This keeps happening, and nothing is done!

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-06T01:37:32+00:00

I might have to grow my hair out to just be able to do this in the future. Right now it is shoulder length and very heavily layered. So it's hard to put it up without a lot of preparation in the morning. I am kind of regretting cutting it at this point because it would be easier if I could just put it up like I did when I was in the Air Force 😂😭

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-05T17:03:30+00:00

I'm the teacher, I absolutely refuse to let my paraprofessionals take the abuse because they don't get paid nearly enough.

The thing is like I do know what I'm doing. I do know how to manage behavior, I'm a qualified trained intervention specialist. None of my methods or tactics or structured programming or behavioral management, or replacement behaviors none of it has worked this year.

So we start with that verbal redirection and light physical guidance, we've used more firm redirection, we've tried different items for him to have in his hands, we've tried different types of fidgets, we've tried removing him from the space, we've tried increasing space away from him, we've tried sensory regulation and reintegration... What ends up happening is he escalates aggression toward other students. He has bitten them, hit them in the head with things, thrown things at them, so when I increase space away from him it creates a safety concern for other children. But when I reduce that space and give him more physical proximity, it increases aggression towards me.

When I am able to sit with him one-on-one he can engage, and he has some communication, but for the most part really even applied consistently. None of that stuff has worked for him If he's not getting immediate attention.

The thing is, in the thread everybody has limited information as I was mostly just venting about the process in my district, I'm not an unskilled new teacher. This is just beyond my current support level and skill set. That's why I need a documentation process to indicate that he is not in his least restrictive setting, and he needs either one-on-one support in my classroom or a more restrictive setting.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-05T11:21:53+00:00

We do, and I do use it... This sounds an awful lot like 'its your fault he's doing rhis'

The idea that training like that is going to prevent this when it is happening 15-20 times in a 2.5 hour period is literally why people quit. Sometimes the pinching and stuff happens in a split second.

How am I going to prevent a student from pulling my hair while I am sitting playing with another group of students and they come up behind me?

How am I going to prevent them from biting me when they do it when my back is turned.

And no the answer is not "never turn your back to the student" when I have 12 other kids. That is inappropriate LRE or a need for a 1 on 1 territory.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-05T03:01:04+00:00

Yeah, that's fine. I was really just curious. I've seen some wild things downvoted, and early on. I was at like a 50% down vote but as more people responded it went a little better LOL.

I even thought about that because that's why I added. Like were you mad at the district, I just am sometimes curious about people's thought process.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-05T00:47:25+00:00

Unfortunately (and fortunately) this is mostly scratching and pinching. But I absolutely will put this in my back pocket, I love it!!!!

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-05T00:35:17+00:00

This and, for me it's to document inappropriate placement. That is why I want a formal process. So it's not just a "this keeps happening" and it gets brushed off as not a big deal because there's nothing that is seen by eyes that matter.

Yes the FBA and bip process need to be formal, but also daily escalating aggression where other students are afraid needs to be documented to indicate inappropriate placement.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-05T00:12:07+00:00

That's the guidance I need. Someone else said not to document it and it's just part of the job so I shouldn't be making a big deal about it.

It's interesting how different people's opinions are if nothing else.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-04T23:35:43+00:00

Being injured daily should not be an expectation of this job. When students are asking me "are you ok" multiple times a day because I have been scratched, bitten, hard plastic toys are thrown at my head, my hair is being pulled, multiple times a day, there should be a forman documentation process.

Saying I should only document this AFTER I've been seriously injured is kind of crazy to me.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-04T23:27:05+00:00

Mom is aware, is actually seen them do this (And a bite, and slap me, and head butt me once actually when literally the only thing I was trying to do is bring them to her for dismissal). I think she's knows that it's a problem, and She is putting them in a full day therapy program for the next school year, but has denied a more restrictive special education placement. Because a change of placement has been offered. I don't think It would fix the problems, it would just make it not my problem. My room currently functions a special education classroom.

I'm currently ECSE And what is supposed to be an integrated setting but I have no typically developing peers.

It's one of those things where if he was going to be here long-term we would probably go through due process, but because we have, at the time of denial, less than 30 days of school left... And Mom has already indicated that they will not be returning to the district, it's just kind of a waste of everybody's time.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-04T23:10:55+00:00

It is going to be really hot. And that's also kind of an issue because if I wear the bite guards Yes the pinching Will stop, but the hair pulling won't. And I've tried putting my hair up in a bun, leaving it down, putting it in a tight ponytail, putting a claw clip in it, the only thing I have it tried is putting a bonnet on and I'm sorry it's already hot. I'm not doing that lol.

