Step 2 Part A Teaching the Vowel sounds

Second, they know how to identify the letters so we are ready to begin learning the sounds.

Vowel sounds

It is important when teaching the sounds to start each day with the vowel sounds. You will want to spend equal time on vowels and consonants but vowels should come first. I sing two songs with students to learn the vowel sounds.  One is a chanting song with students, and the other is a tune to Frere Jacques that I found online on another teacher’s website.
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems35.html

 

The chanting song I use is located in a book called, “How to Teach Your Dylsexic Child to Read” by Bernice H. Buamer.  Here is the chanting song using short vowel sounds.

 

A, a, a for apple,

E, e, e for egg.

I, i, i for Indian hopping on one leg,

O, o, o for ostrich living in the zoo,

U,u,u for umbrella to keep the rain off of you.

Now I’ve said my vowels,

A, e, i, o, u

I hope you like this little song

That I sang for you.”

 

I use the combination because through the two songs, they hear the sound within words and at the beginning of words.   You will want to sing these songs each day.  For best results, take the time to include weekends.  Just go over the charts as part of a routine.  If you skip weekends, some students will backslide each weekend and this is frustrating.  Put the chanting song on a chart with pictures of each of the objects out beside each line.  So at the end of the apple line, you would have a picture of an apple.   

 

An additional activity that speech therapist have often used when working with me in my classrooms includes saying words that start with the long sounds and short sounds with the student holding their hand under their chin to feel the difference in how their mouth is shaped for the sounds.  You might want to include this as part of your daily routine.  Mostly, I have seen this to make a difference when a student has some articulation difficulties and have had a history of being difficult to understand by others. 

 

Step 1 for teaching your child with dyslexia to read “The Alphabet.”

The first couple of posts here on Dyslexia will come from the perspective of a parent with a K-3 grade student. This is important to note as you don’t want an older child to feel ‘babied’.

It is surprising but within my experience, I have found that there are numerous children that are trying to learn to read but are unable to identify the letters of the alphabet and the sounds that go with them. This includes long and short sounds for the vowels. If your child does not know these, we must start here.

Learning the alphabet and it’s sounds.

First, teach them the alphabet song, if they don’t know it. Purchase a set of lowercase alphabet letters on cards or tiles. You do not need the uppercase, only lowercase. Practice singing the alphabet song and have your child place the letters in alphabetical order by repeatedly singing the alphabet song. This will need to be done daily until they are able to recognize them and place them in order without assistance.

My child can read fine, but doesn’t comprehend, could she be dyslexic?

Sad really, but a child that can read well and doesn’t understand is not a typcial child with dyslexia. Why would this parent think this? Well dyslexia is the term most often used for a child who struggles in reading. Why did I know this child wasn’t a dyslexic? I knew because I did some testing which showed she had good word recall, good understanding  of phonics and syllabication and therefore not dyslexic. We will call her Susie for purposes of discussion.

Susie came to me about 6 months back and was struggling to understand what she read. She knew how to read the words, she was just unable to put them together in her mind for understanding. This always really throws parents for a loop. They are lost. Their child can read and sometimes even really fast but after reading it, they can’t answer the questions. Some parents, if the child is reading silently assume they didn’t really read it. Some if reading orally, think they weren’t paying attention. This just isn’t true. This girl was truly trying, paying attention and doing the best she could. She didn’t have meaning attached to the words. The words were just words. The next common question is “how did this happen?”

Think of a time when you were reading and finished the page you were reading and went to the top of the next page suddenly realizing that you didn’t remember anything you just read. Your mind was tuned out to the meaning side of reading and was just going through the motions of the words. Your mind must be trained to attach meaning to words.

Susie is a sixth grade girl and her comprehension is at about a third grade level. Susie is one that everyone has seen as a good reader and because she sounded good, assumed that meaning was there. Susie was good at hiding the lack of comprehension by listening to those around her and learning what they said the reading was about. What Susie has needed is someone to be talking with her about the stories she has read.

