> that sort of

> stuff...but it doesn't really tell me anything.

> Gail

>

__________________________________________________

October 5, 2001

We use a daily journal with . His special ed teacher is very reliable

and writes in it everyday. I do too. This has never been an issue ever

since started in the public school system. We also email each other too

if it's something too lengthy to hand write. I'm sure most schools have

computers now, so maybe email would be an option for daily communication. I

get email addresses of teachers for all my children and use them frequently

even if it's just to drop them a " have a great weekend " message.

Jackie, Mom to 13, 11, and Bradley 7

October 5, 2001

We use a daily journal with . His special ed teacher is very reliable

and writes in it everyday. I do too. This has never been an issue ever

since started in the public school system. We also email each other too

if it's something too lengthy to hand write. I'm sure most schools have

computers now, so maybe email would be an option for daily communication. I

get email addresses of teachers for all my children and use them frequently

even if it's just to drop them a " have a great weekend " message.

Jackie, Mom to 13, 11, and Bradley 7

October 5, 2001

In a message dated 10/4/01 10:52:35 AM Central Daylight Time,

gboughton@... writes:

> . The teacher says there are dozens of opportunities for him to get a

> " thumbs up " and if he gets 6, he gets a good day paper. Well, He hasn't

> had a paper all last week or this week. So, I am wondering what is really

> failing here, and I don't believe it is all Ted.

> Gail

>

I really wish that these people would understand that even if things aren't

going good you need to give a kid reinforcement for what they are doing right

(granted, sometimes it takes some looking to find something) ato get back on

track.

Karyn

October 5, 2001

In a message dated 10/4/01 10:52:35 AM Central Daylight Time,

gboughton@... writes:

> . The teacher says there are dozens of opportunities for him to get a

> " thumbs up " and if he gets 6, he gets a good day paper. Well, He hasn't

> had a paper all last week or this week. So, I am wondering what is really

> failing here, and I don't believe it is all Ted.

> Gail

>

I really wish that these people would understand that even if things aren't

going good you need to give a kid reinforcement for what they are doing right

(granted, sometimes it takes some looking to find something) ato get back on

track.

Karyn

October 5, 2001

> . The teacher says there are dozens of opportunities for him to get a

> " thumbs up " and if he gets 6, he gets a good day paper. Well, He hasn't

> had a paper all last week or this week. So, I am wondering what is really

> failing here, and I don't believe it is all Ted.

> Gail

Gail - from where I'm sitting, the reinforcers are WAY too delayed to

motivate Ted. If it was Jimmy, the promise of something good at the end of

the day would be meaningless.

Instead of six " thumbs up " adding up to a good day paper, how about six

" thumbs up " earns an IMMEDIATE choice of a preferred activity? The 1:1 or

teacher should then give him " thumbs ups " for ANYTHING he does that's moving

him in the right direction. Eventually, you can space out the " thumbs up " to

get more done, but initially, reinforcers should be frequent and significant

to TED.

As I mentioned in my other post, Jimmy's 1:1 uses cubes in a jar....when he

gets 10, he gets a choice.

October 5, 2001

> . The teacher says there are dozens of opportunities for him to get a

> " thumbs up " and if he gets 6, he gets a good day paper. Well, He hasn't

> had a paper all last week or this week. So, I am wondering what is really

> failing here, and I don't believe it is all Ted.

> Gail

Gail - from where I'm sitting, the reinforcers are WAY too delayed to

motivate Ted. If it was Jimmy, the promise of something good at the end of

the day would be meaningless.

Instead of six " thumbs up " adding up to a good day paper, how about six

" thumbs up " earns an IMMEDIATE choice of a preferred activity? The 1:1 or

teacher should then give him " thumbs ups " for ANYTHING he does that's moving

him in the right direction. Eventually, you can space out the " thumbs up " to

get more done, but initially, reinforcers should be frequent and significant

to TED.

As I mentioned in my other post, Jimmy's 1:1 uses cubes in a jar....when he

gets 10, he gets a choice.

October 5, 2001

When a notebook was suggested by the school system at the meeting yesterday,

the teachers said they felt it would overburden them. I was miffed. I told

them that if that's all it took for them to feel overburdened, then they had

no business being around kids period. I swear, what is the deal with these

teachers? Beth

October 5, 2001

When a notebook was suggested by the school system at the meeting yesterday,

the teachers said they felt it would overburden them. I was miffed. I told

them that if that's all it took for them to feel overburdened, then they had

no business being around kids period. I swear, what is the deal with these

teachers? Beth

October 5, 2001

That is a poor excuse, Beth, for the teacher to use for not writing in

a com-

munication book. Our children have speech delays and cannot tell us

all the

time what happened during the school day, so I would think this should

be

enough justification to get one implemented......to work on

conversational

speech when our children come home from school when we want to hear

about

their day, much like we would with all our children! What a cop out,

over-

burdened.....Paaaleeease! Let them walk in our shoes for one school

year!

