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Discipline for special needs children


Disciplining Your Child With Special Needs

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    From the moment you heard the diagnosis, you knew life would be more challenging for your child than for most. So when you ask him to do something and it's not done, you let it go. Does he really need you to point out his limitations? Or maybe you fear that what you'd like him to do, or not do, is impossible for him to achieve.

    But here's the truth: If you feel that your son or daughter doesn't deserve discipline, it's like telling your child, "I don't believe you can learn." And if you don't believe it, how will your child?

    What experts call "behavior management" is not about punishing or demoralizing your child. Instead, it's a way to set boundaries and communicate expectations in a nurturing, loving way. Discipline — correcting kids' actions, showing them what's right and wrong, what's acceptable and what's not — is one of the most important ways that all parents can show their kids that they love and care about them.

    Here are some strategies to help parents discipline a child who has special needs.

    Be Consistent

    The benefits of discipline are the same whether kids have special needs or not. In fact, kids who have trouble learning respond very well to discipline and structure. But for this to work, parents have to make discipline a priority and be consistent.

    Correcting kids is about establishing standards — whether that's setting a morning routine or dinnertime manners — and then teaching them how to meet those expectations. All kids, regardless of their needs and abilities, crave this consistency. When they can predict what will happen next in their day, they feel confident and safe.

    Yes, they will test these boundaries — all kids do. But it's up to you to affirm that these standards are important and let your child know that you believe he or she can meet them.

    Learn About Your Child's Condition

    To understand your child's behavior, you have to understand the things that affect it — including his or her condition. So no matter what challenge your child faces, try to learn as much about the unique medical, behavioral, and psychological factors that affect his or her development.

    Read up on the condition and ask the doctor about anything you don't understand. Also talk to members of your child's care team and other parents (especially those with kids who have similar issues) to help determine if your child's challenging behavior is typical or related to his or her individual challenges. For example, can another parent relate to the trouble you have getting your 5-year-old dressed each morning? Sharing experiences will give you a way to measure your expectations and learn which behaviors are related to your child's diagnosis and which are purely developmental. You also might pick up some helpful tips about how to handle the behavior you are noticing.

    If you have trouble finding parents of kids with similar challenges, consider joining an online support or advocacy group for families of kids with special needs. Once you know what is typical behavior for your child's age and health challenges, you can set realistic behavioral expectations.

    Defining Expectations

    Establishing rules and discipline are a challenge for any parent. So keep your behavior plan simple and work on one challenge at a time. And as your child meets one behavioral goal, he or she can strive for the next one.

    Here are some pointers.

    Use Rewards and Consequences

    Work within a system that includes rewards (positive reinforcement) for good behavior and natural consequences for bad behavior. Natural consequences are punishments that are directly related to the behavior. For example, if your child is throwing food, you would take away the plate.

    But not every kid responds to natural consequences, so you might have to match the consequence to your child's values. For instance, a child with autism who likes to be alone might consider a traditional "time out" rewarding — instead, take away a favorite toy or video game for a period of time.

    After correcting your child for doing something wrong, offer a substitute behavior. So if your child is talking too loudly or hitting you to get your attention, work on replacing that with an appropriate behavior such as saying or signaling "help me" or getting your attention in appropriate ways, such as tapping your shoulder. Active ignoring is a good consequence for misbehavior meant to get your attention. This means not rewarding bad behavior with your attention (even if it's negative attention, like scolding or yelling).

    Use Clear and Simple Messages

    Communicate your expectations to your child in a simple way. For kids with special needs, this may require more than just telling them. You may need to use pictures, role playing, or gestures to be sure your child knows what he or she is working toward.

    Keep verbal and visual language simple, clear, and consistent. Explain as simply as possible what behaviors you want to see. Consistency is key, so make sure that grandparents, babysitters, siblings, and teachers are all on board with your messages.

    Offer Praise

    Encourage accomplishment by reminding your child about what he or she can earn for meeting the goals you've set, whether it's getting stickers, screen time, or listening to a favorite song. And be sure to praise and reward your child for effort as well as success. So a child who refuses to poop in the toilet may be rewarded for using a potty near the toilet.

    Another strategy: practice "time-in" — when you catch your child doing something right, praise him or her for it. In certain cases, time-in can be more effective than punishment, because kids naturally want to please their parents. By getting credit for doing something right, they'll likely want to do it again.

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    Establish a Routine

    Children with certain conditions, like autism and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), respond particularly well to discipline that's based on knowing exactly what will happen next. So try to stick to the same routine every day. For example: If your child tends to melt down in the afternoon after school, set a schedule for free time. Maybe he or she needs to have a snack first and then do homework before playtime.

    Charts can be helpful. If your child is non-verbal or pre-verbal, draw pictures or use stickers to indicate what comes next. Set a schedule that's realistic and encourage input from your child where appropriate.

    Believe in Your Child

    If, after taking his first few steps, your little one kept falling down, would you get him some crutches or a wheelchair? No. So don't do the same with a child with special needs. Maybe your child can't put on his or her shoes the first time, or 10th time, but keeps trying. Encourage that!

    When you believe your child can do something, you empower him or her to reach that goal. The same is true for behavior. For example, if your child is too aggressive when playing with other kids, don't stop the play altogether. Instead, work with your child to limit the physicality of the play. You may want to plan for non-physical activities during play dates, like arts and crafts projects. Use discipline where necessary in the form of time-outs, enforced turn-taking, and rules like "no touching" — and provide rewards when your wishes are met.

