March 18 - 22

Ranchlands in lucky enough to run a parenting program here at the school for the 4th year. The Community Parenting Education Program (CPEP) is hosted by Hull Services.  Hull offers behaviour and mental health services for children (ages 5 -17) and their families. Their programs are community, family or school based.
Their motto is:

 "We recognize and support the fundamental needs in life of the people we serve: 

to care and be cared for, 

a sense of belonging and autonomy 

in the pursuit of aspirations and dreams."

The program runs over the course of 8-10 weeks in the evening.  The parents look at a variety of skills such as communication, relationship building and problem solving while the children work on social skills. A social network and sense of community is built through out the duration of the course as well as learning about helpful services in the community. The program comes from McMaster University Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario and is offered throughout the province of Ontario as well as the USA, Denmark, Sweden and Guam.

Course will run Thursday nights: April 15 - June June 13.

More Information:   Hull Services   or Contact the School

HAVE A GREAT SPRING BREAK!

March 11 - 15

Trauma Informed Practice 
(summary of a workshop I took)

As we travel through life it is a give in that we all will experience both good & hard times. The older you get the more equipped you become with managing stress, cultivating supportive relationships & not taking things personally.  However, if a child experiences a lot of adversity it can be hard for them to manage the stress that is created.  In addition if a child lacks a caring role model to engage in a send & receive of positive interactions, the stress can becomes even greater & become toxic. 

Journey to Resiliency

Resilience: the ability to recover readily from adversity (unfavorable fortune or circumstances)
Everyone has a different tolerance to stress as well as adversity. Pushed outside of your comfort zone, one can become highly elevated (screaming, hitting...) & require deregulation OR can become depressed (crying, sleeping all the time, disengaged...) & require up-regulation to return to their comfort zone. As a teacher or parent it is important to offer choice & voice to children when they become overwhelmed. Even if you are not sure if what you are doing is going to help, trying is all you can ask of yourself. Do they best that you can.

Hope & Efficacy

www.echotraining.org

March 4 - 8

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

I had the opportunity to attend a professional development session by our complex needs strategist, Erin Laberee Lee, last Friday.  I thought I would share some of the information to better educate you as a parent, as it may be useful directly or indirectly.

Considerations for Classroom & Home Environments:
Keeping spaces organized decreases one's stress & potential for crisis.  Keeping routines structured & familiar increases one's ability to focus. Visual supports provide clarity and give concrete information for one to refer back to. Ensure expectations & consequences are explicitly taught. Make sure the child has been taught an appropriate way to communicate needs & wants.

Universal Factors to Help All:
- provide multiple ways to represent what they know
- provide multiple ways to engage the child / learner
- provide multiple ways for them to express themselves

Direct Instruction is Needed for:
- emotion regulation
- flexibility
- working memory
- cognitive tasks
- planning & organization
- sustaining attention
- respecting personal space
- ability to read & understand body language &  non-verbal cues
- understanding others' perspectives

Worth the watch:
What is inclusion?

Transforming Inclusion

Feb 25 - March 1

Tantrum: an outburst of anger and frustration, typically in a young child

Meltdown: a loss of control of one's temper

Young children lack the coping skills and experience to effectively manage their emotions all of the time. They often don't have the words to explain how they are feeling and can become frustrated by not being understood. When children to not get what they want when they want it, it can set them off in an instant.  Often times a  power struggle can ensue.

Here are a few tips and tricks to help you...

- Unless your child is in danger of hurting themselves, try to not give your attention to their behaviour. Sometimes they just need to get their emotions out & need the space to do so.

- Children will try & match your voice level.  The louder you become the more engaged they become & the louder they get as well. Try instead to maintain a calm, soft voice.

- Offering them a choice can help them feel like they have regained some control. (ie. Do you want to sit on the couch or do you want to me to go to the kitchen?)

- Try shifting their attention. Getting your child interested in something else can often divert their thinking and help prevent the outburst from happening.

- Offer a big, firm hug.
- Stress, tiredness, hunger & overstimulation can make tantrums more likely. Being prepared & proactive can limit these situations.