Just learning to read words, isn’t enough. I’ll come back to the process we took to close the gap for Susie, but first let’s talk about the general strategy for what to do for someone with a true comprehension problem, not dyslexic. If you see that your child’s comprehension is weak (sometimes in specific subjects) do the following:

1. Go find an interesting story at a level they are able to comprehend. You can test this by having them read a page aloud and then tell you what the page was about. You want to be sure and request that the retelling is in sequence. If this isn’t attainable on the first try, then they need to reread thepage silently stopping at the end of each paragraph and telling you what that paragraph is about. This give a natural way of learning the concept of main idea.

2. As the comprehension improves, increase the number of paragraphs they read aloud until they are able to read an entire page and then tell the story in sequence.
*Note: You can teach some self-help skills here by providing your child some sticky notes to use in school where at the end of each paragraph (s) or page they make a note on the sticky of what took place or what the most important ideas on the page were. These make for excellent notes for studying later. Just pull them off and place them in a notebook for studying.

3. After being able to comprehend an entire page read orally, then they should move to reading the entire page silently and then recall what has taken place on the page.
4. If they are not able to tell a story in sequence after trying to read the whole page silently, go back to paragraphs at a time that are read silently and retell what wwas in each paragraph. This will want to be built on starting at 1 paragraph, then two, then three then a whole page at a time until the entire page is able to be read silently and recalled.

5. It is always a good idea when working on comprehension to stop at good times throughout a story to ask questions about what they expect will happen next and how a story will end. This helps focus the mind on the meaning of the story.

In Susie’s case, here was the action plan.

We started with mid-high second grade level material as she was testing at the third grade level, but I needed to build trust and confidence. We took the process above and followed it with a book she was interested in above. She only stayed at that level for about 3 weeks. We quickly moved up to the third grade level and with each few weeks moved up a level moving at the pace that worked for her. Moving up too quickly can cause a frustration level that is too high. Comprehension building takes consistency and commitment.

It is important to note that an essential skill in a tutor is for the tutor to train the parent what to do to tutor the child themselves, because the tutor only meets with the child so many times a week. Comprehension building must be worked on daily.
For Susie, the parent’s assignment was to have Susie read several pages per day orally from the books we were using to build comprehension and taught the parent to use the strategy above. Over the course of 6 months, we have moved from the second grade level material and now the assignment is for her mom to have her read several pages from her homework each day stopping every so often to check to make sure she has understood what she has read.
Susie is using a variety of note taking skills to help keep her focused on the meaning but will soon be reading silently most of the time, just keeping track of her own understanding. This is the ultimate goal.
What causes set backs? Many times everyone will start out on the right track to improve comprehension, but building this skills requires daily work. You can not skip days. Skipping 2 or 3 days in this process can take a child back an entire month of progress. This means that you can’t take weekends off or holidays and particularly Christmas Break. If so, you will be pulling your hair out come January. This doesn’t mean you have to do school work throughout the Christmas break, it just means have some high interest books or magazines that your child is interested in. Have something you read in the evening before bed. Yes, even middle schoolers like reading at bedtime. Take some of the time and have them follow the process for a couple of pages and then take some time for you to read allowed to them. At first they might buck the idea, but seriously, I have been working with middle schoolers for ten years and they absolutely love to be read to. Take advantage of the time though and stop to discuss what is going on in the story or what they think will happen next.

Services, I can’t get services for my son. Why can’t I get services?

This is a question that comes up ALL THE TIME.  How dare anyone need services for their child.  Take for example School XYZ located down the street from me and their special education preschool program. 

 

If a parent sees that their child has a need for help in a specific area then they are to go to their local school district.  I, as a parent, called the school and stated that my doctor had given me a referral for a speech evaluation.  He is three years old and this is the age they can be qualified to receive services through our public school system.  I asked what I needed to do.  They state that we would need to set up a speech screening.  The first available date is 92 days out.  This is the best they can do. 

Ok, and then what happens? The school states that they are  put on the waiting list for a cognitive and motor skills test.  This has quite a waiting list too.  Why are they doing a cognitive or motor skills test?  I don’t have concerns in these areas.  I asked this question and the response is that they want to make sure they aren’t missing any other needs.   After this step they put them on the list to have a speech evaluation.  Finally, they might qualify for services.

