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*

Why de-cluttering your room can lead to increased brain power

Evening all, hope you've all had a good & productive week! I certainly have, as I've been working at youthscheme from Monday - Thursday.

Moving swiftly on, as the above title states, I know it's somewhat random, but it's the only article on PsychologyToday I could find that was interesting enough to talk about. Well, I for 1, think this article is interesting, because it tells you the different state of minds of living in a cluttered environment & a de-cluttered environment.

Key takeaways: Let's say if you was to live in a household, where there was constant clutter surrounding you, and if you wanted to focus on doing 1 thing, like looking for something, your mind will end up feeling scatty, as you won't be able to find what you are looking for due to the ridiculous amount of clutter that interferes with your focus. This is because living in a cluttered environment has a tendency to make you into an unorganised person, as it will get your mind into the habit of being generally unorganised.

But if you was to live in a household, where everything was neatly organised, (like my bedroom for instance) you wouldn't have any trouble with looking for something, as your mind will be able to recall where that something is everytime. This is what makes you an organised person, as you get your mind into the habit of everything being structured.

Moreover from the 2nd paragraph, being in an organised environment by constantly de-cluttering, helps to increase brain power. Why? Because de-cluttering helps you to focus on any task you need to prioritise. This is something that I benefit from when I constantly keep my bedroom de-cluttered. For the record, I HATE LIVING IN CLUTTERED CONDITIONS!

Think I've covered everything now, so here's the source link, for those interested to read more on how I got my information: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/social-instincts/202308/why-decluttering-your-room-can-lead-to-increased-brain-power%3famp

*I began this post on the 6/8/23, but didn't get to finish it until the 9/8/23*

Today's quote of the day (Explained)

Wow... What a busy & hectic July that has been! I say that, as I've never had do so many things in just 1 month & 31 days. I suppose most of which had involved work related stuff + a bit of gettaway time in between. Makes me wonder if August will be the same outcome... (We shall see)

Going back on topic, where the picture below, displays my chosen QOTD for this post. 

As well as getting over my chaotic July, I have also this chosen quote to represent how I'm going to look ahead into the next 4 months of 2023.

Back to the QOTD meaning, why shouldn't you look back? Well, the past is in the past, and it shouldn't be revisited. That being said, it's something that cannot be changed, regardless of how you feel about it. All you can do is just look right into what lies ahead for you in the future, as it can motivate you through each day until whatever exciting will eventually happen.

Although to be honest, I could use this quote everyday, but I thought I would only use it for a specific time like this, where I have been through so much throughout this year, and I know I will be going through so much more as time goes on!

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*

Turns out that learning about psychology is just a hobby...

Good TGIF everyone! I know it's been 3 weeks since I had last made a post on here, let alone being active on here at all. To put simply, my worklife basically took over me. This meant I barely had enough time to be blogging on my site. Plus, I was away for 10 days just to kick back & relax from my busy life, which was indeed much needed! That aside, I've been feeling pretty good about myself lately.

As of now, I currently have enough down time to be active on here, as well as being able to make a post. And this post (as the above title states) shall be dedicated to something that I have learned recently in terms of the very topic of psychology. 

As it turns out, learning psychology is just a hobby...

What makes learning about psychology a hobby? 

Overall, I would say that learning in general can be classified as a hobby. This is because you can learn about something by reading, researching or just doing something practical to learn about something you want to do.

Going back on topic here, in terms of psychology being a hobby, there is a huge amount of creativity that plays a part in psychology. Being creative in something can also be classified as a hobby, as it shows you enjoy creating with things.  

*This post actually began on the 21/7/23, but got published on the following day (22/7/23)* 

Caffeine & ADHD

Hello everyone! How are we halfway through the year already!? It literally felt as though everyday from NYD has just flown by.

As the above title states, I will be talking about how caffeine & ADHD work well together. And as luck would have it, this article on WebMD explains EXACTLY that! Obviously, as I intend on maintaining this blog to professional standards, I will be explaining everything into my own words, as I don't want to be lazy by just copying & pasting. This was another article which I have been saving for a long while, (my unforeseen absence period) in case if I'm having trouble thinking of anything creative for me to publish onto my site.

  

Overview: It's not uncommon that people living with ADHD tend to display compulsive behaviour. If we look at drinks for instance, people living with ADHD often crave on caffeine. (Any in the above picture) They have a tendency to crave caffeine, mainly because of the excessive energy effects that comes with it.

It's also not uncommon for people living with ADHD to eat/drink something to help them maintain their focus throughout the day. From what I've gathered in the article, and from a couple of in-person witnesses as well, caffeine is popularly associated with ADHD. This is because that caffeine can become additive, and ADHD folk have been known to create addictive behaviours to anything possible.

Here's my source link if anyone is interested to read through: https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/adhd-caffeine

*This post actually got started on the previous day (28/6/23), but ended up being pushed back to complete today (29/6/23) due to me being out working*

Embrace the unpredictable

Another week gone by too quick! Too quick, that I was genuinely struggling with what to make a post about for this week. But then I thought I'll just have a scroll through on Psychology Today to see what I could find.

As the above title for this post states, I feel like I should share this article on here. Mainly because the title & statements sum up what I am currently going through in my life right now. Hence I picked out this article.

Overview: You know, as they say: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you'll never know what you're going to get" Which is true, because you don't know what your life is going to be like come at 20 years old, let alone when you are currently young as just 10. The overall point is, you just have to embrace everything you may face in life as it comes, as life is unpredictable like that. (Something I've always known)

Source link: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-angry-therapist/202306/embrace-the-unpredictable%3famp

 

2 ways to become everyone's favourite person

Evening everyone! I hope you've all had a good week doing whatever you're all doing.

