Does the ‘Dyslexia’ Label Help or Hamper Teachers?

Many parents feel like they get more support for their child if they have an ‘official’ label.  Perhaps they believe they will acquire explicit support, testing accommodations, or that a diagnosis will provide directed attention in classes. They most-likely expect teachers and special education teams can better plan lessons, if they know the diagnosis behind their child's difficulties.

 

"Knowing what the difficulties are" is exactly the issue: 

Dyslexia - though at times useful for the above reasons - is an umbrella term for reading difficulties unrelated to a child's intelligence. That doesn’t give teachers any explicit reasons for the basis of those difficulties. They could be visual, or phonological, related to memory deficits, or more.  Additionally, a recent study by the British Psychological Association found that the dyslexia label actually hampers teachers in a very profound way:

"[teachers felt] the label ‘dyslexia’...was seen as a fixed disability, and that the teachers believed their ability to help children with ‘dyslexia was unlikely to develop over time. By contrast, [with the label] ‘reading difficulties’, [they] were less likely to see the children’s problems as permanent; were also more likely to believe that they would be able to help them, and that their skills developed with experience."

All teachers want their students to achieve their full potential and more. However, this psychological research seems to show that by removing supposedly fixed labels, teachers feel they can try to change a child’s literacy trajectory.

Should We Shed Labels Altogether?
This is not to say we should scrap the term altogether! But it is valuable food for thought on the question of how helpful it is for teachers from a psychological perspective.  It also raises the question: Are our teachers adequately trained to meet the diverse needs of their students?

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Sarah Forrest is a Literacy Specialist for the Easyread System. Easyread is an online intervention for children with reading difficulties, dyslexia, auditory processing problems and more. www.easyreadsystem.com

Three Steps that Can Change Your Child's Behavior

If you’ve ever looked into setting a goal for a child, you probably have a sense of how much information is out there and how overwhelming it can feel. There are charts, systems, stickers, tokens, and many more options, not to mention the difficulty in determining how to create a goal! This article will help you sift through the information to help you create your own way of changing behavior.

Defining the Behavior:

When you’re setting a goal, one of the first things you want to do is define the behavior in specific terms. This will help you get a sense of what it will look like when the goal is reached. For example, rather than saying, “Johnny will be peaceful,” try to be specific about what that looks like, such as, “Johnny will share toys with his brother or tell him calmly that he doesn’t want to share.” The second example identifies the behavior you want to see so you’ll know what you’re looking for.

Shaping Behavior:

The next step is to consider a principle called shaping. Shaping is the process of using small steps toward a larger goal to reach the desired outcome. It involves rewarding behavior that is not necessarily the target, but is moving in the right direction. The idea is to create some positive momentum. To continue this example, if Johnny currently hits his brother every time he doesn’t want to share, asking him to suddenly stop and use appropriate language might be a far goal that could feel too tough to reach. This type of goal might cause Johnny to feel so frustrated that he would give up. However, we might begin by noticing any time that Johnny doesn’t hit, even if he also yells, and specifically praise his behavior. Once he is able to stop hitting consistently, we can modify what we’re praising to be a bit more close to the end goal, such as rewarding instances in which he doesn’t hit and walks away without yelling. Another step could be to not hit, walk away, and offer his brother a different toy or tell his brother how he feels. Finally, he may arrive at sharing his toys or telling his brother calmly how he feels, our end goal.

Tracking Behavior:

The third point to consider is how you’ll track his behavior. Once you’ve identified what you want to change and how you’ll notice steps in the right direction, you’ll want to create a system that is reinforcing to the child. This is where the charts, tokens, or stickers come in. Choose a system that works for you to show Johnny’s successes. You can create a sticker chart, fill a jar with cotton balls, or give tokens that can be redeemed for a reward. You can then create a system to manage rewards, which can be tangible or non-tangible, such as choosing a story for you to read to him at night. I’ll write more about rewards in my next post to expand on this topic.

Behaviors typically don’t develop overnight and are not likely to be changed overnight. However, if you have a plan, you’re more likely to make a positive impact on your child. 

Emily Herber McLean, LPC is a child and family therapist at The Center for Psychological Services. To learn more about her practice, visit www.centerpsych.com.

Goal Setting 2015! On-Ramp to Success

What would January be with out goals? Most people re-do their goals in January.

