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By: Bobbie Hodgins
Alternative Director/Educational Specialist
Choctaw Tribal Schools
Special Education Division
Philadelphia, Mississippi
Today, James is the first one to come bouncing through the
door, all smiles. He says good morning and sits down at the dining table ready
to eat breakfast. There are some mornings when James is not as cheerful.
Sometimes he is hitting and yelling at the assistant, because he had to be
literally picked up from inside his house screaming, not wanting to leave his
collection of pennies. But he has greatly improved from the way he was a year
and a half ago.
James is 10 years old and is the most challenging student we
have had at our center. He has had the following diagnoses: fetal alcohol
syndrome, complex seizure disorder, mentally retarded, attention deficit
disorder, communication deficits, and severe behavior problems. One might think
that our facility is for severely disabled students, but our program was begun
four years ago to serve youth with severe emotional and behavioral problems in
lieu of residential placement. James was placed at the center a year ago because
of his severe behavior problems in the elementary school setting. The behaviors
displayed included running down the hall, taking his clothes off in the
bathroom, and defecating at random throughout the building.
Several meetings had been held to discuss what would be a
more appropriate setting in which James could function in a less disruptive
manner. He was assigned to us temporarily with a shortened school day until
other options were explored. His grandmother, who is his guardian, re-fused to
consider another placement, wanting him to re-main with us. As a result,
permanent placement was established in our center.
This decision required significant changes in the operation
of the center. A full-time assistant, Dan Isaac, was hired to work with James
one-on-one. Dan, a teacher’s assistant, had been working in one of the special
ed classes at our elementary school where James was first placed. Dan became a
critical part of James’ treatment plan. He facilitated James’ transition
from isolation to small group behavior. Behavior modification was found to be
totally ineffective in helping James learn to control his beh avior.
I had first been introduced to RTP at a conference and
through the first edition of this book. I had already initiated the program with
all of our students, with a great deal of success. We had watched our students
take on more and more responsibility by learning to think for themselves and
deal with others in a more respectful way. We decided to use RTP with James,
believing that he was capable of being responsible for his actions and thinking
for himself.
When James disrupted, it was always a major
disruption, and so we would use a time-out room; if we sent him to the RTC, he
would only continue to disrupt there, which would keep that room from
functioning as it should. The time-out room is a small, padded room-more like a
closet-with a window. Dan would escort James to the room and stay with him until
James was calm enough to answer questions. He asked James the responsible
thinking questions, which helped James think about what he was doing and whether
he was willing to take responsibility for his actions. Dan would help him work
through each episode, once James was calm. The following is a typical dialogue
between Dan and James:
Dan (in a soft, calm, curious manner): James, what did
you do to Leisa? (Leisa Bridges is the special ed teacher who works with the
group that James is in.)
James: Hit.
Dan (using simple, easy-to-understand phrases):
Is it OK to hit Miss Leisa? (The students refer to their teacher as "Miss
Leisa" or "Leisa.")
James: No.
Dan (repeating the question using a different phrase to
assure commitment): Was that the thing to do?
James: No.
Dan: What are you going to tell Leisa? (Since detailed or
written plan making is too sophisticated for James, Dan helps to direct his
thinking, but James decides how he is going to deal with her and what he is
going to say.)
James:
Won’t hit again.
Dan (making sure that James is calm enough to re-enter the
group): Are you ready to go back to the group?
James: Yes.
Dan (checking to see whether James remembers what he has
planned to do): What will you say to Leisa?
James:
I’m sorry.
Dan (checking to see whether James is still committed to and
remembers his plan): And what are you going to
say to Leisa?
James:
Won’t hit again. (James then returns to the group after he has given his
apology to Leisa.)
When James first came to our center, he was going to the
time-out up to eight times a day. Soon, that decreased to four or five times a
day, then to three or four times a week. At the end of the school year, he went
for three weeks without a disruption. If he hit his teacher, say on the arm,
when he would return, he would go over to her, gently stroke her arm where he
had slapped her, and then often kiss where he had slapped her. Often, he would
hug the teacher. Thus, by the end of the school year, Jame s
had shown remarkable improvement. Dan was able to draw his attention at the
first indication of a disruption by just asking the question, "James, what
are you doing?" Nothing else was needed. James would usually respond by
settling down. It was no longer necessary for him to leave the small group
setting and go through the entire process. James then went home for his summer
vacation.
At the beginning of the second year, James’ disruptions
were about where he was halfway through his first year. The running through the
halls, defecating at random, and taking off his clothes were no more. He could
start his day at his own desk, rather than having to share a table with Dan. His
ability to keep at a task increased from five to 15 minutes. Although his
seizure disorder continued to present challenges to his ability to think and act
responsibly, constant use of the process has helped him
to
continue to im-prove. Due to his continued successes, James is allowed to
participate in activities, such as going to the gym and the library, which would
have been unthinkable a year earlier.
The RTP program has
proven highly successful in helping all of our students, but especially James
and others who have similar disabilities. Gone are all the reinforcement-type
programs which have proven ineffective. No longer do we believe those who tell
us that these students cannot tell the difference between right and wrong. RTP
has proved to be a godsend! The basic principles this process operates upon,
namely teaching children to think for themselves and to control their own
experiences, rather than our trying to control what we see them doing, are
applicable to all human interactions.
Personal
responsibility developed by children through RTP allows them to develop skills
that will prepare them to experience success in other relationships outside the
classroom. In fact, the principles can easily be transferred to staff
supervision and personal relationships.
I want to give a special thanks to Chief Phillip Martin, who
supported my documentation of these positive experiences. Also, I thank James’
guardian for allowing this publication. I appreciate her confidence in our
ability to help James develop a plan to meet his special needs. And a very
special thanks to all of my staff, who work so hard to help our children think
and plan their way toward being responsible students.
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