Inclusion News June 2017

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inclusion_support_programme.html

Contact us on: Freecall-1800 647 718 Phone- (03) 6230 6840

• Anxiety: What is it and how we can support young children• Being told to STOP can be very confusing for people with ASD• What children would like their teachers to know• Using the theory of Buckets and Dippers• Celebrating practice: A look at how one service has implemented change• Portal hints and tips - Immediate/time limited funding• Referral process

In this edition

06/17

Welcome to our newsletter for June 2017

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Welcome to our June edition of ‘Inclusion News’

Over time Inclusion Professionals have noticed an increase in the number of referrals from services who are currently supporting children who display anxiety. Within this edition of ‘Inclusion News’ on page 3 you will note ‘Anxiety in Young Children’ which includes strategies for services to implement to support childrenexperiencing anxiety to become more resilient. We also take this opportunity to remind services that the ‘KidsMatter Early Childhood’ program works with early childhood education and care services to support the mental health and wellbeing of young children, their families and early childhood educators using a promotion, prevention and early intervention framework. Services can become KidsMatter participants by visiting the following link. https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood/courses/get-involved-kidsmatter

Being told to STOP can be very confusing for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We have included an article from Sue Larkey to further build educator knowledge and understanding within this area. Sue Larkey is well respected within the education field and has taught children with autism in both mainstream and special schools within NSW. Sue combines her practical experience with extensive research to inspire families and educators and teach them how to create successful environments that support children with autism to thrive and learn through her articles, books, workshops and newsletters. Sue Larkey’s newsletters are a great resource for all services to build knowledge and understanding in relation to working with children with autism and can be accessed through her website.https://suelarkey.com.au/newsletter/

‘What kids wish their teachers knew’ is an article from Exchange Everyday and whilst it is written in relation to children of school age, we feel it is an reminder to all educators about the importance of building meaningful relationships with all children and families within our services. There is now, more than in the past, a greater understanding within our sector that in order to support children’s learning we need to know them in the context of their family, culture and community.

Our article ‘Have you Filled a Bucket Today’ outlines the theory of Buckets and Dippers and is a simple yet powerful way for all educators to enhance children’s social and emotional skills within all aspects of daily practice. We all face a choice every moment of every day; we can fill one another’s buckets, or we can dip from them. It’s an important choice, and one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health and happiness.

Finally, within this edition of ‘Inclusion News’ we begin our ‘Celebrating Inclusive Practice’ series and celebrate the commitment and achievements of Discovery Alexander Beetle House Early Learning Centre towards continuous improvement in all aspects of inclusive practice. Lady Gowrie Inclusion Agency is looking forward to celebrating inclusive practice journeys of ECCC services across the state within future editions of ‘Inclusion News’

Lady Gowrie Tasmania Inclusion Agency South East Region welcomes feedback from ECCC services. Please let us know any specific topics or information you would like to see shared within the future editions of ‘Inclusion News’.

Anxiety in Young Children

Everybody feels anxious from time to time, it is part of our survival instinct to identify danger or threat. It is known as the fight or flight response and can produce sensations such as dizziness, rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, racing thoughts and sweaty or shaky hands, which are brought on by the rush of adrenaline and stress hormones. These sensations are designed to prepare the body for a quick get-away from danger. When the brain sends the all clear signal, the fight or flight response is deactivated and the nervous system starts to calm down (University Psychology Clinic (Southern Tasmania)).

Fearful and anxious behaviour can be common in children, especially as they come across new situations and experiences. Most of the time it is short-lived and develops at different ages and stages such as:

• Babies and toddlers might fear loud noises, heights, strangers, separation

• Pre-Schoolers might fear being on their own and the dark

• School-aged children might be afraid of supernatural things (like monsters), social situations, tests or criticism

In some cases, however, these feelings are more intense and more frequent. It can:

• Stop a child from participating in school or social activities

• Interfere with their ability to do things that other children their age do easily

• Be out of proportion or unrealistic

Children with these feelings tend to lack confidence in their abilities and feel overwhelmed easily. They can be driven to avoid the things that cause them anxiety, and in so doing, don’t get the chance to learn that what they fear will usually not happen.