 How do you engage in the sticky job of helping your children engage in goals that will be good for them? Looming large in this activity is the knowledge that setting a goal for someone else is a recipe for disaster!

Research comes to the rescue in this case. Taking a look at the latest research could improve the odds of you helping your child set goals that they actively engage in. Carol Dweck, Ph.D. and her approachable book Succeed – How we Can Reach Our Goals, It is written for everyone from an entrepreneur to a stay at home mom. All readers will leave with insights to their goal setting process as well as helping others set attainable goals.

Here are a few choice suggestions to consider when helping your kids set goals.

• Own the goal: Instead of assigning a goal, give your child several options to choose from. The act of choosing will add to their understanding of the value and rational of the goal itself. This deeper understanding increases ownership of the journey and the results. You structure goals that will be beneficial and let your child engage the goals that speak to them.

• Make it a “Get Better” goal: Help to frame a goal so it is seen in an “I will Get Better at this” verses “Be Better than others” framework. Your child will focus on self-improvement rather than comparison and that helps with motivation and perseverance among other things.

• Make it Personal: Use the right triggers to unconsciously or consciously motivate a child to work steadily toward a goal. This can come in the form of an agreed upon reward or a celebration around something intrinsic to the completion of the goal.

Success is a determining factor in Self Confidence and sustained Motivation. Creating success comes from a many little steps, goal setting being one, as it directs the child’s attention to worthy behavior in pursuit of a longer term desire. Thoughtful attention applied to goal setting is an important step in helping our children experience success while they increase their capacity to manage themselves well in the world.

Parents, do you have questions raising your child with learning issues? You can raise confident capable kids despite learning issues. Reach out for answers to your most perplexing questions today!

Becky Scott

TheNavigatorsWay.com

83 Words of Encouragement

If there is a single little thing a parent might do to improve a child’s behavior, it is positive encouragement.  A nice comment or a pat on the back can go a long way.  So that you never run short of appropriate words for this purpose, use this list.  I’ve highlighted some of my personal favorites:

1. You’re on the right tract now.                    
2. Way to go!
3. You’re doing a good job.
4. Keep on trying.
5. You did a lot of work today.           
6. You’re the best.
7. Good work.
8. Nothing can stop you now.
9. That’s right.  
10. You’ve about made it.
11. Now you have the hang of it.                         
12. You’re very good at that.
13. That’s the way.                                             
14. You certainly did well today.
15. You’re doing fine. 
16. I’m very proud of you.
17. Now you have it.                       
18. You’re learning fast.
19. That’s great.                                                   
20. You’ve just about got it.
21. You did it that time.                                       
22. That’s good. 
23. That’s coming along nicely.                           
24. I’m happy to see you working like that.
25. Great.                                                                
26. That’s better than ever.
27. Fantastic.                                              
28. That’s quite an improvement.
29. Terrific.                                                 
30. Good work.
31. That kind of work makes me very happy.      
32. Tremendous.
33. Now you’ve figured it out.                        
34. Outstanding.
35. How did you do that?                                 
36. Perfect.
37. That’s better.                                                    
38. Fine.
39. Excellent.                                                         
40. That’s really nice.
41. That’s well done.              
42. Wow!
43. Keep it up                                                        
44. That’s it.
45. You figured it out fast.                                    
46. Keep up the good work.
47. Much better.               
48. Good for you.
49. Good thinking.                                                
50. Exactly right.
51. Super.
52. Nice going.
53. You make it look easy.  
54. You’re doing much better today.
55. I’ve never seen anyone do it better.                
56. Superb.
57. Wonderful.                                                    
58. I knew you could do it.
59. Keep working on it. You’re getting better.   
60. That’s a great way to do it.
61. You’re doing beautifully. 
62. You’re really working hard today.
63. You’re getting better every day.                     
64. You remembered.
65. You’re really improving.                                
66. I think you’ve got it now.
67. Well look at you go. 
68. You’ve got that down pat.
69. I like that.
70. Couldn’t have done it better myself.
71. Now that’s what I call a fine job.                   
72. You did that very well.
73. Congratulations.                                             
74. That was first class work.
75. Sensational.   
76. That’s the best ever.
77. You haven’t missed a thing.                           
78. You really make my job fun.
79. You must have been practicing.                     
80. You have reason to be proud.
81. It’s a pleasure to teach you when you work like that.
82. I enjoyed this time with you.
83. Thanks.          