This means we will then get services right.  Many times a kid has a speech need, but they don’t qualify for services through the state guidelines.  However, they do need services.  Then you will need to get them privately.  It sounds like your child might be one of those because he is developmentally outside of being understood by others on target.   If he does qualify and if there is an opening and if there is a qualified speech therapist, then you will receive services.  That will be about 9 months from this start date.  Sounds like a lot of ifs doesn’t it?    Speech is the easier of these special services.

 

 I have spoken with parent after parent after parent who has a child with significant developmental difficulties such as cerebral palsy and have a great need for physical therapy and/or Occupational Therapy but there are no therapist that are available to the schools to meet the child’s needs. It varies from state to state, but some states require these special areas to have professionals only with doctorate degrees.  Why do these people have to have a doctorate?  Maybe this would make since if we just had lots of OTs, PTs and Speech Therapists that all had doctorate degrees but we don’t.  On top of that, what the school is going to pay is significantly less then what they would get from the medical field.  Now wonder we can’t get services.  Why can’t we have Master degree or even Bachelor Degree Speech, OT, and PT majors working with students.  Specialized help is better than no help right?  This has to be approached through legislation and parents must speak to their representatives to help make change.  It doesn’t help to complain to the teachers.  They don’t have the power to make the changes.

 

 

 

What’s happening to our boys?

In my school, 72% of our special education population are boys.  These stats are not unusual.  Across the country the stats are similar.  It gets even more staggering.  Check out these stats from www.boysproject.net 

Special Education

For every 100 girls diagnosed with a special education disability 217 boys are diagnosed with a special education disability.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm

For every 100 girls diagnosed with a learning disability 276 boys are diagnosed with a learning disability.

For every 100 girls diagnosed with emotional disturbance 324 boys are diagnosed with emotional disturbance

For every 100 girls diagnosed with a speech impairment 147 boys are similarly diagnosed.

For every 100 girls diagnosed with mental retardation 138 boys are diagnosed as mentally retarded.

For every 100 girls diagnosed with visual impairment 125 boys are visually impaired.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm

For every 100 girls diagnosed with hearing impairment 108 boys are diagnosed as hearing impaired.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm

For every 100 girls diagnosed with deafness 120 boys have deafness.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm

For every 100 girls with orthopedic impairment 118 boys have orthopedic impairment.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm

For every 100 girls with other health impairment 127 boys have other health impairment.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm

For every 100 girls with multiple disabilities 189 boys have multiple disabilities.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm

For every 100 girls that are deaf/blind 98 boys are deaf/blind.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm

What do I do to make my special education child’s standardized testing the best experience it can be?

All states have accommodations for special education students.  It is very important that you fight for the accommodations you feel are important for your child. All I mean is that if you want your child to have a valid test with a good experience, you really need to provide your input on accommodations. Ask  what all the possibilities are and give your input. 

 A number of parents I come across don’t even know what the possibilities for accommodations are.  I discuss with them the options and describe the picture of the setting for their child.  Often they think that their child is getting something they aren’t.  This is due to a lack of communication.  Don’t be afraid to ask the special education team to be more specific in accommodations.  Even more important read the accommodations and make sure you understand what they will be receiving when you receive your copy of the Individual Education Plan.  Sometimes mistakes are made and the changes discussed don’t all get in that final document.  Check it and then if something is missing, don’t be afraid to talk to the teacher and get it corrected.  It really isn’t a big deal. 

For the most part, your teachers will want the best for your students, but sometimes they feel pressured to not provide certain things due to resources and difficulty of providing it, but if  you express your believe that something in particular is needed then they will agree and feel more comfortable with including the accommodation. 

Don’t be afraid to have things clarified, ask questions or ask for something to be explained.  You are a member of the team and teachers want your input.

What can I do to help my child read faster? submitted by K Weeks

Top six things to improve your child’s reading speed.

1.  Read to them everyday.

2.  When reading with them try echo reading: You read the sentence and then they reads the same sentence pointing to each word. 