Children may express anxiety in a variety of ways, including:

• Seeking reassurance from parents, familiar adults or educators

• Avoiding situations they feel worried or scared about

Anxiety in Young Children

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• Show acute shyness that prevents participation in group activities and games

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• Try to get others to do the things they are worried about, perfectionism “you do it”

• May present with psychosomatic pains such as stomach pains or headaches

• Dislike taking risks or trying new things

• Clings to their primary care giver

• Doesn’t want to get ready for child care or school

• Won’t go to sleep without a parent or other adult with them

• May have difficulty falling asleep at night, may have nightmares or night terrors

• Prefers to watch others rather than have a go or become involved

• May have phobias about dogs, bees, injections, being alone, germs etc.

• Often cries over small things

• Always sees the dangerous or negative side of things

• Very self-critical, wanting things to be perfect. For example, a child may be dissatisfied with his/her own work that he/she will tear it up and redo it several times

• Becomes angry/aggressive and can be expressed by pushing over a smaller child or breaking someone’s property

• Avoiding things or places

Strategies that will help children to become more resilient:

• Pay attention to the child’s feelings and help the child to acknowledge his own feelings. It is okay to let children experience some anxiety. Children need to know that anxiety is not dangerous but something they can cope with. Let children know all feelings are okay and it is alright to say what you feel. Anxious children sometimes have a hard time expressing strong emotions like anger or sadness because they are afraid people will be angry with them.

• Stay calm when the child becomes anxious about a situation or event. Encourage the child to take some slow, deep breaths to calm the physical effects of anxiety. Practice together by breathing in for three seconds, holding for three seconds, then out for three. Once they’re feeling a bit calmer, you can talk through what’s worrying them.

• Encourage “brave behaviours”. Instead of avoiding the scary situation, try breaking down worries into manageable chunks and gradually working towards a goal. For example a child is worried about going inside a play tent, have an educator invite him to join the others, but don’t put any pressure on child to participate, after a few minutes the educator invites again, this time offering a hand (gently and slowly) to help child to move across to the tent talking positively about the activities that the children are doing in the tent “Chloe is reading a book about dinosaurs, I think she is enjoying that”. Let the child look in the tent and see how they go, staying close-by so they feel safe and supported. Celebrate brave behaviours, the accomplishment and enjoyment.

Anxiety in Young Children (cont)

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• Build on children’s personal strengths by recognising and acknowledging small accomplishments.

• Be flexible, but try to maintain a normal routine. It’s important to have the same expectations of an anxious child as you would all children, but be willing to modify expectations during stressful periods.

• Be mindful of communicating regularly with families. This will assist educators to understand if the child is going through a particularly anxious time, for example a family member going away for a few nights for work etc.

• Plan extra time for transitions, calm slow transitions with plenty of prior warning enables the child time to process.

Severe anxiety can impact on children’s health and happiness. Some anxious children will grow out of their fears, but others will keep having trouble with anxiety unless they get professional help. Agencies where further information, support and guidance can be obtained are:

• The child’s own GP and pediatrician

• Macquarie University Centre for Emotional Health

www.centreforemotionalhealth.com.au

• Kids Matter

www.kidsmatter.edu.au

• University Psychology Clinic (Southern Tasmania)

www.utas.edu.au/health/community/programs/university-psychology-clinic

• Beyond Blue

www.beyondblue.org.au

• Raising Children Network

www.raisingchildren.net.au

Anxiety in Young Children

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What does STOP really mean? Being told to STOP can be very confusing for people with ASD.

Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) have “Mind Blindness.” It means they often are literal, don’t know the inferred intent of language and have difficulty taking another’s perspective. This means the word STOP can be very confusing. For example if an adult says “STOP” do they mean stop breathing, stop looking, stop moving, etc.

STOP does not tell a child what they can do – it only tells them what they shouldn’t do. When you have to use STOP make sure you add a little more information so that the child knows what they should do, e.g. “STOP! Hands down” if he is about to reach for something on the stove or “STOP. Feet still” when he is about to run onto the road or “STOP, pencil down time to listen.” Although these instructions sound a little overdirected they clearly convey the intended message to the child.

