Supportive Behaviour Management

Children are not things to be moulded, they are people to be unfolded

Mike Temple
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  • Ashford, Kent
  • United Kingdom
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Sunshine TC - Lynne's blog

Fighting Prejudice

This week two headlines caught my eye and I have been thinking about the way in which schools and society down play derogatory terms and remarks about disability. The first was the guardian article about Pierre Lellouche’s response to the Conservative Party’s about turn on European policy. Lellouche accused the shadow foreign secretary of “Bizarre Autism”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/nov/04/france-autistic-tories-castrated-uk?CMP=AFCYAH

There seems to be a worrying trend in the media, for the term Autism to be applied to people who are dogmatic, rigid or just even just socially awkward. As a parent who has seen dozens of reports and questionnaires’ about my son’s social communication deficit, it angers me that the term autism, which after all relates to a spectrum of neurological disorders, can be devalued if not degraded in this way.


It is also worth stating that the context of his statement, indeed the whole point of his argument, was that the behaviour of the Tory party was socially unacceptable, and would understandably result in their exclusion from Europe. Now his comment is intended as a political one (whether we should be within Europe or not) but his statement may be seen to imply that he also considers it understandable that ‘autists’ be excluded from society due to their unacceptable behaviour. Nice!

The second article, by Ian Birell, calls for prejudice comments and hate crimes against the disabled, to be treated with the same gravity as those against race and religion.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/ian-birrell-mind-your-language-words-can%20-cause-terrible-damage-1815641.html

Birell not only refers to Lellouche’s use of autism ‘as a form of political abuse’ but also lists quotes from actors and people in the music industry who routinely use terms such as ‘retard.’ As a parent of a child with ‘profound disability’ he has experienced the stares and derogatory comments for the general public. Similarly, those children with social communication and learning difficulties like M, are the daily target of verbal bullying.

Recently, during a sports club meeting the children were asked to find a partner. M ran from child to child desperately trying to find a partner, whilst they made derogatory comments and sneered. Are we doing enough to encourage our children to appreciate all children? after all, it would be taken very seriously (and rightly so) if a child was excluded because of his ethnicity.

All Hallows'een

The worst witch had a costume upgrade this year

Were is M?


Gruesome Twosome

Daddy's home

The Motley Crew

Little and Large!

Who is the ghostly figure on the right?

Charlotte Vicarage

You may remember that I posted about Charlotte's dream to make animated films, about living with Autism. http://sunshinetc.blogspot.com/2008/10/five-little-speckled-frogs.html.

Here is an update on the eagerly awaited films by the newspaper Newbury Today;
http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=11407

It's great to hear that Charlotte has finally made her dream a reality. I am very honoured that Charlotte has dropped by and left a comment. Here is the link to her films and web page;

http://www.itvfixers.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=96&Itemid

They are all amazing and I can particularly enjoyed 'Charlotte's introduction to Autism' and 'Charlotte's Butterfly Metaphor.' I can see many parallels between the descriptions in film and the way that M learned to speak, especially his use of echolalia. I was also very moved by Charlotte's description of herself as a 'political prisoner' in a mainstream school and can see how this applies to so many children struggling to cope with inclusion. I am sure that the films would be a very valuable resource for every school and nursery Nationwide.

Proud Mummy Moment


The Dad had to attend M's parents' evening on his own this evening, since I am not very well. I was really pleased to hear about how hard M is working and was particularly relieved that his empathy for other children is improving. These are the markers that parents of neuro typical children, take for granted and yet it is so significant for children who have social/communication difficulties.

M has apparently made the gifted and talented register for sport at the end of last year, so I have to say that I am having a proud Mummy moment this evening. M's superb athletics club is under threat of closure, so we are all hoping that those who run it will continue to train and motivate young athletes.

Conjunctions

Now M can tell you that he was cold...

Because he did this

and then this...in October.......for hours!


Conjunctions, does anyone else get excited about conjunctions? They are such little words aren't they? And, because, but, so & then. M has started to use these with a flourish and suddenly we are having a really good two way conversation.

I often think that we take speech development in children for granted. We marvel at their first words, perhaps even recording them along side the date of a first tooth or their first steps. For those of us who have longer to wait, every new speech and language milestone is like music to our ears.