Maybe you have some others to add to the list.  Please pass them along. We could all use a well-stocked closet of encouragement!  By the way, you might also take occasion to use some of these empowering and encouraging phrases on yourself when you need a little pick me up on a rough day.

That said, keep up the good work!

Jennifer

Jennifer Jackson Holden, Psy.D. is managing director of the Paoli, Pennsylvania office of the Center for Psychological Services. www.centerpsych.com drjenniferholden@gmail.com.

5 Ways to Motivate Students to Complete Homework

After a long day at school, enticing students to complete homework can be challenging.  Few young learners look forward to tackling assignments at home.  So what can we done to make this often painful process less taxing, and possibly fun?

Homework Can Be Home Fun:
After-school assignments should never have been called "homework." Clearly, combining the words home and work it not a good marriage.   So what can be done to improve students attitudes and motivation about home assignments?

1. Shed the name homework altogether and come up with a more appealing and motivating task names.   Imagine you are selling a product, and create fun and enticing names for all your assignments and lessons.  For example, don't assign script or cursive, ask students to practice their roller-coaster letters! Furthermore, generate excitement about upcoming units by showing your own enthusiasm for the content.
2. Bring the games, music, and art into assignments.  Many students enjoy the arts as well as playing games, so try to weave these into what I call, "home fun." Assigning these creative options also ignites the fun factor and makes academics more memorable too.
3. Offer assignment options.  Each student possesses their own preferred ways of learning.  As a result, provide choices that allow students to share their knowledge while granting them the power to select an empowering approach.
4. Limit homework time.  Students are often spent after a long school day, and there is a lot of research that suggests that home assignments are not beneficial.  In fact, a Canadian family took this very issue to the Supreme Court in their country, claiming that there is no evidence that home assignments improved academic performance.  They actually won the ruling, and their children were granted and exemption from all homework. 
5. Offer your students extra credit for completing home assignments.  Most students are motivated to improve grades.  This will offer them the incentive.
I hope you found this blog helpful.  If you have other ideas, please share them below this blogpost.

Cheers, Erica

Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com, www.dyslexiamaterials.com & www.learningtolearn.biz  

How to Teach Children to Give

As we reach the holiday season, a focus can unintentionally shift onto material items. Many get swept up in the excitement of getting new toys, and as a parent it can be challenging to know how to shift the focus to giving. However, as adults, we can greatly influence the lens through which children view the holidays by examining our own language around this time of year.

To learn more, check out this video by David Maxfield and Joseph Grenny. If you're not able to watch at this moment, allow me to summarize:

These researchers wanted to see if the language that adults use influences the children’s feelings of generosity. To create their experiment, they asked children at a Christmas party to talk to Santa, who was played by a member of their team. They presented two scenarios to two different groups of children. In one scenario, Santa asked children what they were most excited to get for the holiday. In the other, Santa asks what they were excited to give for the holiday. Immediately following this, two children were taken to see one of Santa’s helpers, who was also played by a member of the team. The helper then presented the child with a choice of a big chocolate or a small chocolate, with the understanding that the one they did not choose would go to the other child. That is to say, if the child sacrificed by choosing the smaller chocolate, the other child would have the benefit of receiving the larger option. They found that children who were asked what they were excited to give before they received this choice were 50% more likely to take the smaller candy, therefore giving the larger candy to their peer.

This experiment highlights the importance of cognitive framing, which is the process of using language to impact a person’s interpretation of the information. You might use this when you want to ask for help with a chore and you present it as an opportunity to help. For example, “I’d like you to help out by emptying the dishwasher,” is likely to go more smoothly than, “Why don’t you ever empty the dishwasher? Get to it or no TV.” 

If you’d like to shift the focus to giving this holiday season, think about the language you use and lead by example. Ask what your children are excited to give to others, share how happy you feel to give to them, or even arrange a giving project by volunteering as a family. 

Emily Herber McLean, LPC is a child and family therapist at The Center for Psychological Services. To learn more about her practice, visit www.centerpsych.com.

4 Tips to Deal With Difficult News

Picture yourself in an IEP meeting or conference with a teacher. The conversation turns to a difficult topic concerning your child. You know you want to hear them out but you can feel your blood pressure starting to rise…. Raising kids with learning disabilities and/or attention challenges has its moments. Any parent knows this is true.

What do you do during these challenging moments to help yourself really hear what the person has to tell you? When the listening gets difficult, what do you do to stay connected? You will always be able to determine the value of what they have to say later, but not if you don't hear it now!

