I had talked with my sons special ed teacher and she suggested that we
teach my son to regulate his hyperness by using a number system. 6 if he
is way to hyper and 1 for normal. She said to tell him that his body runs
like an engine and that in class his engine needs to run at a 1 or 2. So if
he is hyper all teachers should just tell him that his engine is running too
fast and to have his engine move down one or two numbers.
It's not a bad idea apart from the fact that it would require consistancy
from all staff. But I am all for him finding ways to regulate himself.
(Though I think being hyper for my ds is also a reaction to
overstimulation and that needs to be addressed in different ways.)
However my biggest concern is that we are starting to get into territory
where my ds learns all this artificial therapy lingo. By artificial I mean
phrases or words that would not be used by a regular kid or parent. And I
know that he is not a 'regular' kid but do we need to teach him language
that sets him apart on top of that?
I don't want that for him. It might teach him a little about self-regulation
but it will make him sound like a 'patient' which I am sure will not
improve matters with peers.
With all the language problems that he already has I don't want to
introduce any kind of artificial therapy language. Anyone else feel that
way?What kind of lingo are you talking about? Is it terms that they're purposely teaching him, or terms that he's just picking up from hearing others say?
The scales are really supposed to work well, there's a book called "The incredible five point scale" or something like that, specifically for autistic children.
I believe your teacher is trying to use the self regulation program " how does your engine run". According to our OT this is a pretty good program. I would not worry to much about being artificial as all of those cues can eventually be faded out. Perhaps they can use the cues in a manner that only your son can hear or use this with all the kids in the class ( everyones engine is going to fast).
What if the teacher used this metaphor for ALL the kids in class? I would
I never even thought of that as being a "therapy" thing! I've done that all the time with my boys...it started with a rather innocent "Hey, throttle back there, Sparky!" which they found confusing, but hilarious. Now, when I say that to them, they know it means they're getting too rambunctious and need to tone it down a bit.
I haven't gone as far as the therapist you mention, but I would have if I had heard of it before, I bet. In fact, I'm thinking about trying it out anyway! Four boys bouncing off the walls can get really grating, and this would be a simple, easy way for them to understand when their behavior is getting to be too much.
In kindergarten each child is given an ID number and when they are a having mild behaviors the teacher will put up a yellow flag next to number so the child can adjust him/herself accordingly...once it goes to red flag they get a mark in their daily folder and the parents have to sign it:(
It is a cool way to get the kids to find self control without losing self esteem..but I am sure over time many of the kids memorize other kids numbers if the teacher is really obvious.
Maybe a 5 point scale could be taped to his desk at school, and if his arousal level is getting too high, the teacher could simply walk by his desk and point to where he seems to be on the scale. The visual cue is less disruptive than saying it out loud.
I think it's a good idea too...Mason's OT uses this with him only he doesn't quite comprehend the number scale so we made pictures...we actually use Spongebob, Patrick and Squidward. LOL...we seem to use that quite a bit with Mason but hey, it works!
Anyway Squidward is high--we show him this picture whenever he is crabby, to hyper, etc...we redirect him to become Spongebob again.
Spongebob is just right--so anytime he is sitting good or has a good energy level we remind him how good he is right now.
Patrick is too low--if he needs to pick himself up a bit we show him Patrick and again remind him we want to see Spongebob.
It has actually worked very well for him...and I guess I'm not too concerned about the "difference" that this bring for him, because I figure if he is too hyper or crabby or even too lethargic, he is going to get noticed this way too. If we can get it to the point that all it takes is a picture to get him to realize he needs to change things a little, I'd be happy! Kid's tend to shy away from those that act to differently, but if they hear him say something about a number scale or telling himself to be a 2 instead of a 6, I don't think that most kids would think too much of that....does that make any sense?