In this new occasional series by Paediatric Occupational Therapist Mariza Ferreira, we consider some of the sensory, motor coordination and emotional regulatory issues which could be affecting children with high learning potential.<\/p>\n
Dear Teacher,<\/p>\n
Let me start by saying that I do not want your job.\u00a0 I cannot imagine standing (or in the recent year sitting in front of a computer) for hours teaching a group of anywhere between 15 to 30 pupils.\u00a0 You need a special grace for that which I don\u2019t have but you do.\u00a0 And I applaud you.\u00a0 I think you have one of the hardest jobs in the world and if the last year has proven anything, it is that your job is one of the most essential to our society as a whole.<\/p>\n
What I am good at is working with children on a one-to-one basis, to first of all identify and second of all help them overcome particular barriers they have in carrying out those tasks they need to do or want to do at home or at school.\u00a0 My job allows me to really get into the detail of things in order to not only help a child directly, but also provide you with some bespoke management strategies in class for that particular child.\u00a0 I have always maintained that my role is a supportive one to yours; we combine our various professional strengths and together give that child a better chance of success.<\/p>\n
The children I typically see are the ones who struggle severely with having the \u2018correct behaviour\u2019 in class in order to learn\u2026 They can\u2019t keep up with writing and if they do their handwriting is illegible, they are too active, not attentive enough, too disruptive, too oppositional, very argumentative, away with the fairies, have flashes of brilliance but, if you blink, you\u2019ll miss it – the list goes on.\u00a0 In most of these cases, when I look at how they function i.e. carry out a detailed occupational therapy assessment, I can almost always identify the roots, or some of the roots, for their behaviour being out of line.\u00a0 Some of these roots are motor coordination difficulties, sensory processing difficulties, and emotional regulation difficulties – the stuff a paediatric Occupational Therapist loves to tackle.<\/p>\n
It is not always easy to work with these children but I more often than not get good results.\u00a0 Just recently a mother of a high learning potential (HLP) child, with a combination of the above mentioned difficulties that has resulted in him being homeschooled, said this after my initial assessment, \u201cYou got him to do more in the assessment than others have for years<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0 I am not telling you this to sing my own praises, I am telling you as I want to share with you a mindset change I made years ago which was really the turning point of my success rate in working with children.\u00a0 I believe it will really help you too – especially if you feel at your wits end with THAT child in your class.\u00a0 I realise I may be preaching to the choir here, but I am going to do it anyway.\u00a0 Here it is:<\/p>\n We need to understand and believe that children have a fundamental need to \u2018fit in\u2019 and \u2018be good\u2019.\u00a0 If their behaviour is off, they are trying to tell you something.\u00a0 They are trying to tell you they need help.\u00a0 They use behaviour as their words fail them.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n If you really agree with me and believe this, your approach towards them will be different without you needing to anguish over exactly what you need to change.\u00a0 And here is the secret:\u00a0 Children pick up on this belief, they feel safer, and more willing to try again!<\/p>\n Seven Top Tips for Spotting Issues:<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you start thinking about what underlying message a child\u2019s behaviour is trying to tell you, it becomes much easier to manage the issues they are struggling with.<\/p>\n In my next blog we will look at how you can help THAT child who struggles significantly with handwriting.<\/p>\n Your specialist Paediatric Occupational Therapist\n
\nMariza<\/p>\n
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