Here are four tips to use when the listening gets difficult. With practice, these will allow you to listen deeply despite the frustration you might be experiencing:

• Listen Non-Judgmentally: Assume the information you are listening to is just one person’s opinion. That opinion matters but it isn’t the end all and be all. Learn to look for the grain of truth in every encounter.

• Ask for Honesty and Truthfulness: To find clarity about what is being said, ask for truth and honesty – not just nice talk. Nice doesn’t always bring clarity. Nice tries to mollify. If you have a challenging situation, getting to the heart of the issue is more important than cloaking the truth in “nice”.

• Focus on the Future: When faced with a challenge, it is easy to get bogged down in the details of the past or present. This usually doesn’t help after the basic level of understanding is achieved. Knowing where to direct your energy to make changes is critical. Ask future oriented questions to help determine your next steps.

• Write Down and Confirm Key Points: When encountering difficult information the emotional component hampers us from remembering what we heard. Confirm what you heard as wrap up for your meeting. Write it all down for reference. Keep all your child’s information in one folder or notebook for easy access.

Using these tips your conversation will be better focused and you will better understand and remember what is said. This makes reengaging easier. Challenges often aren’t solved in one meeting. Solutions are built over time with cooperation and collaboration. As a parent, using these tips will help you connect in the best way possible ensuring solid solutions for all.

Parents, do you have questions about your child with learning issues? You can raise confident capable kids despite learning issues. Reach out for answers to your most perplexing questions! 

Becky Scott

www.TheNavigatorsWay.com

The Magic of Positive Comments: The Magic 5:1 Ratio

As you move into the holiday season the nature of school schedules is such that you will be spending more time with you kids, and your spouse.  Holiday breaks can be wonderful, full of fun trips, time with extended family, hot chocolate and sledding, and warm cuddles in front of the fire.  They can also be filled with messy homes, bored children, and too much time on screens.  It is a time that is ripe with potential for feeling irritable and annoyed.  It is also a wonderful opportunity to work on strengthening the positive emotion between you and your kids, and you and your partner, building up the reserve that can get depleted by the daily grind through the course of the fall.

So Here’s a Strategy to Help You Do Just That… Gottman’s 5:1 Ratio:
John Gottman, a well known researcher on couples and marriages, found that all couples fight; people who live together have conflict.  You and I know that parents and children do as well.  Gottman’s research focused on identifying the factors that made some couples successful and led to failure by others.  Fighting was not the significant factor.  What was more important was the degree to which couples could accentuate the positive and minimize the negative.  Take note, elimination of the negative wasn’t significant or even attainable.  It was an increase in the positive that made a tremendous the difference in the endurance and success of marriages.  Gottman found that stable, happy couples have about a 5:1 ratio between positive and negative interactions.  That is, for every criticism or negative comment there has to be at least 5 compliments or positive comments.

Why 5:1 Ratio?  
Gottman found that positive interactions build up a “reservoir of positive feeling.”  You might liken this reservoir to a savings account into which you are making regular deposits to be withdrawn on a rainy day. Couples who have such reservoirs of positive feelings use some of this when they are criticized, which sustains them through the difficult work of resolving the conflict.  Positive expressions of love, respect, and affection keep love nurtured when they are offered with consistency over time.

What if you Applied Gottman’s Magic Ratio to Your Relationships with your Children?  
For every criticism or complaint you made a point of offering five positive comments.  These aren’t hard to offer, but it may require some attention to do so.  This can be challenging, especially in the midst of a living room that looks like a hurricane hit it with a trail of belongings that follow your children through the house as they lay across the couch with their face in a screen. 

What is the Benefit? 
The benefit would be that parent/child relationships that are inherently positive, provide the foundation needed for a child to develop confidence, healthy self-esteem, and resiliency.  For those of you with a child who has a learning disability or other significant challenge that makes life harder than it may be for their peers, such qualities are all the harder to establish and that's much more critical to their success.  Also keep in mind that when parent/child relationships are not experienced by the child as inherently positive, anxiety, oppositional behavior, and adjustment problems can ensue.  In a relationship where the 5:1 positive to negative ratio is evident, kids are more likely to be cooperative and to listen and respond when a parent does have a complaint. 

