Teacher advice needed

[SmallWorld71]

Excellent advice, thank you very much. I will follow all of this.

I wish you luck; these situations are never easy.

One other thing (and I am not at all saying this is happening), be careful that you don't lose control of the rest of the class because of this one student. I have seen it happen. A teacher spends so much time trying to manage the out of control student that those 'borderline' students end up choosing to act out as well and then things snowball out of hand. The rest of the students need to know that you see them and that it's worth it to them to keep remaining in control even when this student isn't. If you lose control of the others, it can be a daunting task to get it back.

 

[Cheburashka]

You mentioned being told how to avoid triggering him, but is there a written procedure for when he starts escalating? If not, there should absolutely be a step-by-step procedure (i.e. evacuate other students, call the office for support, etc.).

No, that has all been improvised. That's a good idea and I will be sure to request that something like this be put into place. Thank you.

 

[Cheburashka]

One other thing (and I am not at all saying this is happening), be careful that you don't lose control of the rest of the class because of this one student. I have seen it happen. A teacher spends so much time trying to manage the out of control student that those 'borderline' students end up choosing to act out as well and then things snowball out of hand. The rest of the students need to know that you see them and that it's worth it to them to keep remaining in control even when this student isn't. If you lose control of the others, it can be a daunting task to get it back.

Fortunately I have no other students with behavior challenges in my class so no concerns there.

 

[kymom99]

After getting more info from you, i have a few more thoughts. I would request a meeting with admin and the case manager. Have them put in writing what you should be doing in the case of an outburst and at what point you should request assistance. I would also request a radio and keep it on you at all times. I cant tell you how many times I have called the front office phone and no one answers. They will answer a radio. Or they should.

As far as the district sped administration, I have found that in meetings with those individuals, they tend to be more protective of the rights of the student. I understand that the student needs an advocate, but you have to advocate for the rest of the kids.

Was this child a student at your school last year? Can you reach out to last year’s teacher to see what their experience was?

This is a story about my own son. I noticed when he was around 4th grade that he had a scratch on the back of his neck. I asked him what happened and he said M did it. He also showed me little claw marks on his forearm. Those were scars that had healed over which meant this had been going on for a while. He said this girl sat next to him and would pinch and scratch him. I called his teacher who seemed very…deflated? Is that the word I’m looking for? She had been dealing with this girls issues for a while. She told the students that if someone hurt them that they should tell her. She kept moving seats around and my son was the latest victim. She promised to move him and she told me she had been working with this child’s mom to stop the behavior and she needed to know when it happened so she could keep her informed. I felt bad for the teacher but I also was irritated that my child had to try to learn while being abused. I guess I’m saying that the other kids in the class deserve a safe place to learn. Don’t give up on demanding it.

I’m hoping you can get this resolved. It has to be so stressful going to work knowing what you could face each day.

 

[Cheburashka]

Was this child a student at your school last year? Can you reach out to last year’s teacher to see what their experience was?

Yes and no. The child was here but the teacher is gone. Both special education teachers from last year are gone. Both the principal and assistant principal from last year are gone. My principal is a first year principal. Both of our special education teachers are first year special education teachers. We're also currently supposed to have three special education teachers and only have two.

 

[Cheburashka]

I guess I’m saying that the other kids in the class deserve a safe place to learn. Don’t give up on demanding it.

Agreed. I won't. I care about all of my students.

 

[kymom99]

Oh my

Yes and no. The child was here but the teacher is gone. Both special education teachers from last year are gone. Both the principal and assistant principal from last year are gone. My principal is a first year principal. Both of our special education teachers are first year special education teachers. We're also currently supposed to have three special education teachers and only have two.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Consider that (in the real world of school) you can only call 911 once -- well, I mean, once and keep your job. No point in discussing whether that's right or wrong. It just IS. The path of escalation is, You call the office for an administrator and/or SRO first -- they decide when you need to call outside help.

General question to all teachers - wouldn’t the union help with this if someone was fired for calling 911 in a true emergency and the teacher was in fear or their life or that of their students?

 

[Lilsia]

After getting more info from you, i have a few more thoughts. I would request a meeting with admin and the case manager. Have them put in writing what you should be doing in the case of an outburst and at what point you should request assistance. I would also request a radio and keep it on you at all times. I cant tell you how many times I have called the front office phone and no one answers. They will answer a radio. Or they should.