Jackie, Mom to 13ds, 11, and Bradley 7

October 5, 2001

That is a poor excuse, Beth, for the teacher to use for not writing in

a com-

munication book. Our children have speech delays and cannot tell us

all the

time what happened during the school day, so I would think this should

be

enough justification to get one implemented......to work on

conversational

speech when our children come home from school when we want to hear

about

their day, much like we would with all our children! What a cop out,

over-

burdened.....Paaaleeease! Let them walk in our shoes for one school

year!

Jackie, Mom to 13ds, 11, and Bradley 7

October 5, 2001

Jackie, this was just before I told them their services were no longer

needed, and that they would never be allowed near my son. I made them feel

small, insignificant, and belittled. Good, I meant to. Maybe now they know

just a little about how they made Austin feel... We went on a field trip

this morning with his new class, which happens to be Dakota's class as well.

Can you say we had a COLD WET RAINY day at the zoo, but still had a great

time? LOL

Beth

October 5, 2001

Jackie, this was just before I told them their services were no longer

needed, and that they would never be allowed near my son. I made them feel

small, insignificant, and belittled. Good, I meant to. Maybe now they know

just a little about how they made Austin feel... We went on a field trip

this morning with his new class, which happens to be Dakota's class as well.

Can you say we had a COLD WET RAINY day at the zoo, but still had a great

time? LOL

Beth

October 5, 2001

Way to go, Beth. I hope it leaves a lasting impression on them!

Jackie

October 5, 2001

Way to go, Beth. I hope it leaves a lasting impression on them!

Jackie

October 5, 2001

- I think you have now been in touch with 's teacher on email.

She is so wonderful - today she used a hand and on each finger was an activity

he was to complete. She put a smiley face sticker on each as he completed them

and gave him a high-five with the hand. When he had done them all - he got to

play. He had the most wonderful morning.

Our local Down syndrome organization awards teachers/therapists who work with

our children and promote and encourage an inclusive environment. I nominated her

and she won and will have her award presented at this month's conference. I feel

like the luckiest person in the world. I never want to leave kindergarten!!!!

Thank you again for such excellent and practical advice. in Dallas

Re: Stubborn when it's time to work/Kent?

- like many other kids whose moms have already posted, Jimmy is a

world-class " no " sayer. LOL - his kindergarten teacher had HER major goal for

the year set to stop him from saying it....and she failed! In any event, he now

has a full-blown behavior plan to address a multitude of things. Here are a few

suggestions that work well for Jim in the area of keeping him on track....

1) The MAIN thing is use of a positive reinforcement system. Jim has a jar

with 10 unifix cubes that the team uses to keep him on task and positive.

Basically, once he gets the 10 cubes in the jar, he gets a small " choice " as a

reinforcer. Depending on the day, those cubes go into the jar fast or slow!!

On very difficult days, or for very difficult or non-preferential tasks, his 1:1

gives him a cube when he complies even a little bit, and then reminds him of

" what's coming " when he gets 10 cubes. It can sometimes take him as little as

5-10 minutes to get a choice, depending on how much difficulty he's having on a

given day. On GOOD days, he will work 45 min to an hour before he gets his

choice. He is at a new school, so they always use the cubes. At his old

school, with his familiar 1:1 aide, there were parts of the day where he didn't

need the cubes at all. The key is to make sure that the " choices " are something

he REALLY wants. Jim loves the computer, doing puzzles, coloring and looking at

books, so that's usually what they use.

2) A Picture Schedule - The events in Jim's day are set out for him in a

picture schedule, basically pictures of each event slid into a 9 pocket

baseball-card sleeve, that he carries with him wherever he goes. Each card has

a colored " ALL DONE " insert behind it, so that when he's finished with an

activity, he slides in the " all done " card and moves to the next one. This can

help him to complete an activity he's not so thrilled about.....his 1:1 just

reminds him what's coming next, after he's done with the one he's resisting.

The picture schedule also helps him to prepare for what's coming next - gives

him that processing time that others have spoken about.

3) Use of simple, direct language. For example " First MATH, then PUZZLE " .

When people use too much verbage with Jim, he tunes them out. (LOL - hmmmm -

judging from the length of this post, I'm wondering if the same applies to all

of you!)

4) Offer him a choice, so that he feels he has some control. Every night at

our house, you can hear " Jim, do you want to do spelling first, or your math

sheet? "

Lastly, I can't say enough about getting a trained behavior specialist on the

team. They will tell the team that they MUST do the things above....and the

team will listen. (at least in my experience, they will) Somehow it's

different coming from the specialist than from the mom.

Good luck....

Good luck with your difficulties!

October 5, 2001