Strategies for Success:
So, can you see the value of working on this positive undercurrent in the way you treat and/or hold your child?  To make it a bit easier, here are some tidbits to put in your pocket to offer them throughout these days of holiday cheer, and then well into the winter…

“Good Job”     “I love you.”     “Thank you for…”     “That was nice.”     “I appreciate that you…”

Other ways to contribute to the positive energy savings account include:

• Do not overlook what seem like small things.
• Remember that sometimes simply remaining calm and not overreacting can be interpreted as positive and have a wonderful effect. 
• Pay attention to your child (especially when he or she is doing something positive).
• Be empathetic.
• Be respectful and accepting of all feelings.
• Maintain a positive view of your child.
• Always be on your child’s side.

You might also pay attention to negative behaviors on your part that warrant a decrease:

• Eliminate criticism
• Shed blame
• Avoid sarcasm

So, I Leave you with this Question: 
Have you said five nice things to your child today?

Be well and happy holidays,

Jennifer

Jennifer Jackson Holden, Psy.D. is managing director of the Paoli, Pennsylvania office of the Center for Psychological Services. www.centerpsych.com drjenniferholden@gmail.com.

Strategies When Schools Refuse to Classify Students with Disabilities

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) is a special education law that safeguards that public schools attend to the educational needs of students with disabilities. IDEA mandates that schools implement special education services to eligible students as defined in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). IDEA also outlines specific requirements to assure a least restrictive environment (LRE) and a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for students with disabilities.

What Can Parents do to Resolve a Dispute with a School?
The Individuals with Disabilities Act offers various options for managing disputes between parents and schools concerning a school district’s delay or denial to evaluate a student because it is
using a Researched Based Intervention or RTI process.  Such complaints would be based on the district’s violation of Child Find.

1. State Complaints:  This is a written complaint that can be filed by any organization, individual, or group of individuals, claiming that a school district has violated a requirement of Part B of IDEA or the state’s special education law or regulations, including Child Find.  Child Find is a part of IDEA that requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged birth to 21, who need early intervention or special education services.  State complaints must be filed within one year of the alleged violation.  IDEA requires every state to have a formal procedure for filing complaints. Information on how to file a state complaint should be available from your state’s Department of Education or Parent Training and Information Center.
2. Due Process Complaints:  This is a written complaint filed by a parent or school district pertaining to any situation concerning the identification, evaluation, educational placement or violation of a free and appropriate public education to a student with a disability. Due process complaints must be filed within two years of the incident, and each state’s Department of Education must offer a model form to assist in filing a due process complaint that meets the requirements of IDEA. Reach out to the Department of Education in your state or Parent Training and Information Center to acquire more information.  

Filing complaints under IDEA, is a serious and time-consuming undertaking.  So before commencing with either of the options outlined above, make sure you are well educated about and fully comprehend federal and state mandates. 

Where Can I Get More Information?
The National Center for Learning Disabilities offers a free copy of Parents Rights in the Era of RTI or go to the NCLD website to learn more.

Cheers, Erica

Dr. Erica Warren, Learning Specialist and Educational Therapist

Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com, www.dyslexiamaterials.com & www.learningtolearn.biz  

Novelist Sally Gardner's Poem for Dyslexics Everywhere

The brilliant Sally Gardner is an award-winning British children's novelist. She's written Coriander, Maggot Moon, I, The Silver Blade and more... and she is severely dyslexic. 

Growing up as the child of two lawyers in London, she couldn't read until age fourteen. Her teachers repeatedly told her she would never make anything of herself. She turned to art and spent many years as a theater set designer before returning to her original love: writing.  

For Dyslexia Awareness Week in early November of this year, she put together a poem for dyslexic children and adults everywhere.

Disobey Me, a poem by by Sally Gardner

They told me I was dyslexic

it didn’t describe me

belonged in the library

of words I can’t spell

no matter how many times they tell

you just try harder sound it out

simple when you think about

it....

To keep reading this moving poem in its full form, click here.

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Sarah Forrest is a Reading Specialist for the Easyread System, an online program for children struggling with reading and spelling. Get a free 10-day trial at www.easyreadsystem.com

5 Steps to Setting Limits with Your Children

In my last few posts, I’ve been sharing some of the skills involved in filial therapy, including structuring, empathic listening, and imaginary play. Today I’ll discuss the last skill involved, limit setting. 

Why Set Limits?

