Sutton
Child 1
A boy with an EHCP and an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. He had adult support. He expressed his emotions in a ‘big’ way that impacted on everyone. He would often hurt others. The parents were often called. They didn’t want him to fail – he was desperate to fix his behaviour.
A language base was trialled after which he came back to mainstream school. It helped for adults to check and catch the moments before the emotions and behaviour became too overwhelming. They helped the boy to feel successful.
Child 2
A boy with an EHCP who was moved to a base, which was the right environment for him. It felt like a success to say goodbye to him.
He responded well to a nearby, available adult, who could spot his behaviour ‘flaring up’. He especially responded well to physical touch and closeness. Relational humour was used. For example, he liked to put spider toys on the teacher’s chair so was able to come into class early to do this; these kinds of activities gave him a distraction and helped to strengthen adult relationships. A gentle touch was needed and worked well.
Child 3
A girl in foster care who had experienced multiple placements and lacked trust in adults.
Applying the strategies from the Reducing Anxiety course made a big difference. She built many more trusted relationships and was able to explain her feelings to a trusted adult. This resulted in her rarely showing disruptive behaviour. Other children noticed and were able to learn a lot from seeing the change in her.
Child 4
A boy who was a school refuser at the start of the academic year. Embarrassment was a big factor for him.
He began to bond with a trusted adult, which led to him building other trusted relationships in the school. Adults often used distraction as a tactic.
By the end of the Autumn Term, he was not school refusing. There was a thorough transition for his move to the next year group, where he would carry out small tasks for his new teacher before he knew that she would be his teacher the following year.
Child 5
An only child with separated parents, who were co-operative together. The child was confused. She wanted to do the right thing. She compared herself to others. She was advanced in her learning capacity. She wanted physical closeness and physical contact with other children.
A lot of work went into communicating with the parents, comparing behaviours at home and at school. Flexible groupings and talk partners helped the issue of the child comparing herself to others. She had a learning coach for regular check-ins.
Using PETI helped the girl to explain what she needed. Her self-efficacy was improved.