As far as the district sped administration, I have found that in meetings with those individuals, they tend to be more protective of the rights of the student. I understand that the student needs an advocate, but you have to advocate for the rest of the kids.

Was this child a student at your school last year? Can you reach out to last year’s teacher to see what their experience was?

This is a story about my own son. I noticed when he was around 4th grade that he had a scratch on the back of his neck. I asked him what happened and he said M did it. He also showed me little claw marks on his forearm. Those were scars that had healed over which meant this had been going on for a while. He said this girl sat next to him and would pinch and scratch him. I called his teacher who seemed very…deflated? Is that the word I’m looking for? She had been dealing with this girls issues for a while. She told the students that if someone hurt them that they should tell her. She kept moving seats around and my son was the latest victim. She promised to move him and she told me she had been working with this child’s mom to stop the behavior and she needed to know when it happened so she could keep her informed. I felt bad for the teacher but I also was irritated that my child had to try to learn while being abused. I guess I’m saying that the other kids in the class deserve a safe place to learn. Don’t give up on demanding it.

I’m hoping you can get this resolved. It has to be so stressful going to work knowing what you could face each day.

It is insane to me that we allow obviously troubled students to keep terrorizing the classroom. They used to take care of this stuff immediately and send them to a specialized school to handle these types of kids. Being in the typical setting does not help them at all since they don't get the treatment that they need. I know the inclusive idea was meant to be helpful, it in many cases it is not. Not with kids with these types of behavioral issues.

 

[JLTraveling]

For what age of students is this for? Does it pertain to 3-5 year olds also?

What, an involuntary psych evaluation? It pertains to anybody, child or adult, who is assessed and found to be an immediate danger to themselves or others. It's sort of like a 72 hour time out, where the person is surrounded by psych professionals who do everything from testing to watching how they interact in a group to make further recommendations for proper treatment (be it inpatient or outpatient).

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What, an involuntary psych evaluation? It pertains to anybody, child or adult, who is assessed and found to be an immediate danger to themselves or others. It's sort of like a 72 hour time out, where the person is surrounded by psych professionals who do everything from testing to watching how they interact in a group to make further recommendations for proper treatment (be it inpatient or outpatient).

The ironic and sad part of this is that a lot of these places aren’t staffed any better than many other places are today, and staff wind up leaving there, too, because of unsafe conditions. So we think that a person will be surrounded by experienced psych professionals and tested and evaluated, etc., but in reality, it can be a total shoot show there, too.

 

[DLgal]

This child needs placement in a special day class or he needs a 1:1 aide who can be responsible for managing his behavior. Unfortunately, this is what you get when school districts don't adequately fund and prioritize special education programs and just toss all kids with IEPs into mainstream classrooms.This is an example of "least restrictive environment" being misunderstood and implemented incorrectly.

All behavior is communication. This child is acting out as a coping mechanism due to a stress response to a situation he cannot explain (fight or flight, he obviously goes to fight...this is involuntary so don't blame the kid). Something is setting him off and all plans for this student moving forward need to be focused on observing what is happening BEFORE these meltdowns and identifying the point in time where intervention will be most successful (BEFORE the meltdown). Once a kid enters this state, you cannot talk rationally to them, they cannot process logic at that point. If you can keep the child from reaching that breaking point, everyone will benefit. This child needs frequent breaks, literally outside if possible. Like, physical walks or some time alone in a quiet room, or something. This should be part of his IEP/BIP. This child is not being adequately served by anyone at this point. He needs help, not condemnation.

OP, this part is going to be hard, but the absolute best way to manage the meltdown in progress is to project overwhelming CALM. Quiet, calm, speak slowly or stop talking altogether. Give the child space. Get the other students to leave the room quickly and efficiently if you can (enlist a neighboring teacher to open his/her classroom to your students if needed). Let the meltdown happen and just keep your distance. Take traditional pencils away from him. Have him use mechanical pencils instead. They aren't as sharp.

This is awful that you, as a teacher, don't have the support you need to deal with this. It is not a one man job. This is why kids in this state do much better in a smaller group setting with plenty of teacher support (i.e. no more than a 4:1 teacher student ratio).

 

[kymom99]

The fact that you have so many new staff is very telling. And having unfilled special education positions is unfortunately all too common. This means the teachers you do have are dealing with too many cases. Your new admin are probably doing all they can to keep their heads above water. If you try to deal with everything without help, they will let you. Talk to the special area teachers (PE, music, etc) and enlist their help.

 

[Cheburashka]

General question to all teachers - wouldn’t the union help with this if someone was fired for calling 911 in a true emergency and the teacher was in fear or their life or that of their students?

If you live in a union state, I guess. We're non-union here.

 

[Kestryl]

In addition to documenting everything, make sure you have access to copies of those documents or emails if you were cut off from school access. This might sound like paranoia, but consider an extreme event happens. They may put you on leave or fire you, without access to email or hard drive. You will want those copies. Make it physical or forward/bcc your personal email.

(Not a teacher, but I’ve seen and heard of this kind of maliciousness in employers trying to cover their tracks. Protect yourself first.)

 

[JLTraveling]

The ironic and sad part of this is that a lot of these places aren’t staffed any better than many other places are today, and staff wind up leaving there, too, because of unsafe conditions. So we think that a person will be surrounded by experienced psych professionals and tested and evaluated, etc., but in reality, it can be a total shoot show there, too.

Oh I know. I've worked at several of them. But at least the people who work there are better trained and equipped to handle this kind of thing than the average classroom teacher/principal. And at least in Florida, there are certain mandatory tests and evaluations that have to be performed within those 72 hours of involuntary hold.

 

[JLTraveling]

This child needs placement in a special day class or he needs a 1:1 aide who can be responsible for managing his behavior. Unfortunately, this is what you get when school districts don't adequately fund and prioritize special education programs and just toss all kids with IEPs into mainstream classrooms.This is an example of "least restrictive environment" being misunderstood and implemented incorrectly.

All behavior is communication. This child is acting out as a coping mechanism due to a stress response to a situation he cannot explain (fight or flight, he obviously goes to fight...this is involuntary so don't blame the kid). Something is setting him off and all plans for this student moving forward need to be focused on observing what is happening BEFORE these meltdowns and identifying the point in time where intervention will be most successful (BEFORE the meltdown). Once a kid enters this state, you cannot talk rationally to them, they cannot process logic at that point. If you can keep the child from reaching that breaking point, everyone will benefit. This child needs frequent breaks, literally outside if possible. Like, physical walks or some time alone in a quiet room, or something. This should be part of his IEP/BIP. This child is not being adequately served by anyone at this point. He needs help, not condemnation.

OP, this part is going to be hard, but the absolute best way to manage the meltdown in progress is to project overwhelming CALM. Quiet, calm, speak slowly or stop talking altogether. Give the child space. Get the other students to leave the room quickly and efficiently if you can (enlist a neighboring teacher to open his/her classroom to your students if needed). Let the meltdown happen and just keep your distance. Take traditional pencils away from him. Have him use mechanical pencils instead. They aren't as sharp.

This is awful that you, as a teacher, don't have the support you need to deal with this. It is not a one man job. This is why kids in this state do much better in a smaller group setting with plenty of teacher support (i.e. no more than a 4:1 teacher student ratio).

I agree with all of this, except that letting the meltdown happen can be dangerous in a classroom setting. What if he progresses to self-harm? Most classrooms have plenty of things to bang your head on, intentionally or unintentionally. Or sharp corners to run into, etc. etc. And what if he progresses to harming the OP? Sure, a teacher could generally fend off a 5th grader....but if they're not trained in aggression control techniques, one or both could really get hurt. And the sad reality is, if the child ends up hurt, even if he does it to himself, the teacher is going to be held liable.

That's why we use restraints in psychiatric facilities. It's not punitive. It's to literally stop the person from being injured. And restraints, especially for children, are more likely to be physical holds rather than mechanical. A basket hold is particularly useful for a child who's melting down, because it provides physical comfort as well as preventing much movement. But a classroom teacher isn't trained to safely perform one.

