the waiting game

There are many different types of the waiting game. I'm playing a two at the moment. I'll start with the most recent waiting game that I experienced today.

I started off my day with my first student running into my classroom. He doesn't know his routine well enough to have made the conscious choice to come to the OT room. He was clearly evading school. "That's ok, I'll take him" I told the aide that came running in after him. We had our semi-productive OT session and then I gave him one minute on the timer then back-to-class we go! Timer goes off, and then I play the waiting game. I tried every behavioral intervention strategy I know trying to get him to go back to class. He tried every avoidance and attention getting technique he knew to get what he wanted. 45 minutes later he went out to close the classroom door, where I block him from going back in my room and prompted him to go back to class.

 The other waiting game I'm playing right now is waiting for California Children's Services (CCS) to call. I have allotted two days in my schedule for me to work there. Two weeks before school I was told I was going to work there. After an interview, and an observation at one of their clinics I'm still waiting to hear back. The unknown is taking a toll on me. I'm not sure if I'll be chosen to work there, even though I was told by my contracting company that I had the job. If they decide that I'm not a good fit, then it's back to square one between my contracting agency and the district. Will they fire someone so they can reduce the days there? Will my contracting agency provide two more days with the district? If so, where will that be? What if I don't like where I'm placed?

 The other big drama today..
 I have a student with very severe behavior challenges. Last Friday he wouldn't get on the bus; it took four adults to get him strapped into a harness that strapped him into the seat all the while stating, "I don't want to go home to mom and dad"(this is the abridged version of the story). Today, a similar scenario began to unfold of him not wanting to getting on the bus. So instead of allowing the entire struggle to continue, his teacher did not put him on the bus. Somehow, however, his teacher did still manage to get scratched up pretty bad. Both of these situations involved his transition to the bus and him wanting to take home toys from school. The mom finally came to get him after many phone calls around including the district office. The principle told the mother that this was not going to happen again. That if the boy was going to put up another big fight getting on the bus, then a relative or close friend would have to be available to pick him up. The mother said that it's impossible for anybody to retrieve him. The principle said that the last resort would be that they'd have to call the police to have him picked up.

 I feel so strongly for this child. He is not potty trained yet (can't state his age for confidentiality reasons) and comes to school in dirty, ill-fitted clothes. He is not cared for, and it breaks my heart. When it's his turn for OT he loves it. He loves having the attention and wants to do well (well most of the time). Today in OT, he did something unusual. He knew that I wanted him to stop coloring under the table so he one-upped me. He looked straight at me a with a crayon in each hand scribbled really hard on the desk. I did not react and calmly grabbed a clorox wipe and had him scrub it off. I told him I was happy with his work and let him continue with the next class activity. Sigh, I am worried about this child.

September Newsletter

Newsletter this month: September is the month where the students are getting back into their school routines. I have found in my professional experience that most people (adults too) can benefit from routine. Having a bedtime ritual can be crucial to winding down the activity of the day and preparing for one of the most important routine of the day…sleep. Sleep is where all the learned activity of the day is stored into memory. Sleep restores the body and mind so that it is ready for new information. Without restful sleep it is difficult to concentrate on all the tasks demands that fill the day. This month in Occupational Therapy, the focus is on getting to know each other and the theme is apples. The handwriting activities are centered on their interests. Apples harvest in the fall and thus play a central role in the association with going back to school. Apples are also good to eat! They provide a nutritious sweet snack that is a good substitute for a sweet craving. They are also high in fiber and thus are good for your gut. ☺