The lighter side of SEMH

Hello everyone! Hope your week is getting off to a great start, as well as the first 6 days of October.

From the 1st - 3rd of October, I had the privilege to work 3 days at an independent SEMH school in Dorking. Although I didn't get offered a contract to work at the school, I enjoyed spending time with the pupils, as well as get to learn about how their SEMH needs impact their learning. 

This was where I got to see a more lighter side of SEMH, compared to the other SEMH school I worked at for 6 months.

My main inspiration for doing this post, was how blown away I was by seeing a completely different side of SEMH, as appose to the stereotypical disruptive behaviour, swearing & frequent deregulations.

The different side of SEMH included loads of politeness, wanting to engage in lessons & thriving on consistent routine.

Yes, I have seen very few deregulations whilst I was working there, but those deregulations will always be a part of SEMH kids, as this is their natural response to them being or finding something that is overwhelming them, and need to let out some energy to regulate themselves again. For example, taking a movement break.

I know I have mentioned this in a few previous SEMH posts whilst I was working at Grafham Grange, as I am continually putting this message out there for everyone reading to acknowledge (I suppose you can call me an SEMH activist at this stage).

As this is also an 'independent' school setting, the staff highly or fully expect all of their students to follow the structure & routine without needing any assistance. That being said, a majority of the pupils are capable of doing work on their own.

So, the morale of this post, is to understand that no SEMH person presents with the same behaviour. Especially in different school settings.

Tips on how to form a good working relationship with SEMH students

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing good.

As the above title states, I thought I'd share some useful tips on how to form a good working relationship with SEMH students. This is especially handy for anyone who is looking into going into this industry. Not to mention that the benefits that come out of this feel immensely rewarding too!

However, I must warn you that the process of forming a good relationship with SEMH students can come with a fair share of emotional obstacles along the way... As I have experienced...

DO:

• Be polite by saying "morning" to them - Even if you see the students walking around who you barely know, it's always good to greet them warmly first thing in school. Especially how it can really secretly brighten up their mood, as they may not be warmly spoken to in that manner at home.

• Try to start a friendly conversation with them - Again, if you come across a student you barely interact with, at least pluck up the courage to begin a friendly conversation with them, such as: "How are you doing today X?" Although a majority of the students (especially the ones I didn't interact with much) will tell you to go away at times, at least they will eventually see in time that you are trying to make an effort to get to know them a bit more.

• Be firm with boundaries & behaviour - I know this will be nerve-racking, but you need to be very consistent with verbally telling students about the inappropriate behaviour they are displaying, as well as to firmly inform them of the consequences should they choose to continue with their inappropriate behaviour. Believe me, they will be thanking you inside their heads later, as SEMH kids crave on a sense of security.

DON'T:

• Keep on changing their routine during their school day - If there is 1 thing that SEMH kids HATE the most, it's definitely change. Every structured routine in their school day must be kept the same where possible, as sudden last second changes can REALLY cause SEMH kids to have some serious dysregulations! Trust me, witnessing a SEMH pupil dysregulated is not the prettiest thing to experience.

• Expect or make them do paperwork for the whole lesson - I know this may sound weird to some people, as you'd typically expect any pupil to get on with doing paperwork for an entire lesson, but with SEMH pupils, that is a different story, and this can cause them to feel tired & overwhelmed, as being in a classroom for too long can stress them out due to carrying an excessive amount of energy then other kids from non SEMH school settings. 

• Make them feel ashamed of their needs - Just because your purpose is to discipline SEMH pupils when they display inappropriate behaviour, doesn't give you the excuse to blame their needs for who they are as a person. The only thing this will do, is cause SEMH kids to have their confidence crushed, as they cannot change who they are inside.

I hope these tips will come into use for anyone who is looking into working in a SEMH environment. Especially having first-hand experience & knowledge. 

*I began this post on the 7/7, but didn't finish it until the 14/7*

How it feels to be Neurodiverse

Hello all, I was originally going to make this post during Neurodiversity Celebration Week, but as usual, my work life had got in the way, and I had also went away during the end of last week just to unwind & relax after everything that has happened during my current crazy work life. 

However, since today is World Autism Awareness Day, I thought about mixing them both together to form this titled post.

First thing's first, I myself, am Neurodiverse, so I know first-hand how it feels to be just that. I also feel as though the very topic of Neurodiversity is still underrepresented in this county. Meaning, this is something that needs to be talked about more.

During the first 12 years of my life, I had struggled to make sense of myself. I was oblivious to what I had that made me who I was. It was like my brain was trying so hard to make sense of everything, as if it was a computer but it couldn't... (Although I think it was mainly due to the fact I was probably too young to understand Neurodiversity) As surprising as this may sound, I never felt isolated when interacting with other people, as my mind kept telling me to act "normal" as much as possible in these situations. In contrast, I kept feeling insecure at the same time by fearing that other people will judge or criticise me just because of my Neurodiversity. And believe me, I have experienced this more times than I have bothered to post on here throughout this year so far.

Also during this time, (including to this very day) I always seem to find it difficult to make, as well as maintain friendships with people. Again, my mind just tells me to act normal as much as possible, just for the sake of trying to be able to fit in with a group of people. Back then, (as in many years ago) I always use to think that fitting in with a group of people would help me to feel better about myself. This was a desperate move in a bid to get rid of my insecurities. However, I had eventually came to the realisation that fitting in just increases insecurities.