3.  Try choral reading having them and a sibling read text together outloud with you reading it too.   All three of you reading together. Text to build speed needs to be text that they can read 90% of the words accurately the first time.

3.  Try thinking aloud.  When reading, say what someone would think when they are reading a word they haven’t read before.  You know how to read words, but you know for them that there are words that they hit and say, oh goodness, that is a big word.  If you were reading, The cat is swinging in the tree.  You can can think aloud as you read.  Be sure to tell the kids you are going to think aloud because else wise they might just interrupt to tell you the word.  It is done like this. 

 ”The cat is…hmm.. /s/../w/, the letters ing say /ing/ so I have /s/, /w/, ing… swing, the letters ing again, it’s swinging.  The cat is swinging in the …tr says the  /tr/ sound and ee…tree.  The cat is swinging in the tree.” 

 This models the thought process someone that is trying to read something difficult for them.  This is a process we naturally, as fluent readers do on hard words, but we don’t say it outloud.  Some kids need to be taught this process.  Within that you end up teaching him sound combinations that he may not know at this point like that ing makes the /ing/ sound and tr makes the /tr/ sound.  It is best done by watching for those sounds he most says incorrectly and then modeling it with those sounds. Put those sounds in a powerpoint or on flashcards and practice them.  Model the think aloud when you see that sound. 

 4.  Create flashcards or powerpoints with the common letter combinations for specific sounds or common words they are not reading with quick recognition.  Once they begin to recognize and state the word within a second, you will want to build automaticity by flashing the card for less than a second and make it disappear.  This is the point they then sate the word.  They think about it after the words has disappeared.  They can’t sound it out.  

5.  Read, read and re-read poetry, things with rhythm and/ or rhyme, repeatedly.

6.  Reader’s Theater- reading their part that is on their level repeatedly.

Please email me questions/comments.  I will be glad to consult with you to help you in regards to your child’s needs.

   

 

My son can’t read his spelling words, is this ok? (submitted by L Mison)

If your child can not read their spelling words then it doesn’t make since to expect them to learn to spell them.  It is really sad that in many of our schools teachers have their spelling curriculum that for struggling readers is just too high.  If your child has an IEP and is struggling in reading, I would highly recommend you asking your special education teacher to consider writing in your child receiving an alternative spelling list.

Spelling is an important skill.  It should not be dismissed.  Spelling helps reading skills and there is so much more to spelling then just memorization.  Research shows that children who learn how the spelling system works in English with its patterns, sounds, and definitions through spelling skills, increase their reading fluency, comprehension and writing skills.   If a student is given spelling words that they struggle to read, the spelling lists become more about memorization instead of the skills that go with spelling.  We want to teach the phonetic patterns and how the system works through spelling, making the process the most important, not the level of spelling.

Scientifically, it has been found that students learn spelling best when their spelling words come from the words they are misspelling in their writing.  This means that those words are being used on a regular basis by the student and they are not spelling them correctly.  They can immediately begin to use the word and should be expected to spell it correctly from then on. 

For teachers that are not willing to create an alternative list for students that can read the spelling list, “You are just plain lazy.”  It isn’t that hard.  Just find words they can read.

I don’t know what’s wrong but my son doesn’t know how to socialize properly? Submitted by V Southard

On the way home from an event in the car with another teacher, we were discussing the needs of her son.  her son is in special education for ADHD, but she knows there is much more she says.  I just don’t know how to get help.  After discussing things for a little while, we came up with an understanding that he doesn’t truly know how to hold a conversation with others properly.  She was unaware that this is considered a speech concern under the area of pragmatics.  Many times students with Asperbers, Autism or other behavioral concerns struggle in this area and if undiagnosed they do not receive the speech services needed.  In this post I will discuss how to tell if pragmatics may be an issue for your child and how to go about having them evaluated.

 

What are the signs of social skill (pragmatic) speech issues?