It is important children know what the STOP word means and to respond appropriately for their own safety. Here are some fun ways to teach STOP in the early years:

• Teach STOP by playing STOP / GO games ideally with a ball race or some other toy that your child enjoys and is easy to stop. Put your hand on the toy to stop it operating at the same time as you say stop while simultaneously holding your other hand up in a stop gesture. Make sure you use a firm, definite tone as you say “STOP!”

• For the younger child you can also teach STOP / GO when you play “Row, row, row your boat” or other predictable physical activities

• When teaching safety you can also teach the song “walk, walk and walk and STOP!” “run, run, run and STOP!”

Excerpt from The Early Years: The Foundations for ALL Learning by Sue Larkey and Gay von Ess, page 39.

Dean Beadle, who has ASD, explained why STOP didn’t work for him as a child. He believes you need to be socially motivated to respond. By that he means that the other person’s opinion is more valuable than yours. You need to believe that person has authority over you and be motivated to be where the person tells you to be. In his opinion STOP is a wasted word, better to say “If you come here we can do x” or tell children what action you want them to do. Avoid Saying “NO” Using the word “No” does not help the young child with ASD learn what he can do. “No” is a very confusing word. It can mean “Stop”, “Wrong”, “That is not the choice”, “There isn’t any left”, “Later”, “Time to stop or finish”, or “You don’t want it.”

The word “No” will often escalate inappropriate behaviours rather than reduce them. Some children are very literal so when an adult says “No juice”, a very literal child will think there will NEVER AGAIN be juice, when what the adult really meant was the juice was “all gone” or the child could have it later.

Using the Word STOP

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Depending on the circumstances other words that can be used instead of “No” are:

• Wait

• All gone

• I don’t want it

• Can’t go in

• Try again

• Finish

• Later

• Help

• Walk (rather than NO running)

• Hand up (rather than NO calling out)

• Stop

Focus on letting the child know what you want him to do rather than focusing on what he is not to do; e.g. if he rushed into the bathroom and started playing with the taps, rather than saying “No!” say “First toilet, then wash hands.” The latter is far more supportive and directive for the child.

Rather than saying “No” a child can’t do an activity use a visual schedule to explain when they can do it.

Using “First, Then…” or “When, Then…” or “Now, Next, Later” are great to encourage children to try new activities. Always put their favourite activity last as a built-in reward for trying new activities.

Excerpt from The Early Years: The Foundations for All Learning by Sue Larkey and Gay von Ess, page 12

This article was taken from Sue Larkey’s web site. For further information: www.suelarkey.com.au

Using the Word STOP

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By DONNA DE LA CRUZAUG

When Kyle Schwartz started teaching third grade at Doull Elementary School in Denver, she wanted to get to know her students better. She asked them to finish the sentence “I wish my teacher knew.”

The responses were eye-opening for Ms. Schwartz. Some children were struggling with poverty (“I wish my teacher knew I don’t have pencils at home to do my homework”); an absent parent (“I wish my teacher knew that sometimes my reading log is not signed because my mom isn’t around a lot”); and a parent taken away (“I wish my teacher knew how much I miss my dad because he got deported to Mexico when I was 3 years old and I haven’t seen him in six years”).

The lesson spurred Ms. Schwartz, now entering her fifth teaching year, to really understand what her students were facing outside the classroom to help them succeed at school. When she shared the lesson last year with others, it became a sensation, with the Twitter hashtag “#iwishmyteacherknew” going viral. Other teachers tried the exercise and had similar insights. Many sent her their students’ responses.

In her recently published book, “I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything For Our Kids,” Ms. Schwartz details how essential it is for teachers and families to be partners.

What Kids Wish Their Teachers Knew

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“I really want families to know how intentional teachers are about creating a sense of community and creating relationships with kids,” Ms. Schwartz said. “Kids don’t learn when they don’t feel safe or valued.”

Melody Molinoff of Washington, D.C., who has two sons, ages 9 and 11, in the public school system, agreed. “Parents see the teacher as their partner in bringing up their child, and that’s a huge responsibility that we are putting on our teachers and our schools,” Ms. Molinoff said. “I always want my sons’ teachers to know what their challenges are, what they like, just more about them.”

