SNAs

This webinar will introduce practical strategies which can be easily implemented by SNAs and teachers in the classroom to support students who display challenging behaviour. Challenging behaviour can disrupt learning for the whole classroom and can create a tense, stressful environment. The way we respond to challenging behaviour will also impact other students in the class and so we must be mindful of the role we play in maintaining our own regulation while addressing the behaviour.

We will discuss ways in which we can:

• Decrease the demand for the child
• Adapt our communication style to support the child’s understanding
• Use emotion coaching to label and validate feelings
• Set and maintain clear boundaries
• How and when to have reflective conversations
• Identify triggers and de-escalate behaviours
• Implement movement, sensory and play breaks throughout the school day

SNAs should come away from this webinar with a variety of strategies to trial in the classroom.

Bio of Presenter: Martha Ní Fhlatharta

Martha is an Irish school-based Occupational Therapist, working specifically in a specialist school in the UK for children with Developmental Language Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Coordination Disorder and accompanying sensory processing, motor skill, visual perceptual and executive functioning needs. Her role mainly focuses on increasing independence in activities of daily living, using sensory strategies, adaptive equipment and assistive technology to support student participation within the classroom, home environment and within the community.

Behaviour is a form of communication and students with special educational needs and various home circumstances may often display challenging behaviour as a way of letting us know their needs are not being met. While we are not able to control the intense emotions a child may be feeling, we are able to change how we respond. The way we respond to children is hugely important - if we power over them by raising our voices and punishing the behaviour they will feel shame, lack of trust and unsafe in their environment, which will likely lead to further displays of challenging behaviour.

By meeting the child at their level and aiming to understand why the behaviour is happening, we can show children that we are safe, trusting adults who they can rely on through difficult situations. When we support children in navigating their big emotions, we can help reframe their thinking so that they can come to us as a place of safety. This webinar will discuss a variety of strategies that can be easily implemented throughout the school day to build positive, trusting relationships with all students, but in particular the students in the class who may display challenging behaviour as they are often the ones who need the most love.

Bio of Presenter: Martha Ní Fhlatharta

Martha is an Irish school-based Occupational Therapist, working specifically in a specialist school in the UK for children with Developmental Language Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Coordination Disorder and accompanying sensory processing, motor skill, visual perceptual and executive functioning needs. Her role mainly focuses on increasing independence in activities of daily living, using sensory strategies, adaptive equipment and assistive technology to support student participation within the classroom, home environment and within the community.

Children with special educational needs and who display challenging behaviour require adult support to help regulate their emotions before they learn to do this independently. Challenging behaviour often presents itself when a child is outside of their window of tolerance; they are unable to control their feelings or emotions and this leads to an emotional outburst, use of violence, inappropriate language, throwing furniture, disrupting others or leaving the classroom. When a child cannot regulate their emotions, it impacts their whole day including their ability to access learning, maintain peer relationships and participate in extra-curricular activities.

This webinar will introduce how to identify the different states of regulation and look at practical strategies which can support the child in returning to their "just-right" state for learning. We will look at using two distinct programmes - The Zones of Regulation and The Alert Programme, to increase a child's awareness of their own feelings, emotions and state of alertness. SNAs will be supported in responding to children who are dysregulated in a calm, empathetic and caring way to coach children through their difficult feelings to help them regulate their nervous system.

Bio of Presenter: Martha Ní Fhlatharta

Martha is an Irish school-based Occupational Therapist, working specifically in a specialist school in the UK for children with Developmental Language Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Coordination Disorder and accompanying sensory processing, motor skill, visual perceptual and executive functioning needs. Her role mainly focuses on increasing independence in activities of daily living, using sensory strategies, adaptive equipment and assistive technology to support student participation within the classroom, home environment and within the community.

The classroom environment can be overwhelming for children with special educational needs. They may find the lights are too bright, the electronic board makes a distracting ticking noise, other children are whispering and giggling, there’s construction work happening outside, they may be unable to read the board, they might feel uncomfortable in their chair; the difficulties which may present in the class are endless. This webinar will introduce practical strategies which can be implemented in all classrooms to create an environment which is more conducive to regulation and therefore more conducive to learning. SNAs will be provided with strategies to help create a calmer learning environment through:

• Use of simple visuals
• Sensory strategies such as calming music and dimming the lights
• Reducing external stimuli which may be distracting
• Creating a calm/quiet corner
• Use of a sensory toolbox
• Implementing mindfulness techniques within the classroom

Increasing access to movement, sensory and play breaks.

Bio of Presenter: Martha Ní Fhlatharta

Martha is an Irish school-based Occupational Therapist, working specifically in a specialist school in the UK for children with Developmental Language Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Coordination Disorder and accompanying sensory processing, motor skill, visual perceptual and executive functioning needs. Her role mainly focuses on increasing independence in activities of daily living, using sensory strategies, adaptive equipment and assistive technology to support student participation within the classroom, home environment and within the community.

Challenging behaviour can be disruptive to the whole classroom. It can upset other students and make teachers and SNAs feel helpless. We must remember that behaviour is a form of communication and quite often a child is trying to let us know that their needs are not being met. Children need to feel that we as adults have connected with the emotional part of their brain before they can engage in the problem-solving areas. We can do this by being playful, curious and empathetic.

Play is the most important occupation of a child. Children learn through play and they can feel safe through play. We will look at using playfulness to diffuse challenging situations. This includes the importance of tone of voice and being silly with children! We will look at a variety of scenarios which may happen in the class and how we can respond with playfulness instead of frustration or anger. The webinar will also introduce the concept of curiosity and how we can support children in understanding their behaviours and why they are happening. This webinar will focus on the child as a whole, rather than focusing on their behaviours. It aims to help you see what may be driving the behaviour and how we can increase feelings of safety in school.

Bio of Presenter: Martha Ní Fhlatharta

Martha is an Irish school-based Occupational Therapist, working specifically in a specialist school in the UK for children with Developmental Language Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Coordination Disorder and accompanying sensory processing, motor skill, visual perceptual and executive functioning needs. Her role mainly focuses on increasing independence in activities of daily living, using sensory strategies, adaptive equipment and assistive technology to support student participation within the classroom, home environment and within the community.