In thinking about setting limits, the “why” seems like an obvious question. Limits help to keep children safe by protecting the child from dangerous choices. When a child feels safe, they tend to also feel less anxious because they know that their parent is helping to make sure they are safe. However, it can be difficult to know when to set the limits! It’s a fine line to provide enough freedom for a child to explore, but also enough limits to protect the child. In Filial Therapy, parents are asked to set limits only if there is a safety concern, such as hurting someone, breaking a toy intentionally, or running out of the room. 

How to Set Limits: 

1. Once you’ve asked yourself if the limit is necessary (and have decided that it is), the first step is to check and make sure you feel calm. An important key in limit setting is to stay emotionally neutral, using a matter of fact tone. 
2. Get your child’s attention by stating their name. You might also put a hand up if there is an imminent safety concern, such as an item about to be thrown. 
3. State the limit clearly. “One of the things you can’t do is throw that marble at me. But you can do just about anything else.” Notice that in this example, the adult did not suggest other choices. The reason for this is that in this method, you really want to teach your child to problem solve. By leaving the solution up to the child, they must then think about their other options and decide on the best one, which essentially takes them through the problem solving process. 
4. If the limit is about to be broken a second time, I suggest a three strike policy. That is to say, you would remind the child of the limit and then explain the consequence that will happen if they try again. In this example, the adult would state (in that same matter of fact tone), “Remember how I said that you can’t throw the marble? If you choose to try it again, you’re choosing not to play with marbles today.” The consequence will be most effective if it is a natural consequence that is easily connected to the infraction. The child will not clearly learn the lesson if the consequence were, for example, to lose TV for a week after throwing a marble.
5. If the limit is broken again, follow through with the consequence. This is key to limit setting! It lets your child know that you mean what you say, and teaches them that next time they really need to follow directions within the first two tries. 

Setting limits consistently helps your child understand that you mean what you say and that you’ll work to keep him or her safe. Using a matter of fact tone, especially during the first two infractions, helps to prevent the child from reacting to an emotion rather than the limit, which tends to lower everyone’s emotions in the situation. Furthermore, having a system will help to reduce your energy expenditure during the situation, as it will become automatic over time and therefore less emotional for you as a parent or caregiver. 

Emily Herber McLean, LPC is a child and family therapist at The Center for Psychological Services. To learn more about her practice, visit www.centerpsych.com.

Frustration is FRUSTRATING! Simple ideas to combat frustration.

It’s hard to know what to say or do 

when someone is frustrated!

This emotion gets in the way of progress in school, social encounters and the quality of interactions as a family. Often times, as parents, we understand a reason for being frustrated but agreeing with the frustrated person doesn’t change the problem. It's well, SO FRUSTRATING!!!

So what do you do about frustration when it rears its head in family life? People with learning disabilities feel frustration perhaps more often than their counterparts with out LD. Knowing how to use a couple simple tools will help with the frustration while building life skills and supporting confidence and self-esteem.

           

Always speak the truth: Your child or young adult needs to hear the truth; empty praise or pacifying wont cut it! Praise the effort invested even though the situation may have created frustration.

Don't engage in comparisons: Discourage comparisons with others! We are all individuals on different paths and celebrating that is important. Guiding a young person to use strengths to overcome weaknesses can be a way to focus on the individual instead of comparing to others.

Increase overall understanding of a situation: use the SLOW methodology to remove confusion, hopefully breaking down the frustration.

o   S – Stop: the conversation or action and take 3 breaths! This creates a little space to decide what comes next.

o   L – Look: around and take note of what is happening all around you. Everything that is going on can provide you with information.

o   O – Overview: to create a better understanding of all parts of the situation. How do all the different parts of a situation come together to create the frustrating situation?

o   W - WHAT: Ask the “What” questions to find a path forward. What is important? What do you want to have happen? What does how you are acting have to do with the frustration? What next steps do you need to take?

Create a Frustration signal: Sometimes recognizing you are frustrated is part of the problem! Create a secret signal so a parent can signal that frustration is present. This brings the frustration out in to the open and it can be dealt with.

Another helpful trick is to have a mantra that is repeated to create focus on problem solving instead of letting stress and frustration build. An example could be to use the word “SLOW” to remind you of the steps above.

Frustration is a part of life and people with learning disabilities know this better than most! Use these tips and tricks to increase the feeling of being in control even when frustration is present. 

Let us know how these work for you!

Warmly,

Becky Scott

BScott@TheNavigatorsWay.com