difficult child

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Home : 2002 : April : 7

difficult child
By Teri

I have had an ODD/ADD child in my class who would do exactly what you are talking about-- talking back, being disruptive, etc. The first week I went home crying everyday because I took everything so personally. I finally
started taking a few deep breaths and instead of arguing- and spending my time battling with him, I just would act like I couldn't care less- because what the child WANTS is your attention- even if its negative- she likes getting a rise out of you- its control over you! With my situation, when he would start doing things like banging his pencil on his desk to get my attention, I would

have the blankest look on my face, and say calmly but with a smile, if you CHOOSE to continue to do that you will CHOOSE to lose 5 min of your recess. At first he didn't believe me, and I would just plainly walk over and pull a card- taking away the 5 min. The trick is to walk away and then not give another second thought- change the subject right away to get back on track. If you put it in their court- THEY are choosing to act a certain way, so THEY are choosing to deal with the consequences. Separate yourself from her problem. No matter what- don't get upset because it takes away instruction time. Sometimes I will completely ignore the student who is misbehaving and talking out- and I will just walk to the cards and give out the consequence w/o saying a word. I would only give my attention positivly to that child- catching them acting appropriately and praising it. It has worked wonders for me and has saved my sanity ***Get with your Co-op and talk about a uniform discipline plan that may be just for her- with some kind of reward system for good behavior.