Seth is a 4 year old boy who, by the end of winter break, has gone from living with mom through Labor Day weekend, then with Grandma until just after Christmas and is now in the care and custody of his aunt and uncle. He lives with his aunt, uncle, their 3 children and his sister in his aunt and uncles home which is near both mom and grandma. At the time that he and his sister moved there, mom had made several trips to jail or rehab and grandma has visitation but no longer has legal rights to make decisions on academic or medical issues. The current living situation is the most stable of the three that he has been in during the school year, but is not a permanent placement. By the end of the school year, Seth and his sister's social worker will have completed the process of terminating mom's parental rights and finding a permanent placement for Seth and his sister. Seth's father is deceased, his sister has a different father, and his aunt and uncle have stated that they are committed to helping through the end of the school year but are not interested in taking permanent custody of the children.
At school, Seth displays many disruptive and, at times, destructive behaviors. The majority of the disruptive behaviors that Seth displays are during large group times when the whole class is on the rug doing the calendar and listening to a story, during small group times when Seth is working on a specific activity with a teacher and 3 to 4 other peers and during lunch when Seth is sitting at a table with a teacher and up to 7 other peers eating lunch or snack. Occasionally, Seth will display these behaviors during free play time when the students are given up to 30 minutes to choose their choice of play activities in the classroom, during gym time which alternates between free choice of gym toys/activities or a structured large class game, or during playground time. During free play time or playground time, Seth prefers to play alone often spending all of his time painting at the easel or digging in the sandbox.
Disruptive behaviors are defined, for Seth, as being shouting while the teacher is talking, physically touching a child or other person near him when that is not part of the activity he is participating in such as sitting for a story, running around when he should be sitting on the carpet or in a chair and throwing objects when it is not part of the activity such as a gym game. Destructive activities have been defined, for Seth, as damaging property that does not belong to him such as ripping pages out of books or another student's journal, writing on things that are not appropriate such as classroom walls, tables or cubbies, and physically tearing things apart such as books and journals or classroom toys.
I believe that the function of Seth's behaviors is to get attention, either good or bad. When ignored, Seth's behaviors tend to escalate until someone says something to him or makes physical contact with him. He enjoys having a seat near the teacher and will usually work toward a reward of some sort (sticker, trinket, etc.). Seth is being assessed for having Fetal Alcohol Effects, but has not yet been given a label or qualified for ECSE services.
Until Seth is completely assessed for Fetal Alcohol, the teacher will have to continue with keeping him close by. The teacher could also have the class as a whole work on modeling appropriate behavior, play-acting as a group, with Seth getting ample opportunities to be the star. If Seth is able to carry over the correct behavior to other activities, reward him. Establish consequences if he slides back to the old destructive/disruptive behavior.
ReplyDeleteWow, Seth has been through a lot just this year. We can only guess what has happened earlier in his short life. He undoubtedly feels abandoned and very confused. My assumption that the behaviors he is showing are a result of his feelings of abandonment and the lack of nurturing and attention he has probably experienced. Seth needs to know beyond a shadow of a doubt what to expect in situations and that someone is there for him always. Try giving him a spot of prime importance next to the teacher for a while or if possible a one on one adult helper. Give him a special chart with stickers for him to monitor his positive behavior from activity to activity. With some positive consistent adult attention and rewards, I think he will quickly.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with everyone on this. I think Seth feels like he has just been shoved around so much that he is trying anything to hold on to someone’s attention on him. He wants to feel special and important instead of getting shifted around like no one cares. I think making him the big helper in the class would be a great thing for him. He would have the control and important that he is craving for. I also think a lot of one on one time with him would be a good thing. Just talking with him in the morning, at lunch, or after school, taking an interest into someone’s life can go a long ways for a kid.
ReplyDeleteSeth really needs some consistent love in his life, I think. Might it be at all possible for him to have some one-on-one time with an adult every day at a specific time?
ReplyDeleteFraming his behavior in a positive way might help, too. "Seth, I really love having you in group! You make group time really fun. But when you run around/touch your friends/whatever, you have to leave group and we miss you when you're sitting out."
If stickers and trinkets are effective, keep with it. However, I think some attention before the outbursts happen might really have a good effect.
How sad. Seth is dying for attention and is trying to get it anyway he can. I would really focus on recognizing and putting all of my energy into noticing when Seth is making the right choices. From my experience with younger students they loved to receive any little re-inforcement-stickers, skittles or just being noticed. Seth would benefit from being a class-room helper and taking a special role within the group. Seth needs to feel that someone cares about him.
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