1.  No eye contact

2.  struggles with taking turns in conversation

3.  Off topic

4. Lack of understanding for how to introduce or change topics 

5. Lack of understanding how to rephrase when misunderstood

6. Doesn’t understand verbal and nonverbal social cues

7. Inappropriate proximity (closeness) to partner in conversation

8. Inappropriate facial expressions

9. Inappropriate tone (we speak differently to a baby than an adult or peer)

10.  Lack of appropriate volume control

11. Inappropriate use of conversation from playground to classroom

12. tell stories in disorganized way

13. have low variety of language use

Note:  Rules are different for different cultures and should be considered.

When looking at the above pragmatic concern areas it is important to note that children may have pragmatic difficulties in a few situations and that would not be unusual.  What is unusual is when a child has pragmatic issues that occur often and are inappropriate for their age. Many times these kids will struggle with making and keeping friends because others will avoid them.  It is frustrating to communicate with someone who has these difficulties. It goes the same way that the child may choose to keep to themselves and not attempt to make friends because it is too difficult.  They don’t know how to express themselves well and feel very misunderstood.  They are often frustrated by this. 

As a special education teacher, I am not an expert in regards to speech, but have worked with speech therapist for a long period of time. 

Now that I do believe my child is struggling what do I do? Call for a meeting

In the case of the parent I was working with, we conversed about a number of the above topics.  The parent was unaware that this was a speech issue.  She said, “He can talk fine.”  This is because most people see speech as an articulation issue or stuttering, something of this sort.  Not true.  Pragmatics is just as important and is essential to a child’s well-being.  It is important for them to be able to express themselves, be understood and receive communication appropriately. 

We continued and I discussed with her that she needed to call for a Multidisciplinary Education Team Meeting.  In some states this is called an IEP meeting or an ARD meeting.  When doing this you can submit your request in person, email, phone, or in writing.  If there is concern with follow through at your school then you may want to request in writing.  After the request is made, the school has 10 days to hold a meeting with you to address the concern.  Before submitting this, write down what areas you are concerned about, collect specific examples to have ready to share, and talk to the teacher asking them questions about those things and if they have seen any of the things you see.  Ask them to give you examples.  If they haven’t seen it, then ask them to be watchful between then and the meeting.  A speech therapist should be at this meeting as they are the expert and essential to the success of the meeting.

What will happen at the meeting?

In the meeting, which should include the regular education teacher, other teachers working with the child, an administrative representative (person with approval for monetary decisions), speech therapist, and parent.  Anything done here is a team decision. You should carry your specific examples of concerns in the area of pragmatics.  Share those specifics.  Ask questions about what you do not understand.  Be flexible. 

Trust the speech therapist.  For the most part they are on your side and want what is best for the child.  They are the expert so try to listen and work with them.  If they choose to request an evaluation, they may advise doing more or less to address the concerns or even a different route to addressing the concerns.  In some states and with some areas of need it is important that you receive a medical diagnosis.  This does not give them the excuse to send you to the doctor for evaluation.  The school can do the proper testing they see needed and then if needed you can take that documentation to the doctor and the doctor refer you or make the proper diagnosis from those results provided to him.  In some cases, you may choose to go to your doctor first and use insurance.  This is up to you and sometimes parents feel this is easier.  You should not feel pushed to this. 

In the case above, I attended the parents meeting and the parent did not know how to clearly describe what they were experiencing.  This is why you should write examples down.  Fortunately, I attended and was able to ask questions of them and the teacher to dig out what was being experienced.  As a result, the meeting which was leaning in the direction of no assessment, led to a full evaluation and assessment for other concerns that had not been addressed as well.  The lesson is to be prepared and not intimidated by the number of people attending the meeting.

He was assessed and qualified now what?

The speech therapist will design a plan which will include individual and/or group therapy.  This may include social coaching and social skills training where they can practice skills in a safe environment.  The speech therapist is the expert and will know the proper way to address concerns.  They usually will provide you with things to work with your child on as well and make sure you follow through.  This is what provides the best results.  Daily practice leads you to the quickest success.

In some cases, they may refer you for more testing or to the doctor for concerns that need to be diagnosed by a doctor.  This is to help you get more services that may be available through your state programs for students with more severe concerns.  This guidance is in the best interest of your child. 

