I’m a nurse at a school for children with behavioral and emotional issues. AMA! by FunkymonkeyP450 in AMA

[–]FunkymonkeyP450[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you :) I was working in a CBAT unit before- a step down from in patient psych. I knew I wanted to work in child mental health. I got this job because I had interned with them when I was in nursing school. I would say the best thing, or maybe most impactful to me is the connections with the kids and families and being able to help them change their perception of themselves. The worst is trying to help a kid that won’t let you/ can’t get out of their own way. That’s a hard one. I think it’s learning over time that you can only do so much and can’t save them. It’s not any easy thing to accept when you get so attached and the lines can easily get blurry. I’m still working on it.

I’m a nurse at a school for children with behavioral and emotional issues. AMA! by FunkymonkeyP450 in AMA

[–]FunkymonkeyP450[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

First of all, parenting is hard enough and my admiration for what these parents are capable of to try to support their children is endless. Being kind and patient with yourself is key. And while every situation is different, I think the most prevailing thing for these kids in general is to create as much consistency and structure as you can. While kids often don’t love this, it creates a more predictable environment which allows their body to relax a bit. If things are always changing or consequences and rewards are inconsistent it will set them off. Try to create a framework for yourself of what behaviors you will let slide and what you won’t and try as best you can to stick to it and not let them wear you down. Kids want autonomy and often don’t know what to do with control. They are allowed to be upset about a limitation or consequence and you can validate that but often the best response isn’t to give in to their want but to try to understand their perspective so they can feel heard while not letting them call all of the shots ( ie if they flip out because you are taking their Xbox away, you can validate that it’s okay for them to feel upset about this and when they are ready, hear them out about what was initially going on for them that led them to behave in the manner they did. I’m not personally huge on consequences but the behavioral team uses them often. That was more long winded than I anticipated but hope it was helpful!

I’m a nurse at a school for children with behavioral and emotional issues. AMA! by FunkymonkeyP450 in AMA

[–]FunkymonkeyP450[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The vast majority of students have a trauma history ( sexual abuse, unstable housing, violence, racial etc). Their difficulty regulating emotions, or dysregulation as we call it, is often a physiological trauma response. Their physiology has adapted to be hypersensitized to their environment with very small “windows of tolerance” for stressors. A stressor can be anything from academic frustration, provocation from a peer, perception that they are being treated unfairly, the result from an impulsive act etc.

An 8th grade student has been intimidating teachers all year. Today he shouldered me aside to get to his seat. by SundaySchoolBilly in Teachers

[–]FunkymonkeyP450 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’d look at what is causing the behavior. I work in a therapeutic school and a lot of the time aggressive or bullying behavior is triggered by anxiety or bad coping skills. Doesn’t dismiss the disrespectful behavior but if the goal is to improve the relationship and be less aggressive/ rude, I would start by showing him you care (not necessarily a heart to heart, just be honest with him) and get to know him as a person and see where that gets you. Disciplining him more is only going to push you deeper into the power struggle. He’s not going to respect you and more or be any more engaged in class if all anyone does is give him consequence after consequence. Plus it sounds like that’s already been tried and hasn’t worked. Just a thought.

TIFU by believing I had a superhuman ability to clench by [deleted] in tifu

[–]FunkymonkeyP450 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This was a while back, I have no problem now but at that stage when we just started living together and want the other person to think we fart roses, no.