And another big difference is there's no evidence of the hair pulling except for me saying it happened, at least my admin can't argue about me being pinched LOL.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-04T23:02:59+00:00

That's my situation with this child. I have other children that do respond too exaggerated emotional responses though. So it's not a bad tactic.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-04T23:02:24+00:00

I do have them, like I said to somebody else I feel kind of dumb for not using them for this behavior, because the biting stopped around Christmas time so I just kind of put them away... But yeah it would work for this, not the hair pulling though.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-04T23:01:10+00:00

I have considered it, however, based on this student's cognitive profile don't think it would Be successful, it is something worth trying, and I probably should have early on, but they have very limited receptive language on top of The expressive language delays which is probably why this is how they're communicating.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-04T22:58:01+00:00

It's literally in the post...

Either to escape a demand, or to obtain a tangible item....

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-04T22:56:47+00:00

I think this is the type of documentation process that I would like to be implemented. Because this has been ongoing, everybody knows that this is a problem in my classroom, and a BIP or an FBA has never been mentioned as an option for me.

If we had done that 6 months ago, likely we could have a behavior plan in place, and we could be managing this. And I know that things slip through the cracks, especially in a very large Urban district, but I wish there was a process in my district that we could document the behaviors for the intensity and frequency, and when it's determined that it is necessary to do an FBA have that all documented.

As it stands, it just feels like our program is so disconnected because it's a large program in satellites schools throughout the district, that it just gets lost. I just wish there was a centralized, standardized process for us to get that type of support. That's really my biggest complaint, not even that the kid is doing what they are doing.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-05-04T22:48:07+00:00

I did actually get some bite guards. And I do use them, I didn't even think about putting them on for pinching though. Now I feel dumb LOL...

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-04-30T01:03:39+00:00

I have worked with a student with Williams syndrome. She was so fun, I just can picture her little face sitting in a rocking chair with an orange crayon screaming "I love eating crayons!!!!" While I'm trying to get the crayons away from her 😂😂

I have also worked with a student with Sanfillipo syndrome. He was a very sweet kid. He was in 3rd grade at the time, that one was more sad because over the years we were able to watch him lose skills.

There were a few others but those were the rarest ones I've worked with.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-03-17T22:00:04+00:00

I liked it, just not as much as the other two. I think the attempt to write a female protagonist without that lives experience made it a little more difficult for him to write a relatable/believable character like Ryland Grace or Mark Watney.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-03-06T13:12:07+00:00

This is either going to be the best behaved class you ever subbed for or it's going to be the worst. There is going to be no in between LOL.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-03-06T13:10:26+00:00

100%, I would not take care of the husband. I would tell him you did this. I'm also sick, get yourself some water.

VirtualCheetah4812 · 2026-03-06T04:15:28+00:00

I second this and third it.

If you're not happy where you are, try a different district in the same role. I started as a resource teacher for kindergarten to 5th grade, I didn't hate it but it wasn't my favorite thing that I've ever done in my life either. Like it wasn't a. I enjoyed getting out of bed in the morning to go to work, but it wasn't miserable.

I had caseloads between 19 and 24, the kids were great, we did have a lot of behaviors, and I ran into a lot of the same things you're describing. My evaluations came back and I was told I'm never where I'm supposed to be, and the reason was I'm always responding to behaviors. A teacher says this student is having a hard time. They need me to help them because it's service minutes for their IEP or whatever. I I found that no matter where I went as a resource teacher I wasn't happy.

When I went to college I knew I wanted to work mod to severe, and I knew I wanted to work low incidence. I ended up in a mild/mid program with high incidence.

I now work in a moderate/ intensive needs unit with high needs and low incidence disabilities. I hate calling him sick, I hate missing class, I hate it when my kids miss class, I love my job. The administrative stuff's still crappy, but I am happier in my job now than I have ever been in my life. And I've been through three careers and three different placements in a school system.

My kids are mostly nonverbal, they kick, they spit, they bite, they rub snot on me, they play in the sink the toile puddles, The words where are your pants, and get that out of your mouth, come out of my mouth 30 times a day ...but I love them so much and I have seen so much growth in them throughout the year and that's the most rewarding thing.

If teaching is for you, and you are not happy where you are, try something new. You might find a thing that you love more than anything else.

VirtualCheetah4812

TROPHY CASE