This morning, I decided to have a scrolling session on Psychology Today to see any recent articles that had caught my eye. And as the above title states, this was the most interesting one I had come across, so I thought about distributing what I had read onto here for you guys to see for yourselves as well.

As of at this time of day, I'm too tired to be making this into a long post by using my own words, so I'll write out my overview & attach my source at the end. This is also because this article is too accurate for me to write out by using my own words. Or in other words, I cannot word what I had read in this article differently.

Overview: This article will go into detail about the behaviours of people who have an intention to be everybody's favourite person. In terms of detail, the article will discuss the characteristics of how an individual will be like towards other people, in a bid to make other people like the individual.

Source link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/social-instincts/202305/2-ways-to-become-everyones-favorite-person

How moral support can feel so positive & rewarding

Evening everyone! I thought about doing 1 of these posts that I literally come up with at the top of my head. And this post shall be linked to what I was doing yesterday.

So, 2 weeks prior, I got an email from the Samaritans Events Volunteer team, asking if I would be happy to cheer on cyclists who were undertaking the RideLondon event. Of course I gladly responded with a yes! I then yesterday headed up to Stratford City, East London, to hunt for the Samaritans cheering point.

This was now my 2nd time I got to volunteer at a major event with Samaritans!

As I arrived at my cheering point by the cycling track at the 95th mileage, I was warmly greeted by all of the rest of the Samaritans Events Volunteers, who clearly looked happy to be giving up their free time to come and cheer on the cyclists in aid of a good cause. I proceeded to get stuck in.

Where we were stood at, we could see that some of the cyclists looked done for the day, let alone done with the race. Our job was to ensure those tired cyclists powered on past us by feeding positive & motivational words into their mindset. Doing so served a single accomplishment of keeping those cyclists going through the pain barrier.

Without that hard-core moral support, those cyclists wouldn't be going anywhere, as they won't have any verbal fuel from cheerers to motivate their mindsets to accomplish something big as cycling 100 miles across London. This is why I think it's important that charities come together to bring their support for people doing challenging sporting events, as these people don't do them for nothing.

Now, some of you could be wondering why the hell I was at a major event up in London. It's not like I was up there just for the fun of it. Or just to see the cycling event. This was something that I had chose to be a part of, because I wanted to be involved with a charity I am passionate about. Plus, I genuinely feel positive when it comes to doing things for a community.

*This position wasn't where I was standing with the Samaritans stall*

Where do children inherit their intelligence from?

After a long 4 month hiatus... I FINALLY have the time to come back blogging on here again! Rather then revisit on all of my reasons why, I'll just cut the long story short by saying that I had many life priorities to deal with since my last proper post on here, and quite literally many as well, which left me with no choice but to put myself off from blogging during that time. It was even longer than I had originally thought I was going to be off for.

Back to my titled above topic, I was curious to know where intelligence comes from, and especially in children. This was something I was actually doing research on bit-by-bit during my said hiatus period. Although I was looking into several articles about where do children inherit their intelligence from, just to be sure that I was going to get the same response to help me find the answer into that piece of research.

As it turns out, the final result into this research ended with that children inherit their intelligence from their mothers.

Why? This is because that intelligence is carried on something called an X chromosome. In which, woman have 2 while men only have 1. Not to criticise men in any way, but as women have 2 X chromosomes, their children are likely more to inherit their intelligence from those 2 X chromosomes.

What is an X chromosome? Because I am no expert on biology or science, I'll share this link of my finding's for you to see for yourself: https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/chromosome/x/#:~:text=The%20X%20chromosome%20is%20one,the%20total%20DNA%20in%20cells.

An X chromosome has also been believed to be a gene known as a conditioned gene.

A fun fact for you all, there was a laboratory study which had involved using genetically modified mice! The purpose was to see if any of the mice had maternal or paternal genes in 6 part of their brains. This was to see which of them controlled different cognitive functions such as, eating & memory habits.

There was another study where researchers from Glasgow took a more human approach. It had consisted of doing interviews with 12,686 young people from ages 14 - 22 every year from 1994. The determining results of these young people had included education, race, socio-economic status. However, despite this, the Glaswegian researchers found that the most accurate result was still the IQ of childrens' mothers.

Moreover, the bond of a mother & child is a crucial aspect for connecting intelligence together between the two, as researchers from the University of Washington found the link of mother & child bond & brain growth. The strong bond of a mother & child is then followed by allowing their child to explore the world, as they get given a sense of security. As a bonus, a close mother & child bond will help the child to solve problems, as well as unlocking their true potential.

That's all to say for this post now.

So if there's anyone out there who is keen to know where child intelligence comes from, you have your answer right here!

Here's the link to my research evidence: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/children-intelligence-iq-mother-inherit-inheritance-genetics-genes-a7345596.html

Since my work/study timetable isn't so manic anymore, I shall make time for another blog post next Monday. Stay tuned!😉

 

*SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*

This Sunday, (23/4/23) I will be attending the London Marathon to help cheer on runners who are raising money for https://www.samaritans.org/

Why will I be attending the London Marathon? This is because I've signed up to become a Samaritans Events Volunteer, which means that I get called out to attend special events, like the one mentioned above, to help participants raise money for the charity organisation. Asides from being at the event itself by supporting people, another reason I will be attending is because I want be physically be involved with a cause I am very passionate about. In other words, actually being involved with that cause in person, rather than online.

All I can say is, roll on Sunday!