M has had a fantastic week at home and school and he came out brandishing a certificate for getting all his spellings right. We have a reward system of points and he had reached his target, well before the end of the week. I told him that he could have the prize that he had been working towards and he turned to me and said "really Mummy? so now we can play it together?" It doesn't sound like much, but I will hold the moment in my memory, along with all of the other subtle changes that mean so much.
 

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Mike Temple added a blog post
I always like to keep my eyes open to schools that use a supportive approach to managing behaviour and South Dartmoor Community College in Devon seems to be right on that track. Rather than having a punitive approach to behaviour, they use a 'park...
October 10
September 30
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As a worker and a dad I'm all for flexible working hours and surely that must mean flexible learning hours. Sometimes school staff operate as if in a bubble; unaware that the majority of the working population don't have school holidays, and are h...
August 25
Mike Temple added 2 blog posts
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Mike Temple added a blog post
One in six teenagers out of work or education for a long period could be dead within 10 years, a senior government education advisor says. Jon Coles, director of schools for England at the Department for Children, Schools and Families quoted ane...
August 8
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Following a long and protracted battle to get the right support and the right environment for her son, Catherine Jones talks about how she managed the transitions and finally using an online learning environment to help her autistic son. You ca...
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At 5:31pm on February 2, 2009, jan assheton said…
Hi Mike, thanks for reading my article, i am looking forward to finding out more about what goes on at the site and may be offering some insight into how the ADHD brain ticks!
At 12:05pm on January 30, 2009, Lynne said…
Hi Mike,

Thanks very much for your email directing me to your excellent site. I have a son who has severe language disorder and sensory difficulties. We've had a bit of a journey, accessing the right help for M and I can see that there is a lot of information here, that could be of great help.
At 6:55pm on January 27, 2009, LindaH said…
Hi Mike
used the Children See Children Do video with my teaching assistants class today. They hadn't seen it before and it provoked exactly the kind of conversation I'd hoped for. Good stuff!
At 9:59pm on January 16, 2009, Elona Hartjes said…
Just sent an invitation to others to join via Twitter.

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Mike Temple's Blog

Mike Temple

Bottling best behaviour

I always like to keep my eyes open to schools that use a supportive approach to managing behaviour and South Dartmoor Community College in Devon seems to be right on that track. Rather than having a punitive approach to behaviour, they use a 'parking' system to take students out of the class room and realign and repair the situation. They use these opportunities to coach and influence the students. Often this approach is take in the classroom, and there is no need for the students to be parked,… Continue

Posted on October 10, 2009 at 10:50am —

Mike Temple

Shut up and move on (SUMO)

When I saw this article, Shut up and move on, in the TES, I thought the 'shut up' bit was a bit harsh and recall the horror from the children when this phrase was used. They all reminded that it should be 'Be quiet' so I was interested in how the article would pan out



It's a new approach suggesting ways that childre… Continue

Posted on August 24, 2009 at 1:30pm —

Mike Temple

Pupil views, accountability and entitlement

Having read the last 3 TES papers together, I was not surprised to see a dearth of real substance around the issues surrounding pupils in school, especially those who are disaffected. Following my last post, it would seem that continued engagement in worthwhile, purposeful, goal oriented activity is essential for future wellbeing and even survival in the following decades.
The article 'Pupil views?No, let them makeContinue

Posted on August 24, 2009 at 1:30pm — 1 Comment

Mike Temple

Shocking statistics on disengaged and disaffected young people

One in six teenagers out of work or education for a long period could be dead within 10 years, a senior government education advisor says.



Jon Coles, director of schools for England at the Department for Children, Schools and Families quoted anecdotal research from the north of England.
He said he was "profoundly shocked" by the figures and that he hoped they wer… Continue

Posted on August 8, 2009 at 9:30am —

Mike Temple

Inclusive learning from home - working with an autistic child

I think there are many pupils in schools who find the environment very stressful and as a consequence, show what appear to eb disruptive behaviours. After all, behaviour is only a reflection of emotional state, and if environments cause poor emotional states, then it clearly follows that there may be less than desirable responses.
I do think the best schools and managers know this and make provisions for their pupils who find the rigour and inflexibility of their learning environments just too m… Continue

Posted on July 30, 2009 at 3:00pm —

 
 

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