Even though you have a behaviourally supportive classroom in place, you may still have a student who exhibits challenging behaviors and needs more individual behavioural support.  

The first step is to try to figure out the function of the behaviour.  While we tend to talk about the behaviour by its form (e.g., biting, hitting), we need to focus on its function (i.e., why it is occurring) to improve it.  

The function of the behaviour is more important than the form of the behaviour because it tells us how to address it.  Many times parents will ask me what to do about biting or spitting, but the question is not about what to do with those specific behaviours, but instead what to do with why these behaviours are happening. 

In taking a proactive approach, we want to determine what is happening in the environment that keeps the behaviour occurring and hopefully what starts it off.  If we know these pieces of information...

One of the most important tasks of parents is to teach their children to be independent adults. The reality is that some children with disabilities may never be able to live on their own. Others may be able to live with assistance, or still, others may learn to manage their obstacles to the point that they can be entirely independent. Regardless of what future seems likely for your child, you must prepare them to be as self-reliant as possible. 

Do not do for him what he could do for himself. 

As you go about your child’s daily care routine, ask yourself, is this something my son/daughter could do? Why am I doing it instead of teaching him how?

Give responsibilities. 

What daily chores could your child manage? Can he hold a broom and push it around? Can she wipe the table with a cloth? Treat your child as though he or she is capable of doing the chores. They should have things to do around the house like everyone else.

Focus on basic life skills, and go from...

Proactive and reactive approaches to classroom management address discipline styles. Every teacher uses one of the two approaches to deal with discipline issues and must find a way to effectively discipline his classroom for it to run smoothly.

Two Approaches

1. A proactive approach is when the teacher tries to eliminate a problem behavior before it becomes a problem.
2. A reactive approach is when the teacher deals with behavior when it becomes a problem in the classroom. Both approaches are used by teachers in addressing misbehavior in their classrooms. Teachers must deal with problem behavior to not interrupt the education process.

Understanding Why Students Misbehave - Four Types

1. The attention seeker strives for attention so his behaviors will allow him to be the focus of the classroom. 
2. The power seeker refuses to follow direction and must have the last word. 
3. The revenge seeker will verbally abuse others. 
4. Some misbehave because they wish to avoid failure....

Being happy is not only a personal experience, it is also a chemical response within the body. Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin and Endorphins are the quartet of feel-good chemicals produced in your brain which are responsible for your happiness. They are neurotransmitters that can be triggered by many situations. By understanding how to hack our happiness chemicals, we can take control of our mood and be happy always. In short, a happy brain = a happy life. 

When we, as adults and children, engage in activities like exercise, mindfulness, self-care, gratitude and laughter with friends, we release these feel-good chemicals in our brains. Below are listed some happiness hacking strategies and activities that we can do with our children to help improve our moods and relationships.

OXYTOCIN "THE SNUGGLE HORMONE"

Holding hands

Patting your dog or cat

Holding baby 

Hugging your family

Snuggling

Giving a compliment 

DOPAMINE "THE REWARD CHEMICAL"

Self-care...

Let me start by saying that none of us is perfect, and no one is a perfect parent. In fact, rather than talking about “good parents” versus “bad parents,” I like to use the term “the good enough parent.” As “good enough” parents, we provide for our children and try our best to keep them safe. We are trying to raise them the best we can, even if our methods are not always effective. 

We all may feel ineffective and inadequate managing our children at times, but believe it or not, getting through those tough periods in our lives can be the most meaningful thing that we can do. It can lead to stronger connections with our kids. We need to understand that parenting is all about the ups and downs, and not just the good stuff. And through these ups and downs, we can then learn and grow up together with our children. So we should keep trying our best as a parent and do not give up, even if we do not think we’re making a difference...

More often than not when a child is diagnosed with special needs, parents will naturally become “helicopter or lawnmower parents” i.e. hovering over their children all the time or helping their children to overcome any problem all the time without the children getting the benefits of dealing with any problem on their own. They become bodyguards of their children when they are out in the open, catching them before they fall and praising them without any actual effort. 

Understanding their disability and offering help when appropriate is different from overdoing it. Things are harder when the parents only have one child and this can lead to self-pity and the ‘I am not doing enough” mode. The simple rule is you cannot always pave a straight line of success. Children need to draw their own lines and define their own paths with only a little guidance from you.

Allow your child to take safe risks. This does not suggest allowing your child to be harmed. Grant...

We are living in a time where mask-wearing is now a necessity for our survival. But mask-wearing can be a difficult task for kids and especially with kids with special needs and kids with sensitivity issues. Kids might feel itching or ticklish, resent to wear masks and have meltdowns. All these can make life difficult for parents and guardians. So, here are some tips to help kids adapt to wearing a mask.

1. Explain why wearing a mask is necessary.

• Use easy to understand language and positive phrasing.
• Use picture and video aids.
• Social story. 

2. Show photos that mask-wearing is the norm.

• Ask family members and friends to take a photo with a mask on.

3. Take small steps to get used to wearing a mask.

• Holding the mask.
• Put the mask on your kid's face.
• Pull the elastic around the ears. If it is uneasy, stitch buttons on either side of the elastic using your kids favourite cap and use that instead of wearing it around the ears.
• Let the child wear for a...

Learning disabilities can affect children from time to time and as young as 4-5 years old. While some learning disabilities can be attributed to variations in development,  parents and educators should look-out for consistent patterns of learning difficulties in children.  

Children with persistent learning disabilities have been labelled as slow learners, minimally brain-injured, and whatnot. They are expected to score well in their academics but no matter how hard they try, they struggle with their grades. As a result, these children can be treated crudely and often punished for not achieving the expectations placed upon them in many schools and among parents. As a result, they can develop behavioural or emotional problems. Hence, children with learning difficulties are in a disadvantaged position when compared with children who can cope with the general education system.

I’ll never forget the date, August 31 2011, when our only daughter Sophie had her first seizure due to high fever (40 degrees Celsius). Thereafter, she experienced another seizure the following day. That was the start of our special journey with Sophie. 

Sophie was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when she was 2 years old. Right after her seizure episodes, we met a number of neuro paediatrician doctors, followed by a neurodevelopmental paediatrician to accurately assess Sophie’s condition. 

The doctors initially diagnosed Sophie with attention delay. She underwent a lot of clinical tests to assess her brain condition such as electroencephalogram (EEG) and etc. She also went to an occupational therapist (OT) as the initial program was recommended by her doctor. Thereafter, when she reached 3 years old, Sophie’s neurodevelopmental paediatrician gave the official assessment that Sophie has autism spectrum disorder and she needed to...

Rhythm is  a word often used in music, but in this blog, it means ‘a smooth flow of daily activities of a child.’ A daily rhythm can be understood as a natural impulse like breathing. And this daily rhythm, if followed from early childhood, can impact a child’s healthy development.

A daily rhythm should not be misunderstood as a routine. 

Routine is a set of the scheduled number of activities to be done throughout the day; whereas rhythm is more flexible and it defines a smooth flow of activities during the day.

Creating a balanced rhythm for young children during the day is a tool to make parenting easier. It helps young children to have an understanding of time, which is an abstract concept for them. Rhythm also creates a sense of predictability and security in them.

A balanced rhythm follows the concept of ‘breathing in’ and ‘breathing out’. As breathing in and out happens naturally, uninterrupted and in a smooth, balanced flow...