Resources to Support Challenging Child Behavior

I have a student who has difficulty working in groups. He either moves away, tries to work alone or he is giving “orders” to everyone. Inevitably the group falls apart with arguments or work uncompleted. How can I help this student work positively in groups?

My 7 year old is strangely tuned in to certain sounds. For example, if the pages of a book are being turned within hearing distance, he reacts by screaming at the offender to stop it.

 

He is agitated by the noise to the point of having to leave the proximity so he doesn’t continue to fixate on it. When someone who has dry hands rubs them together and he can hear it, it gives him the “willies” and chills.

 

Yesterday at a restaurant, I reached to pull a napkin out of a dispenser, and he reacted by slinking down in the booth saying, “Great! Thanks a lot –I just lost my appetite from you doing that.” He couldn’t finish his toasted cheese sandwich.

 

Another example is that he reacts loudly when paper is being ripped or a sheet of paper is being torn from perforations in a spiral bound notebook. When my long fingernails scratch against him, or I scratch my own itch, it drives him crazy.

 

How can our family help minimize these seemingly over-the-top reactions to what seem like innocuous sounds–besides the obvious removal of known triggers? Should we be concerned?

My child typically fights going to bed, thinking of more and more activities to do to prevent bedtime from occurring. Once he is settled in bed, I have to stay until he falls asleep. He often wakes during the night or is up very early. I am exhausted, what can I do?

I am working with a child who has just started licking things: people, walls, toys, etc. Redirection makes him frustrated. How can I help him reduce this behavior?

When someone gets hurt or is talking about a painful event, my son often laughs. He has had this inappropriate nervous laughter since he was young, but it has become an issue in the work environment.

He is 22 years old. This has offended others. He  explains that he is nervous and can’t control it, but  would really like some help finding a workable solution.

Is there anything I can share with him that may help?

The Watson Institute has received a number of questions from parents looking for resources to help them manage their child’s behavior in various public settings. Community activities such as going to church, visiting the library, going out to eat, and going to a doctor’s appointment have been our most requested topics.

Families are seeking help with preventing behavioral meltdowns while in these public settings.

I have a student on the Spectrum who will not follow directions to come in from recess when it is over. During recess he is monitored by my classroom paraprofessional. He will run and say ‘no’ when it is time to come in while the other students and adults leave the playground, resulting in my paraprofessional being alone with him. There are instances when he has become aggressive, making this an unsafe situation. Although he is verbal, he typically communicates with short phrases; most often only to make requests. What may I do to prompt him to come inside without causing his behaviors to escalate, keeping in mind that I am not typically there to assist?

How do I help a student transition from a preferred activity?

One of my 4th grade students has high functioning autism and is included in regular education most of his day. His teachers are complaining that his “talk outs” during class are becoming much too disruptive. We are looking for a positive reinforcement procedure that might work better than his current system, which is a basic star chart that he doesn’t like.