You have rights and it is important to know them. If you need help or questions answered please feel free to email me.  I am available for services to attend meetings to aid in the process or to help you be prepared with what to share to advocate for your child.  If you found this helpful and you have success as a result of this post, please email me or post a comment.  I always enjoy and appreciate feedback.

How do I get control of my child (student) for school, they are out of control? (question submitted by email by L Thompson)

Negative behaviors are one of the greatest struggles parents and teachers face.  We must first determine if the student can’t do what is being asked or if they won’t do what is being asked of them.  There are 4 key items to remember in regards to negative behaviors.

• Negative Behaviors usually serve one of two purposes.

To Avoid Something or To Control Something

• Changing a behavior takes longer than learning it.
• Many times the behaviors have worked and as a result been reinforced for years.
• Consistency is essential in changing a behavior.

Some Sample Negative Behaviors and Interventions

Let’s talk about a variety of negative behaviors and some interventions to help in each of these areas:

Child crys when given assignments or says, “I can’t do it.”

 Things to do:

1. Validate how they feel.  Feelings are something they are unable to control so don’t argue with how they feel or undermine their feelings, but move forward.
2. Ask them to be specific about what they “can’t do” with an understanding calm voice.
3. Break the assignment down into smaller parts or give them a certain period of time that you will not make them work past at that given time.
4. Work through a few examples together having you coach them through the steps, piece by piece and then them coach you through the steps or even you coach one step, them coach the next until the goal is accomplished.

Child refuses to do the work. “You can’t make me.”

Things to do:

1. Don’t Argue.  They are right, you really can’t make them. Arguing gives them more power.
2. Provide choices that make it more beneficial to do it than to not.  For example, Your choices are complete your math homework and join us for family movie night or brush your teeth, get ready for bed and lights out.  No movie night and no playing other things, it is bedtime.  Sometimes providing a choice of how to do what has been asked is helpful, if learn to do this before the argument.  For example, “You have math homework to do, I can sit down with you and help you right now for the next 30 minutes or you can have the next 30 minutes to play and then you can complete your homework in your bedroom while the family watches the movie for family movie night.”  They are more likely to pick a choice and then they are choosing it and it avoids the argument altogether.
3. Dig into why they are arguing, ask them if they understand how to do what is being asked or if they find it hard.  It might be their way of showing you that they are having a hard time.
4. Break the job up into parts.  If it is like in the example above math homework and consists of 10 problems, maybe you ask for them to do 5 problems and then take a break, doing something fun, like playing their choice video game for 30 min and then coming back and doing the other 5.  If this is a chore at home.  Maybe it is breaking “clean your room”  into parts.  Make up the bed, then do something of their choice for 15min, 30min, whatever is doable and appropriate, then pick up the toys off the floor, etc.
5. Use a behavior plan.  Will be discussed later, below.

Child becomes angry resulting in destruction, cursing, or screaming.

Things to do:

1. Stay calm and do not argue.  It will only make the situation worse.
2. Provide expectations that they will clean up any messes they make and follow through with having them clean it up after the situation has calmed. You can’t give in and clean it up for them, this will only make things worse.
3. Provide a “cool off zone”. This is somewhere they ARE allowed to go and yell or scream or kick, but they must remain in that zone. They need to know the guidelines and rules for the cool off zone. When they are done and ready to leave the zone, they will be expected to return to the assignment given.  Cool off zones should be clear of anything they could damage or destroy and somewhere you are able to remove yourself so that if they are loud it is not as irritating for you. 
4. They need short, clear, concise directions when they are upset to this degree so keep it simple and short. 
5. Establish routines so that expectations are clear.
6. Use behavior plan with strong rewards and consequences that matter. (will discuss later, below)

Child can’t stay still or get focused.

Things to do:

1. Allow movement and way of work being done.  Parents: talk to your teacher about letting them sit on the floor, lay on the floor, stand, sit on exercise ball, maybe they would need to be in the back of the room for less distraction but maybe it would make a difference.  Give them a stress ball or kneaded eraser to squeeze and manipulate during listening and sitting time and accept this if they are able to do use it and listen while not distracting others.  Teachers:  Try it.
2. Use a visible timer and have them work to beat the clock at the task.
3. Give a specific amount of time to work on the task.
4. Sandwich this less interesting task/activity with two likeable tasks.
5. Give praise everytime you see possiblein regards to staying focused or being on task. 

