Assisting your clients with school refusal
Assisting your clients with school refusal
Empower the parents and guardians you support with the tools to help their anxious children return to school.
Michael Hawton, psychologist, trained teacher and parent with 30years experience walks families through the simple steps to get them back on track to attending school consistently.
"Absenteeism can largely be managed by parents and carers. I have put together a FREE video resource for parents and carers, which you can share with your community on your school’s Facebook page if you wish. There is also a corresponding infographic to complement the 16-minute video clip."
Download the flow chart below to keep track of your steps toward success
How to help parents give effective instrustions to create harmony at home
Children will be more likely to understand and comply with your instructions if you follow these guidelines:
- Be direct. Make statements rather than asking questions: “Please sit down,” as opposed to “Are you ready to get out your homework?”
- Be close. Give instructions when you are near your child, rather than calling out from across the room.
- Use clear and specific commands. Instead of “Go ahead,” say, “Please go start your reading assignment.”
- Give age-appropriate instructions. Speak to your child at a level he will understand. If your child is younger, keep things simple and use words you know he knows: “Please pick up the ball.” With older children, it’s important to be clear without being patronizing.
- Give instructions one at a time. Especially for kids who have attention challenges, try to avoid giving a series of instructions: “Please put on your sneakers, get your lunch off the kitchen counter, and meet me in the front hall.”
- Keep explanations simple. Giving a rationale can increase the likelihood children will listen to a command, but not if the commands gets lost in it. For instance: “Go get your coat on because it’s raining and I don’t want you to catch a cold.” Instead, try: “It’s raining and I don’t want you to catch a cold. Go get your coat on.”
- Give kids time to process. After you give an instruction, wait a few seconds, without repeating what you said. Children then learn to listen to calm instructions given once rather than learning that they don’t need to listen because the instructions will be repeated.
Read more - https://childmind.org/guide/parents-guide-to-problem-behavior/
Book in your professional learning for the end of the year
Engaging Adolescents™ for Child and Family Specialists
This workshop provides easy-to-use techniques to enlist adolescents to manage their own teenager behaviour problems and emotional reactions. You will learn how to build a relationship with a teenager, help parents to build a relationship with their teenager, and strategies to deal with unacceptable behaviour.
Participants will walk away with a renewed sense of confidence about the role they can play in their teenagers’ lives and how they can assist parents to manage teenagers without conversations morphing into arguments.
Equip yourself with skills to use in their work with teenagers and their parents as well as the knowledge to teach parents the program over three sessions and/or how to teach the tenets of the program in a few one-to-one clinical sessions should you wish to certify to become an Engaging Adolescents™ parent educator.
Live webinar | Nov 9 | Full day
Register via link below
1-2-3 Magic® & Emotion Coaching
1-2-3 Magic® & Emotion Coaching is based on two underlying perspectives on parenting: first, that children can be taught to respond more flexibly when they are frustrated or upset and second, that parents and carers can be taught easy-to-use skills they can use at particular parenting moments. The professional training includes role-play, group discussion, worksheets and videos.
Courses available via webinar and face-to-face all around Australia.
To become a certified parent educator, you’ll be provided with additional resources needed in order to present to parents.
Live webinar | Nov 7 | Full day
Live webinar | Dec 7 | Full day
Register via link below
Anxiety Coach™ for Child & Family Specialists
The course is based on three underlying perspectives: first, by having an understanding of how anxiety develops, community and family support workers can assist parents to counter its progress in children. Second, community and family support workers can assist parents to take a preventative role in the development of anxiety problems in 4 -12 year-olds. Third, there are practical steps parents can take to develop resilience thinking skills in 4 -12 year-olds. Previously called No Scaredy Cats. To become a certified parent educator, you’ll be provided with additional resources needed in order to present to parents.
Face-to-face | Melbourne - Jasper Hotel | Nov 27 | Full Day
Live webinar | Dec 6 | Full day
Register via link below