Definitions
A student's fight, flight, or freeze response is activated and they are unable to regulate their emotions and behaviors
What is a crisis
Providing immediate support to reduce emotional intensity, identifying and resolving the underlying concerns causing distress, and to KEEP the student in the activity
Goals of Emotional First Aid
Knowing our own attitudes, values, and beliefs about students and how they influence behaviors
self awareness
The adult uses the information and perspective they learned to connect what happened to the student and their response
Connect trigger to feelings to behavior
Student threatens staff by making a fist and swinging at adult
deflecting a swing
Silence
Facial expression
Eye contact
Tone of voice
Nonverbal Techniques
This helps students express their thoughts and feelings, reduces defensiveness and opposition, and promotes change
Active Listening
4 questions we ask ourselves to identify the most appropriate intervention strategies
What am I feeling right now?
What does the student feel, need, expect, or want?
How is the environment affecting the situation?
How do I best respond?
When all the information is gathered and the adult repeats back their understanding of the situation to the student
"Lets see if I have this right..."
Summarize the student's feelings and story
2 adults required
no wall available
can approach from the front or the back
Adults and students remain upright
Standing restraint technique
response that is Connecting with the students FEELINGS
"You look upset."
Reflective Response
When a student does not have the skills to regulate their emotions, a caring adult needs to help them calm down so they are able to think rationally
Co-Regulation
Awareness of own physical and emotional state
Skills to manage our own emotions and behavior
Ability to draw on memory and experience to adapt effectively to present situation
Self Regulation
Adults let the student guide them to another response in the future.
"When you feel yourself getting angry, what is something you think would help calm you down?"
Alternative response to feelings discussed
2 adults required
Wall available for support
May or may not use legs if needed
Seated restraint
When situations get stressful and behaviors start escalating, we often try to take control of the situation by using threats, demanding compliance, or giving consequences and this can lead the student and staff into a...
power struggle
Managing the environment, Prompting, Caring Gesture, Hurdle Help, Redirections/distractions, Proximity, Directive statements, and Time away are all examples of..
Behavior Support Techniques
Listen and engage with student
"Tune in" to what student is saying and feeling
Be aware of their own feelings
Respond to student
Realize how student is experiencing adults
Relationship skills and attunement
Adults LISTEN to the student's perception of the incident and is an opportunity for the STUDENT to express their emotions.
Explore a students point of view
Requires:
one adult only
wall or no wall
Adult bring the student to the floor by stepping back or leaning against a wall
Small child restraint
Immediate response (is everyone ok?)
LSI with child (How can they recover at a higher level?)
Documentation (What happened?)
Incident review with staff (What did I learn from this?)
Incident review with team (What can we all learn from this?)
Post-crisis Multi-Level response timeline
Listen and validate the student's feelings
Managing the environment
Give the student choices and time to decide what to do next
Drop or change the expectations
Dropping the rope
Seeing the situation from the students point of view
Lending enough support to help bring the situation within the students ability to manage
Celebrating the student's efforts and success
Ways adults can be a source of strength/support for students
Goals of the Life Space Interview
Provide a sense of emotional safety
Help clarify events for student and adult
Repair and restore the relationship
Help the student learn to regulate emotions
Re-enter the student back into the routine
Requires 3 adults minimum
Student and adult are guided to the floor
Bonus points if you can demonstrate transferring control correctly
supine restraint