This girl is in my 7th grade biology and physics classes and is constantly bouncing off the freaking walls. Literally. I have absolutely no experience with dealing with a child like this, and no training either. Normal days are her going: "teacher, teacher teacher teacher" to get my attention, interrupting me whenever I'm speaking, running around, always distracted (looking out window, drawing on other pages, ripping paper, etc), she eats paper almost every day, and today she was eating bugs. She laughs and giggles at everything and is obviously full of energy. Her mom happens to be a teacher at the school so I've talked with her about the behavior. Today was the first day she's eaten bugs and when I told them mom she says "yeah she eats cement at home" The mother also told me that up until a year ago the kid would forget her name, the day, the year... things like that. She obviously also has learning problems (can't organize charts, can't visualize problems, etc.) I have no idea what to do with her. Right now she sits right in front of my desk and next to a very calm child who does not pay attention to her antics. When she doesn't understand something I have her come to my desk and I explain it to just her. But even then I have to constantly redirect her attention to the work. I also have her do extra things in the room. She is in charge of erasing the board, sweeping the floor, etc. Sometimes I tell her to go run around the school one time and then come to class, hoping that it will let her burn off some energy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I work in a very small school so there is no special education classes, or anything of the like. Any ideas on what to do? I'm completely lost. I really like her, she's goofy and fun, but I believe she's coming to an age where she needs to learn how to control herself. I couldn't care less if she learns about cellular respiration (not important in the long run), but she needs to learn how to control herself to be productive in society.
It sounds like you have a good handle and are using some great strategies! Choose one behavior to start with and create a plan for her to start self monitoring the behavior. Give her something concrete---a paper to mark on and something for you to take away or put in a container when you notice the behavior.
Contact your special Ed/ child study team. Your previous posts send the message that you don't have the background or experience for students who have behavior issues. Seek some strategies to help yourself.
Can you give her a fidget ball? (with rules, mine are if it goes in the air, it's mine.) A bungee cord wrapped around the legs of her chair. It let's her bounce her legs without moving. Let her doodle on her own paper. I twiddle my thumbs or doodle when I have to sit still & get restless. Like a PP suggested some sort of behavior chart to help her stay on track.
Is there something wrong with the term hyperactive? From the OP's description, it does fit hyperactivity.
I agree with mopar. Focus on one behavior and perhaps include some kind of positive reinforcement if she goes a week or so without engaging in that type of behavior. A few years ago, I had a student who was CONSTANTLY being disruptive in class. He would get up out of his seat to get kleenex while I was teaching (of course he didn't need to blow his nose...he was just getting up to try and bug other students), talk to whoever was sitting by him, etc. I met with him and his mom and explained that his disruptive behavior was not fair to him, myself, or other students who were trying to learn. I created a behavior chart where each day, I would give him a rating of 1-5 based on how well he did that day as far as not being disruptive. The goal was to have a 4 or 5 everyday. If he could go a week without anything less than a 4, he was allowed to spend one class period sitting in the lounge (the lounge was an area in the class where I had bean bags and comfy chairs). That behavior chart worked wonders and was the only way I was able to get through the rest of the year without pulling out my hair!
How would she do sitting in the back of the room? This might seem counterintuitive, but if she has the need to move and can listen and process while she moves, maybe being in the back with the freedom to move could dilute the hyperactivity a bit. Trying to reign it in constantly could be making it worse for her. As the mom of an ADHD child and the teacher of many of them, over time, this has worked for me about half the time. The other half of the time, they couldn't have told you what subject we were even on if they had been in the back of the room... Running around the school is great if it works. Anything that has her bending over or bouncing will also help - jumping jacks, a few spins and counterspins, stretches that involve head hanging down for a few seconds, etc. will all give her the stimulation that her body is seeking, and may help take the edge off. I have to say, as the mom of a child with diagnosed hyperactive/inattentive ADHD, the eating of strange things is way off of any of my experience. Is there perhaps more going on here? That sounds really dangerous, especially the concrete eating, and I would urge her parent to get this addressed medically. It's a huge liability for you in the classroom.
It sounds like she has PICA and a few other undiagnosed conditions. Hopefully she won't eat anything that will cause her too much harm
We don't have a special ed/child study team. Like I mentioned, our school is extremely small. We have a psychologist that comes twice a week, and that's it. The rest of the people who work there are regular ed teachers. I like the fidget ball idea. Doodling is bad because instead of writing down problems, she scribbles on her notebook. And I do like the idea of a behavior chart. I'll talk to the mom about starting one. I put her in the back of the room once and it worked really well! But the problem is she usually needs help with understanding how to do the physics problems. So it's nice to have a student next to her that is willing to help. The class is really small and I thought if I put the two of them in the back, it would be like "punishing" the tutor-kid because he wouldn't get to interact with the rest of the class. I could try it next week and see how things work. Thanks for all the advice! Great options!!:thumb:
I am sure the this students other teachers have similar problems/concerns. You might want to meet as a team with the parents and discuss what can be done collectively. Maybe she can bring a checklist from class to class each day and have all the teachers sign it if she completes certain tasks/meets behavior requirements. At the end of the week, if all boxes are checked, some reward can be given. Just an idea, but getting together as a group of teachers to figure out some strategies that can be implemented in all classrooms might be great for this student. That way things are more cohesive from class to class for her. Sometimes predictability does wonders with this type of student. The parents can also do things at home that help. Participating in a daily sport (running, jogging, ect..) can really calm pre-teens down during the day and help them concentrate better. Also listening to music with headphones while doing seatwork is a great strategy. There are lots of different strategies to try. I wish you the best of luck in finding the strategies that work best for this student.