Changing the Behaviors

• Behaviors will not change if they are getting something out of it.  It is being reinforced.  For example, child has a fit in a particular situation so you take them away from the situation.  If they wanted out of the situation then you have just reinforced the behavior of having a fit.  Having a fit= Get out of it.
• Rewards have to be something the student is buying into and helping to create in order to work.  You can draw limitations on rewards and definitely have the rewards be something that have to be approved, but they still come up with them.  Sometimes just telling them to brainstorm ideas of free rewards, gives you a lot to work with and isn’t getting into the pocketbook.
• Consistency, consistency, consistency….If one time they do something and it is accepted and the next results in consequence and it isn’t consistently reinforced in the behavior direction you are looking for then they will continue to test the behavior because it might be the time that it is accepted.  This is why it is best to work on one specific behavior for a while before moving on to a second.  If you try to change too many behaviors at once it becomes difficult to keep track and stay consistent.  But doing one, then adding another and another gives you the opportunity to stay consistent with one that hopefully will not be being very tested by the time you get to the third behavior you are working to change.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
• Dedication It is essential that you realize that changing behavior will take time.  You have to stick with a new plan with new rules and boundaries for at least 30 days to truly determine if it is working or not working.  One day or even a week, sometimes two are just not enough to undue years of learned negative behavior. You may need help and don’t hesitate to ask for help. You must persevere to succeed.

Behavior Plans

A behavior plan usually consists of two parts.  One is a contract that is agreed upon between an adult and the child that has agreed upon rewards and consequences that hopefully the child was able to come up with.  This gives them buy in to the plan.  The contract should also have the rules and expectations.  What behaviors are wanted and which ones are not.  For example:  Johnny will follow directions without negative comments like, “This is stupid.” Johnny can say positive things or remain silent while following directions.  You will want these written in the positive, You don’t want to write the rule or expectation as, “Johnny will not state negative comments when asked to do something.” 

Second is the behavior tracking.  This is something created that can be marked with initials, simple marks, stickers, etc.  There is a positive side and a negative side.  After an expectation was seen or not seen, the situation is discussed and if the child is able, they would mark the negative or positive side appropriately.  The adult can too- but they seem to enjoy that part and if they take advantage of them having that control then this can be a consequence.  If you think this might be neccessary, it should be written in the contract.  

The contract should be reviewed on a regular basis, my recommendation is weekly, but sometimes daily is needed. More than a week is just too much.  At that time, the contract is reviewed and rewards or consequences followed through with if set on longer term goals.  If the rewards or consequences are immediate with each time a wanted or unwanted behavior is demonstrated then thiswouldn’t be neccessary. Then determine if rewards or consequences should be changed and change goals/expectations as needed. The expectation will many times stay the same for a few weeks and then you are able to up the expectation or move on to new expectations that need to be addressed.  Each time, it should be signed.

A note about consequences: Consequences are decided on prior to a rule being broken and are meant to eliminate negative behaviors. They should be logical.  A punishment is something that is done at the time of a rule being broken and was not agreed upon.  This is motivated by making someone pay for something they have done.

A note on rewards:  These need to be addressed on daily short term situations and long term situations and should have a variety, choices to choose from for the reward and my favorite, “free” Get to watch favorite tv show, computer time, video game time, etc.  For the long term goals given on weekly, monthly or just when they have earned them can include non-free things like going out to eat or to the movies or even having a friend come to spend the night.  You can not take away an award once it was earned, but can delay if neccessary due to an inappropriate behavior.  This can make some kids feel like there isn’t a point if it is just going to be taken away.

Last but not Least Positive Feedback and Praise

It takes about 10 positive comments to balance out 1 negative.

Positive feedback and praise must be specific, not just good job but “I really liked the way you cleaned up all of your mess after finishing your project, it made everything so nice.  You did a fine job.”

Good Luck and let me know if you use my suggestions and how they turned out.