Nowadays, I enjoy wearing my Neurodiversity with huge pride, as I enjoy seeing the world through a different & a pair of special lens. I personally like to think that my Neurodiversity is a superpower, because it gives me a lot of motivation to go out & be the best person I can be. Yes, I still do typically struggle with fitting in with other crowds, but I like to think that this doesn't necessarily make me a boring person. If anything, I thrive more by flying solo & keeping proactive with an array of different things I happen to be interested in. Although, without even trying to defend myself, I am slowly beginning to lose interest with blogging regularly on here anymore.😂 

*I began this post on the 2/4/24, but didn't finish it until the 5/4/24*

The best way to understand people's behaviour

This is a post which will be relating to my job as a disability play/youth worker. Not only that, but I will also be dishing out tips & advice for the best way to get to understand children & young people with complex needs.

What does a play/youth worker do?

A play/youth worker is a member of staff who works on play or youth scheme, (or in my case, Disability Challengers) and basically gets to work with children & young people while they get to have fun playing on scheme.

However, a playworker doesn't just play with children & young people, a play/youth worker also has an important job to ensure everyone is safe while playing on scheme. This is essentially called safeguarding.

Going into safeguarding, I, as a play/youth worker, must keep my vigilance at all times when it comes to children & young people's behaviours. This is because behaviour can either be represented verbally or physically, which could eventually become a risk to everyone on scheme, as well as themselves. If a behaviour really was to escalate into the too dangerous category, then a play/youth worker will have no choice but to perform a safety intervention. (SI) This is where a play/youth worker (who MUST be trained in SI to do this) physically removes a child or young person off from another person if they are physically hurting them.

All in all though, a play/youth worker ensures any child or young person has the best day on scheme regardless.

What is the best way to understand children & young people with complex needs?

We always do a briefing 15mins prior to the children or young people coming onto scheme. This helps us to get to know the children or young people who will be coming in for the day, as we get to read through their information sheet. Or as we call them, CIS's.

I'll use the example if I was to going get put with a 1:1 child or young person for the morning & another for the afternoon. I usually let that 1:1 child or young person do what they want to do, so it helps me to understand what they like to do best on scheme. I also pay close attention to how they communicate, whether they use a device, body language, noises or just verbally talking. No 2 people I work/interact 1:1 with are the same. 

If I was to bullet point some handy tips for you all when it comes to working with children or young people with complex needs at a place like Disability Challengers, they'll be things like:

• Always communicate to non-verbals using sign language, as they would benefit from this more
• Ensure you read through their CIS's thoroughly, so you know how to handle them on scheme
• Never show your impatience with trying to get your 1:1 to do something, like going to the toilet, as A) It will make yourself look unprofessional, and B) It may traumatize them
• Never punish a child or young person if they did something wrong on scheme, like hitting someone, as it is not our protocol to give them punishments
• Always listen to what any child or young person comes up & says to you on scheme, as they feel like they can open up to you about anything on their mind
• If you get asked to hang around with the non-1:1's on scheme, do try to interact with them all, because some of them may feel lonely without staff interaction
• In relations to hanging out with the non-1:1's on scheme, try to get them all playing together

I think that's pretty much everything covered for this long post now. 

Anyway, I hope my personal insight to what I do at work, as well as my tips has provided sine useful insight for anyone wishing to work as a play/youth worker one day.

If anyone has made it all the way down to this point, I just like to thank you for taking the time to read all of the way through, and I shall hopefully be back very soon with another post!

*I began this post on the 12/8/23, but didn't get round to finishing it until the 18/8/23*

The psychology behind sign communication

Evening everyone! I hope you're all enjoying your week so far, whatever you're getting up to. As for me, I have the fun demand of attending 4 training courses this week. I have attended 2/4 so far, which were fire marshal training & introduction to sign language. The remaining 2 I have to attend are moving people training & crisis drills training.

The purpose behind these training sessions is to make me feel more responsible while working at my job. To be more precise here, I actually have 3 jobs at the moment, and 1 of them consists of being a play worker at a disability play scheme. (Hence these said training courses) 

But looking at the introduction to sign language training course in particular, I have learned today (when I had attended the training course) that there is a ton of psychology involved with understanding sign communication. When I was reflecting on my training later I had finished, I thought I could disclose what I had learned in my introduction to singing training course onto here, so you guys (who are interested) could learn a few things about signing for yourself!

Why people communicate with their hands:

At around some point in life, you are guaranteed to come across somebody who is non-verbal, and therefore, can only communicate using their hands. Word of advice here for everyone: "Just because they cannot verbally talk, doesn't mean they cannot understand our verbal communication." If nobody was to ever understand hand communication in this world, then try putting yourselves into the non-verbal hand communicator's shoes and see how frustrating the outcome will be for them, as they will end up feeling isolated & alone due to them not feeling a part of anything. This is where the importance of needing to understand hand communication comes into play. By doing so to another non-verbal hand communicator, you'll be making them feel more welcome by taking away their burden of not feeling like they can confidently communicate.

Why people communicate with picture symbols:

Now lets discuss picture symbols. Again, these are commonly used by non-verbal communicators, because they provide visual context of what that person wants/needs. For example, if they are using picture symbols to ask someone what toy they would like to play with. Another way of a non-verbal communicator using picture symbols, is to visually grasp what is happening throughout each day. Or a day schedule, if you like. Where I work at a disability play scheme on a Saturday, I have seen a few people who use picture symbols to communicate with people. (Myself included) In my view, I think that picture symbols are a useful form of communication, as not everyone can understand verbal communication all of the time, right? And pictured symbols helps you to, well, put pictures inside your head. For example, a picture of somebody eating. This helps us to understand that the non-verbal communicator wants something to eat.  

I think I've covered everything for this post, so I'll conclude it here.

I hope all of you have found this post beneficial to you to use in the future when it comes to communicating with non-verbal people. In my case, I am still in the learning process of signing, as there is literally a LOT to cover. This was especially during my introduction to signing training.

*I began this post on Tuesday, (25/7/23) but I finished it on the 28/7/23*