Mary Clayman, a fourth-grade teacher in the Washington public schools, said she has noticed the same thing from the other side of the desk. “I’ve taught over 500 kids so far in my career and parents in every grade want to know how their child is doing socially and emotionally, often times more so than whether they can multiply or divide quite yet Mrs. Clayman said.

In her book, Ms. Schwartz writes about mistakes that might have been prevented if she had known her students better. She had a student named Chris who was obsessed with science. Ms. Schwartz thought she had done Chris a huge favor by securing a spot for him in a science-focused summer camp. But she was

What Kids Wish Their Teachers Knew (cont)

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unaware of the family’s financial struggles and it turned out that his parents could not afford to take time off from work to get Chris to camp.

Article from Exchange Everyday: www.childcareexchange.com

This article from Exchange Everyday acts as a reminder to all ECCC educators about the importance of building relationships with children and families. When educators show

a genuine interest in the interests and lives of chidlren we provide opportunities for children’s voices to be part of our daily programs.

What Kids Wish Their Teachers Knew (cont)

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Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

Using the Theory of the Bucket and Dipper to Enhance Children’s Social and Emotional Skills

The ‘Bucket and Dipper’ theory, which depicts the emotional self as an invisible bucket was created by Dr. Donald O. Clifton in 1960’s however, Carol McCloud an early childhood specialist adapted the theory for use in early childhood and bought the theory to life through her book ‘Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids (2005)’.

The theory of buckets and dippers supports the development of children’s emotional wellbeing by enhancing their ability to make good choices within their day about how they treat others. The bucket filling concept is a great concept for educators to embed within daily practice as it can be understood by children as young as 2 years through to adults.

What is the ‘bucket?

The bucket represents your mental and emotional self. Each of us has an invisible bucket that is constantly emptied or filled, depending on what others say or do to us. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it’s empty, we feel awful.

What is a ‘dipper’?

Each of us also has an invisible dipper. We can use that dipper to fill other people’s buckets by saying or doing things to increase their positive emotions. This also fills our own buckets. The dipper can also be used to dip from other peoples buckets by saying or doing things that decrease their positive emotions, we also diminish ourselves.

How do individuals feel when their bucket is full?

When our buckets are full we may feel happy, confident and secure. The world is a positive place. Every drop in that bucket makes us stronger and more optimistic. As your bucket overflows you share your happiness and positivity with others.

How do we feel when our bucket is empty?

When our buckets are empty we may feel sad, stressed, worried or afraid. An empty bucket affects the way you express your emotions to those around you, poisons our outlook, saps our energy, and undermines our will.

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How can educators fill the buckets of children within our early childhood and child care (ECCC) services?

Bucket filling can be as simple as smiling or showing respect to others. It can be done through saying or doing kind things or giving compliments. Noticing and responding to children’s positive interactions with peers e.g. sitting next to, inviting into play, sharing, turn taking etc. Recognizing and celebrating children’s achievements and supporting them to achieve and learn. Bucket filling is using words that are helpful not hurtful. “Educators, who are attuned to children’s thoughts and feelings, support the development of a strong sense of wellbeing” (Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, pg 12, 2009).

How do we dip from buckets?

We can unintentionally bucket dip by using carless words or actions. Refusing to help, being disrespectful or using unkind words is bucket dipping. These bucket dipping behaviors may leave children feeling isolated and diminishes their sense of self worth.

So we face a choice every moment of every day; we can fill one another’s buckets, or we can dip from them. It’s an important choice and one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health, and happiness.

Buckets and dippers theory in practice provides opportunity for educators to guide a supportive pedagogy for Tasmania’s children that helps to create happier childhoods. It is hoped that by improving the outcomes for children in childhood and adolescence, we will therefore create healthier adults and happier communities.

References:

http://www.bucketfillers101.com/pdfs/Valusek.pdf

http://www.bucketfillers101.com/team-cmccloud.php

http://childhoodtrauma.org.au/2016/december/therapeutic-services-in-tasmania#sthash.qfZWMNcC.dpuf

*Kidsmatter Early Childhood is a mental health and wellbeing initiative for children. KidsMatter Early Childhood works with early childhood education and care services to support the mental health and wellbeing of young children, their families and early childhood educators using a promotion, prevention and early intervention framework. https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood

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It is great to see the commitment made by the sector, state-wide, to actively support the inclusion of children with additional needs within their daily programs. Within this edition of ‘Inclusion News’ we celebrate Discovery Alexander Beetle House Early Learning Centre. Alexander Beetle House is a 74 place Long Day Care service in Burnie who share an outdoor environment with Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre (ASELCC).

Over the past few months educators across the service have demonstrated a genuine commitment to building their capacity and capability to provide and embed inclusive practices within all aspects of their daily program.

Educator teams are continuing to strive towards the successful inclusion of all children within their community. Current goals for the program are to;

• Reduce social inclusion barriers which have become evident to the educators, stemming from peer perceptions conceived through previous event/interactions where some children were hurt.

• Support all children to show their understanding of each other and express their thoughts through a range of communication styles.

To support children with their limited communication skills (receptive language and sequencing of steps) educators consistently implement the use of visual supports, therefore effectively supporting all children through routines and transitions. Educators wear visual supports attached to retractable key chains which mean they are always in easy reach to support and guide all children. Sequencing strips have also been placed within bathroom areas to support all individual children with toileting and hand washing sequences. Educators guide and prompt all children through each step of personal hygiene routines with a focus on self help skills towards independence.

Educators actively plan and implement small group experiences each day focusing on children’s shared interests to support engagement. An educator within the team stays at the experience, engages with children throughout, role models and uses intentional teaching strategies to guide all children’s communication attempts and social skills throughout the length of each planned experience, whilst also being sure to recognise and affirm all children’s communication and social interaction attempts (bucket filling).

Celebrating Inclusive Practice

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Since implementing these changes within their daily practice educators have noticed changes in the understanding of all children regarding diversity within the group. Children are more inclusive of peers within play and interactions and are in general more positive (pro-social), which has in turn increased the overall level of shared/collaborative play experiences for all children across the service.

With increased levels of support and guidance by educators throughout all aspects of each day, there has been a reduction in the use of physical communication previously displayed by some children in their attempt to be involved in social play situations, although there is always room for further improvement through continuing to support all children’s social and emotional development.

With support from Director Jenny Gameau and Assistant Director Jess Rowlands; the educator team at Discovery Alexander Beetle House Early Learning Centre, continue to critically reflect on their daily practice and willingly try new approaches or strategies as they strive towards ongoing ‘continuous improvement’. The service regularly document their progress towards implementing actions to address service identified barriers to inclusion within their Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) within the IS Portal. This documentation is also used by the service as evidence of continuous improvement against the seven quality areas of National Quality Standard (NQS).

It’s great to see the Discovery Alexander Beetle House Early Learning Centre educators making a commitment to building their capacity and capability to ensure inclusive practices are part of their everyday service delivery.

Celebrating Inclusive Practice (cont)

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Tips for using the Inclusion Support Portal

Immediate/Time Limited Funding

The Inclusion Development Fund (IDF) Subsidy for Immediate/Time Limited Support enables centre based services to immediately engage an Additional Educator for a time limited period, while an alternative and more stable solution is being determined.

In most cases, this will be to include a child with disability (or undergoing assessment for disability), but may also include children presenting with challenging or disruptive behaviours, where it is not yet possible for the service to determine if the behaviour is associated with disability, or if the IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator is required on an ongoing basis.

Development of a Strategic Inclusion Plan

As the intention of funding is to be highly responsive, the service seeking the IDF Subsidy for Immediate/Time Limited support is not required to develop a completed Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) at the time of application.

The service is however required to develop a short business case in the IS Portal and have its application endorsed by its Inclusion Agency (IA), prior to applying for funding.

The service is required to complete the SIP following the assessment and outcome of the application.

Documentary evidence

Documentary evidence is not required for the IDF Subsidy for Immediate/Time Limited Support.

Submitting an application for the IDF Subsidy for Immediate/Time Limited Support

An application can be approved for up to 8 weeks. Where a child has been absent, as long as the service does not exceed the total amount of hours covered, they are able to claim outside the 8 week period, but within the 12 week approval timeframe.

An application for the IDF Subsidy for Immediate/Time Limited support requires the following information from a service:

• enrolment details of the eligible child (or children)

• the days and hours of attendance of the eligible child (or children)

• the total number of hours the service requires access to an Additional Educator each week

• the length of the approval period required

• the total number of Additional Educators the service requires; if more than one in the same care environment

• details of whether the service requires access to an Additional Educator for pupil free days the child (or children) may attend the service.

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Tips for using the Inclusion Support Portal(cont)

Outcome of the application for the IDF Subsidy for Immediate/Time Limited Support

The IDF Manager will assess the application for the IDF Subsidy for Immediate/Time Limited Support against the eligibility requirements as per the guidelines and notify the service of the outcome of the application.

The IDF Manager will consider the following in their assessment of the application:

• whether the service meets the educator to child ratios as required under the National Regulations to ensure the adequate supervision of children within the particular care environment for which IDF support is requested. This will be assessed before the funding application for an additional educator is considered

• the details of the barriers to inclusion presented in the care environment, identified through the business case

• the high support needs of the child (or children) at this time

• the degree to which an Additional Educator is the most appropriate solution to the presenting barriers to inclusion

• whether the application has been endorsed by the IA, and

• any other inclusion support provided to the service for the same care environment.

Applications for the IDF Subsidy for Immediate/Time Limited Support are typically processed and the services notified of the outcome within 5 business days.

Ensure that you check in and keep yourself abreast of the current information on www.idfm.org.au

Please Note

Yearly Reviews are starting to approach for services. You will be receiving emails from Inclusion Development Fund Manager alerting you to this fact. Please ensure to contact your Inclusion Professional,

who will be able to guide and support you through this process.

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Inclusion Agency Referral process

In light of new program guidelines (ISP 2016 –2019) together with an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement, Lady Gowrie Tasmania Inclusion Agency (IA) has updated our referral process to ensure we capture relevant information to complete our reporting requirements to the Department of Education and provide effective inclusion support which meets the identified needs of services. Our 2017 referral process contains the following steps; 1. Inclusion Agency Tasmania—2017 Referral FormBy completing this form, all services provide IA with relevant contact information and importantly the days and times the child attends the early childhood and care service. It is important that services identify the need for inclusion support e.g. “Educators and family have concerns regarding child’s current speech and language development” or “strategies to support inclusion of child with autism into daily program” etc.

2. Lady Gowrie Tasmania Inclusion Agency -Parent/Legal Guardian Permission Form

Part a- Parent/Legal Guardian PermissionParents/guardians provide permission for early childhood and child care service (ECCC) to share information regarding individual children with IA to assist with a child’s inclusion and participation within the early childhood and child care setting. Part b— Specialist Children’s Services, Early Intervention Services Parents/guardians provide permission for ECCC services and IA to exchange relevant information regarding individual children with services/agencies already supporting the child and family e.g. St Giles Therapy Service, Early Intervention Service (ECIS) or private therapy services. Parent/guardian identifies the key contact people working with child and family e.g. speech therapist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist etc.

You can find a copy of the 2017 Referral form here.

Please scan and email all referrals to inclusion@gowrie-tas.com.au

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Thank you for reading!

Please note Lady Gowrie Tasmania Inclusion Agency has offices in all three regions of the state however, as Inclusion Professionals work predominately in early childhood and child care services across the state, please direct any enquiries to head office where we can ensure a timely reply to your enquiry.

Operational HoursOperating 51 weeks of the year

Monday to Friday 8:00am - 6:00pm (Head Office)After hours by arrangement

Head Office Contact Details346 Macquarie Street, South Hobart, TAS, 7004.

Phone:1800 647 718(03) 6230 6840

Fax (03) 6230 6855

Northern Office56 Fredrick Street Launceston

Phone (03) 6324 1360

North West Office11 Queen Street BurniePhone (03) 6431 3026

Email: inclusion@gowrie-tas.com.au