    Whatever you do, don't give up on your child when the going gets tough. Bad behavior that's ignored in the early years can become unbearable, even dangerous, in the teen years and adulthood. Be patient and take the time to work with your child to help reach his or her best potential. Your vote of confidence is sometimes all your child needs to succeed.

    Have Confidence in Your Abilities

    Discipline is an exhausting undertaking. There will be good days when you're amazed by your child's progress, bad days when it seems like all your hard work was forgotten, and plateaus where it seems like further progress is impossible. But remember this: Behavior management is a challenge for all parents, even those of kids who are typically developing. So don't give up!

    If you set an expectation in line with your child's abilities, and you believe he or she can accomplish it, odds are it will happen. If your efforts don't result in changes, talk to your child’s doctor, therapist, or behavior specialist to help reach your goals. He or she can work with you to develop a behavior plan that's tailored to your child's special needs.

Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
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How to Discipline a Special Needs Child

 

Parents of special needs children are deeply invested in helping their kids develop appropriate social behaviors, and discipline is one of the tools they use for providing this help. It’s important to remember that discipline is not the same thing as punishment, but instead is a vital form of guidance through which parents show their caring. While there are some basic truths that apply to handling behavior problems in all children, those children who struggle socially, behaviorally and academically benefit from a specialized approach. Here is an introduction to meeting the challenge of disciplining a child with ADHD, learning disorder or other neurobehavioral disorder.

Establish Clear Ground Rules

One of the greatest struggles for some children with neurobehavioral issues is identifying and remembering the expected forms of behavior. Since the child may be so distracted by messages from his or her own nervous system, they may not be paying attention to the disruption their own behavior is causing. When parents provide calm, clear information about exactly which behaviors they expect from their child, it helps calm the confusion and inner turbulence that the child may be feeling. Clear instructions are essential to promote the child’s linear information processing, and this kind of instruction fulfills the parent's role as the child’s most important teacher.

Communicate Positively

Ignoring bad behavior and rewarding good behavior is one of the gentlest and most reliable methods of changing someone’s actions. By providing positive reinforcement at those times when the child fulfills behavioral expectations, parents create a safe, predictable environment. It is important to provide the praise or reward as soon as possible after the desired behavior, even if the positive reinforcement consists of a star on a wall chart. If the child must be told to stop doing something, this command should be phrased positively. For example, if the child is poking his brother, the parent can say, “Put your hand down at your side. ” A child throwing things can be redirected to soft stuffed toys that are OK to throw.

Offer Choices Wherever Possible

Sometimes when a child is resisting something that they must do, such as getting ready for bed, the parent can defuse the tension by offering choices. A resistant child in this situation might calm down if they are given a choice of which pajamas to wear and which toy will join them in bed. This strategy hands some power back to the child, while allowing the parent to stand firm on the underlying disciplinary issue.

All of these practices are helpful, but understanding the root cause and what is happening in the brain of a child with different challenges, is critical to effectively addressing the problem. Once the exact nature of a child's struggles is identified, a customized approach can be developed to ensure that child reaches his or her potential.

To schedule an assessment for your child, or to learn more about how the Brain Balance Program can help your child reach their full potential, contact us online or find a center near you.

 

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Annotation on the program of the working discipline "Playing activities of children with disabilities"

44 03 03 Special (defectological) education, profile “preschool defectology”

  1. Purpose of the discipline: formation of the ability for professional activities in the field of complex prevention of children with various abilities of each child, leading activities at each age.
  2. The place of the discipline in the structure of the OPOP undergraduate .

The discipline "Playing activities of children with disabilities" refers to the variable part of the professional cycle of the bachelor's program for undergraduate studies, an elective module.

  1. Requirements for the results of mastering the discipline:

The process of studying the discipline is aimed at the formation and development of competencies: PC-1,2, 3.

As a result of mastering the discipline, the student must:

– psychological and pedagogical foundations for the development of play in a child with disabilities, its structural components; - theoretical foundations and methodology for planning children's play activities;

- content and methods of organizing and conducting gaming activities;

- the main types of board games, didactic toys aimed at the correction and development of higher mental functions and personality traits of children with special educational needs;

- the content and forms, the specifics of corrective action through a toy for children with various disabilities.

be able to:

– advise parents on creating a play environment in the family for the full development of a child with disabilities;

- to teach parents available corrective methods of game interaction;

- to differentiate the content and forms of corrective action with the help of toys on children with various disabilities;

– use competently such forms of work with parents as: conversations, consultations, seminars, drawing up individual memos, recommendations, etc.;

- organize play and stimulate independent play activities for children with disabilities; - use direct and indirect methods of game management;

- analyze the conduct of the game and design its changes in accordance with the age and individual characteristics of children with disabilities.

possess:

– the skills of organizing a special protective environment in the conditions of family upbringing of a child, taking into account the structure of his defect and psychological characteristics; interpersonal relationships;

- skills in developing recommendations for organizing developmental activities using gaming tools.

  1. The total labor intensity of discipline is 2 credit units (72 hours).
  2. Semester: 3rd semester
  3. Main sections of the discipline: