Meet the Kids

This handout presents the students with whom you'll be working in the practice scenarios. A brief history of each student's disabilities and problem behaviors is presented. It is important that you become familiar with them. Refer to them as often as necessary as you tackle the upcoming practice scenarios. Learning more about your students' world views will help you begin to decode the language being "spoken" through their behaviors. A student's world view will frequently be the deciding factor in determining which consequences to assign to a behavior, and in how you debrief the student.

· Ben

Megan is a girl who constantly seeks male attention. Her attention seeking often disrupts the class. She often appears confused and flighty. Megan becomes apologetic when confronted, but avoids any deep processing or honest evaluation of her problems. She has anorexic behaviors. Students exhibiting behaviors like Megan's frequently have had abusive sexual experiences in the past. Often their attention seeking with males is an attempt to "master" a past experience and have it work out right this time. Remember, behavior is language. Young girls with anorexic behaviors usually feel there are expectations on them they can't meet.

Morgan requires acceptance by others. He has a poorly defined sense of self and weak personal boundaries. He acts out or breaks rules to fit in with a group. He has borderline intelligence and is easily led. This makes him a target for higher functioning kids--he is often the class patsy. When removed from the peer group, he responds to adult help in reviewing the situation and is able to take some ownership for his own behavior. Kids like Morgan often experience limited success in interpersonal relationships. Their families can react to their problems either by becoming over-protective, or by ridiculing and rejecting them. They may even do both--defending them from the outside world while rejecting them at home. These kids develop a desperation to make friends, are very lonely, and feel like failures. They require a lot of structure and limit setting to feel secure and safe, but they also need a great deal of support.

Elizabeth has many intrusive thoughts that she can't control or stop. Some of these thoughts scare her. She isolates herself and has very poor focus in class. Elizabeth is easily overwhelmed. She will frequently become emotionally overloaded and either cry or just freeze. On the surface it appears that Elizabeth daydreams a lot; however, she is not purposely doing this and is most often unaware that she is not focused in the present. Students like Elizabeth require a lot of extra help to stay focused. She is being medicated for her condition.

Sybil has above-average intelligence and can be very manipulative. She is extremely argumentative. Sybil also likes to set other students up to argue and fight. Even when caught, Sybil will rarely take ownership for her behavior and tries to blame her problems on other people or the program's structure. Students like Sybil frequently come from families in which conflict and anger are the norm. Their worlds are often chaotic and unpredictable. Controlling others becomes a major theme in their interactions as a means of staying safe. Sybil and others like her script the people around them into roles, recreating the major conflicts in their lives and hoping to come out ahead this time.

Ryan is an extremely needy young man who spends most of his energy seeking adult attention. He will try to dominate your time and attention with constant "in your face" behavior. He will ask questions and ask for help even when he doesn't need it. He could be at your desk three or four times for one math problem. Ryan has poor peer relationship skills. Students like Ryan frequently have parents who are very rejecting. The rejection can be overt, such as constantly demeaning the child's skills and abilities, or covert, such as never having enough time to pay attention to the child.

Rachel is depressed and angry. She is much more likely to show anger than depression. She seems to enjoy seeing other people suffer, and actually appears to derive pleasure from it. She openly laughs at others' pain. Rachel is very negative and has poor peer relationship skills. She has been in many foster homes, and has run away several times. Most students who behave like Rachel have experienced extensive and probably systematic abuse (physical and/or emotional). While you may be aware of their depression, it is unlikely that you will be able to help them deal with it directly. Such students have limited trust in adults, and it will take a great deal of time to build relationships with them. The major theme is safety, both theirs and others'. An emphasis on firm limits, presented in a very neutral and matter-of-fact way, is imperative.

Ben is passive-aggressive and noncompliant. He avoids work and responsibility by moving extremely slowly. When confronted, Ben will act confused and removed. He rarely completes or turns in any schoolwork. If left alone, Ben would be found asleep at his desk or in the back of the room. He quietly sets up others. Sometimes students like Ben have experienced much harsh criticism from significant people in their lives. As a result, they may expect that nothing they do will be good enough and therefore will avoid even trying. They usually expect and fear failure, and will go to great lengths to avoid it.

Jamie is a new student who has been in class only a few days. Not much is known about Jamie, because her records have not yet been received. It is likely that her records will be very spotty when they do arrive, since she has moved many times. Her academic skills appear to be very low. Jamie seems to avoid social situations and has shown some problems with anger. Students who have moved a great deal often initially appear reluctant to interact. They have often experienced significant losses and disruptions to relationships. This can lead to a desire to avoid future hurt by staying distant and detached.

Ashley can be very controlling. She tries to dominate or intimidate others with the volume and tone of her voice. Ashley talks loudly and rapidly, interrupting constantly. She appears to have a fear that if she is not getting immediate attention, then she will be completely ignored. She is very angry and hypersensitive to slights. She can ruminate for days about how to get even. Students like Ashley often have very low self-esteem and feel small and insignificant. Since this feeling is so uncomfortable for them, they cover up with bravado, anger, and grandiosity. It is very difficult for these students to accept any kind of criticism. Their blaming behavior is "code" for the emptiness and pain they really feel.

Brandon has low-average intelligence and is extremely anxious. He is easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation. He doesn't do well with changes in routine, such as assemblies or classroom outings. When over-stimulated, Brandon becomes highly volatile; he has been known to act out physically at times. While Brandon has many behaviors that are similar to those of students with ADHD, he can also be quite bizarre at times. Students with serious impulse control problems may, in fact, have some organic brain damage or other biochemical-medical problems. Regardless of whether the damage has been verified, these students require very clear boundaries, a high degree of structure and supervision, and help containing their impulses. Remember the distinction between "can't" and "won't"? In Brandon's case, he can't.

Jason suffers from a short-term memory disability. Some believe that he has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He is easily frustrated by his disability and sees himself as stupid. Jason has an anger control problem that usually surfaces in the form of negative comments, rude behavior, and threats of physical violence. He is physically very small, and his anger problems are a code for how inadequate and frustrated he feels. Students with disabilities like Jason's often anticipate rejection and/or failure. They are so sure that it's coming they may act out in ways designed to bring it on! In that way they can feel as if they were in control of the rejection. These students live out the adage, "You can't fire me! I quit!"

Sandy is of average intelligence and has an auditory processing disability. She passively avoids any work or responsibility, perhaps in an attempt to hide her difficulties. She says she hates school and her attendance is poor. She has had many problems with adults in authority. She may anticipate that adult authorities (e.g. teachers) will be impatient and reject or even ridicule her. Sandy gets along well with most of the students in class. Sandy is a classic example of a student who would rather be seen as "bad" than "dumb." Students with problems like Sandy's usually suffer from poor self-esteem, probably as a result of misunderstanding much of what they perceive of the world. Viewing herself as "dumb," Sandy may work overtime to avoid anticipated criticism from adults while seeking attention and acceptance from peers.

Alex has a poor self-image. He tries to compensate for his feelings of inferiority by teasing other students and making them feel stupid or inferior. He is extremely competitive and will cheat to win. Alex becomes frustrated, angry, and abusive when he loses. Alex is very sensitive to rejection and feels justified in doing anything necessary to be recognized and admired by others. When he can't convince others how "great" he is, he tries to make it seem that this is only because they are too stupid to see the truth! Students with problems like Alex's tend to hear any feedback as if it were criticism, and they will frequently respond to an offer of help by lashing out defensively. For example, they may hear "Looks like you're having a hard time with this math problem" as "Looks like you're not smart enough to figure this out." Under a veneer of superiority, they feel worthless and empty.

Melissa has an extremely variable personality. She will vacillate between being happy and positive one moment and being angry and verbally abusive the next. When in an angry mood, she verbally attacks friends, peers, and adults equally. Melissa is rarely on middle ground emotionally. She is generally viewed by others as being very intense and unpredictable. When "flips" like Melissa's have no discernible trigger, and occur consistently, they may indicate a serious medical problem. If in fact this is the case, then Melissa has very little genuine control over her moods or the resulting behaviors. Students like Melissa are usually disruptive to the class and alienated from peers. They often act, and can sometimes acknowledge feeling, out of control. These students are unable to trust their own feelings about situations.

Shawn is highly intelligent, but avoids work. He has been involved with the children's services system because of inappropriate sexual touch and harassment of other children. He is sneaky, and is very adept at lying when trying to meet his own needs. Shawn rarely accepts ownership for his behavior, and instead blames his victims. It is very likely that Shawn has been severely abused. Shawn is probably trying to control his world and feel safe himself by becoming the perpetrator. Students like Shawn can potentially be dangerous to other students. They have a limited sense of conscience, and generally have little empathy for others' pain. Since they will not regulate their own behavior, authorities must. Even the smallest infractions of rules must be consistently responded to with very firm limits.

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