Sutton
Child 1
A Year 2 child with undiagnosed autism, who over-reacted to the smallest thing.
The class teacher found it reduced the over-reactions to move the child to a calm corner with toys available. She used timers to measure interventions. The child began to recognise if they became angry and could communicate their anger verbally.
With parental support, a referral was made to the Cognus Early Intervention Service – Paving the Way (PTW).
For transition to the next academic year there was lots of preparation. The child had social story time with the new class teacher. All is going well in the new class.
Child 2
A very emotional Year 1 girl. She screamed and self-harmed.
The class teacher used the strategies from the Reducing Anxiety course and the outbursts became less frequent, going to one per week and lessening further by the end of the academic year.
The transition to her next class was well planned. She was separated from another child with whom she had become obsessed. She is still showing signs of improvements in her new class.
Child 3
A year 2 boy whose behaviour had worsened over the year. A referral to PTW had been made; the parents were not supportive and began to manipulate and mock the efforts being made by the teacher. The relationship with the class teacher broke down and the child went to a different school.
Child 4
A Reception boy who was quiet at the start of the year. He made a disclosure, after which the behaviour became worse. He became violent towards the teacher but had a meltdown if the teacher left the room.
The teacher spoke to the mother, who after a while became supportive. Teachers applied strategies from the Reducing Anxiety course, helped by the Educational Psychologist. A referral was also made to PTW. The classroom was made into a positive space, which helped the boy. He began to articulate his needs through the class pet. He seems much happier in class now.
On reflection, the class teacher felt that when she managed to foster a good relationship with the boy’s mother, things began to improve.