I'm just coming at this from the perspective of someone who, at various points in my residential psych career, has been stabbed with a pencil, spit on, kicked, punched....one time an adult male in a transitional facility got hold of a kitchen knife. First he slashed his wrists, then he came at staff. Took three of us to get him into a takedown while someone else called for the hospital to pick him up. We all ended up bloody and the facility director was nearly strangled with his own necktie. My ex-husband had three fingers broken when he was restraining a girl who was violently bashing her head into the floor, so he put his hand under her head to prevent a concussion. My dad got two ribs cracked when he had to restrain someone alone on the overnight shift.

But we trained for it. My first aggression control class was taught by a VERY large and strong man. For the final exam, myself and another girl, both quite tiny, had to disarm him (fake gun), take him to the floor, and get him fully restrained, all without causing him any sort of injury, while he was fighting full out. The goal, always, is to protect the person who is having the meltdown. Because like you mentioned, at that point they're not rational. They're not feeling normal pain, and they have to get it out before they can get back under control. This is way outside the average classroom teacher's wheelhouse.

 

[DLgal]

I agree with all of this, except that letting the meltdown happen can be dangerous in a classroom setting. What if he progresses to self-harm? Most classrooms have plenty of things to bang your head on, intentionally or unintentionally. Or sharp corners to run into, etc. etc. And what if he progresses to harming the OP? Sure, a teacher could generally fend off a 5th grader....but if they're not trained in aggression control techniques, one or both could really get hurt. And the sad reality is, if the child ends up hurt, even if he does it to himself, the teacher is going to be held liable.

That's why we use restraints in psychiatric facilities. It's not punitive. It's to literally stop the person from being injured. And restraints, especially for children, are more likely to be physical holds rather than mechanical. A basket hold is particularly useful for a child who's melting down, because it provides physical comfort as well as preventing much movement. But a classroom teacher isn't trained to safely perform one.

I'm just coming at this from the perspective of someone who, at various points in my residential psych career, has been stabbed with a pencil, spit on, kicked, punched....one time an adult male in a transitional facility got hold of a kitchen knife. First he slashed his wrists, then he came at staff. Took three of us to get him into a takedown while someone else called for the hospital to pick him up. We all ended up bloody and the facility director was nearly strangled with his own necktie. My ex-husband had three fingers broken when he was restraining a girl who was violently bashing her head into the floor, so he put his hand under her head to prevent a concussion. My dad got two ribs cracked when he had to restrain someone alone on the overnight shift.

But we trained for it. My first aggression control class was taught by a VERY large and strong man. For the final exam, myself and another girl, both quite tiny, had to disarm him (fake gun), take him to the floor, and get him fully restrained, all without causing him any sort of injury, while he was fighting full out. The goal, always, is to protect the person who is having the meltdown. Because like you mentioned, at that point they're not rational. They're not feeling normal pain, and they have to get it out before they can get back under control. This is way outside the average classroom teacher's wheelhouse.

I'm guessing this child's meltdowns are not as violent as what you have experienced in a literal psych ward. Otherwise he would be removed from public school.

 

[JLTraveling]

I'm guessing this child's meltdowns are not as violent as what you have experienced in a literal psych ward. Otherwise he would be removed from public school.

Not currently. But it looks like he's potentially heading in that direction. Which is why I'm saying he needs to be evaluated. If it's bad enough that calling 911 is on the table, then it's bad enough to have him evaluated before things get worse...or did you miss the part about death threats, throwing chairs, threatening people with sharp pencils, and the OP removing all sharp objects from common areas?

 

[DLgal]

Not currently. But it looks like he's potentially heading in that direction. Which is why I'm saying he needs to be evaluated. If it's bad enough that calling 911 is on the table, then it's bad enough to have him evaluated between things get worse.

Not necessarily. My kids have had several kids like this in class with them over the years. They have all grown into polite, respectful young men. Not one was hospitalized or put in a psych ward. For reference, my kids are autistic and spend at least half their day in a self contained moderate/severe autism classroom. Our schools have very good behavior intervention protocols though and they actually follow through on kids like this. My older son had a BIP in place for 2 years. He would never hurt anyone. He self harmed and screamed and cried, mostly. They kept him safe. We worked through those behaviors and at the end of the day, it was lack of proper learning environment that caused all of it. Once he was moved to a school with a dedicated program and spaces designed for kids with sensory needs, smaller classroom, more teachers, he did fine.