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Professionals working with children are sure to experience challenging behaviour on a daily basis. Although the behaviours may be unacceptable or inappropriate, it is important that staff maintain a positive and appropriate attitude towards responses. This behaviour support is integral in the development of the youth, as many of them gain their personalities and quirks from adults they interact with on a daily basis.
You have to remember that your staff is responsible for the growth and development of these children, and there must be boundaries set by you. By teaching staff these responses, you ensure that your clients get what they pay you for.
Guidance is quite a complicated topic to touch on. Guidance will determine the lessons learned by the children, which usually carry on to their later years. It is important to teach the youth what it means to be a member of the community around them. That entails proper interaction protocols like manners and social cues, as well as analytical skills like reading those social cues. By teaching your staff how to assist those with difficulties in these areas, they will be able to learn from their mistakes and make positive changes and choices.
One must be careful not to punish a learning child because punishments usually make them fear adults or people in general. That can be avoided by creating a healthy environment for them to roam around in, without fear of repression due to bad behaviour. The ones who are placed under your supervision should aid their growth by creating a natural relationship with them. This way, they know you are someone to trust and can fall back to when they face uncertainties.
Appropriate expectations would help create rules, expectations, or guidelines that would foster a positive social climate. Limit rules to a few key ones, as it is important to remember that you are dealing with young people who have yet to encounter certain experiences. These rules may be by the likes of “have respect for others,” or “be a responsible citizen.”
Children have a different perception of the world around them, which would require adults to constantly rearrange physical spaces and schedules to meet their needs. Things like minimising running space by using physical objects and providing activity toys for productivity will help greatly in developing skills. Teach your staff to assess environments if a child has issues adapting to the setting and how to make changes based on the decisions made by the child.
Having a good curriculum can remove the need for the youth to engage in challenging behaviours. When faced with boredom, or when overstimulated, these challenges may occur, which is something that keeping them busy will mitigate. Teaching staff members to use curricular programming and observation techniques will greatly improve the development of the kids.
The effectiveness of guidance closely depends on relationship strength. As time spent together increases, your staff will be able to further develop strategies to get along with the children through close observation. It happens when the staff spends neutral time with them, as listening, playing, and enjoying time together will allow them to find positive attributes of their students.
The growth of the youth greatly depends on the experiences they come across while growing up. This is why taking on the role of a behavioural support therapist is important and demanding. Preparing these children for their future endeavours puts less stress on their parents, which is something we at VIP Education can assist you with. We work with over 150 schools and academies in the UK and are ready to assist you in providing behaviour support and with starting your learning journey. Contact us to find out more!
