[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Class 10 Post Due 5/17/2023 #2484

As I think about how I will move forward in empowering educators I immediately think of two things. Number one, I need to remember to empower and be compassionate with myself first. This will be critical for several reason. One, because I will be modeling for educators that it’s okay to be real, and make mistakes, and learn from myself and others. In addition, if I can look at my dysregulation from the threats to the brain perspective (particularly the shoulds) it will allow me to stay with the emotions while regulating and acknowledging the educators are experiencing the same. During the shared co-regulation that will follow, I am hopeful the educators will begin to see their strengths and abilities and be compassionate with themselves as well.

Secondly, the concept of complimentary roles is something I feel really strongly about, and am planning on talking about it constantly and consistently when coaching educators. I believe they’ll feel empowered when they see how I value their input and style and will work with they bring to our team, without forcing my way onto them. I can see that previously there have been students where I have come to meetings with completed behavior plans and told them, this is what were doing. Then would be frustrated when the staff weren’t implementing what I gave them. Now, I plan on facilitating building layered support plans with the team, this will empower them to feel comfortable sharing their expertise of the student, and strategies that work for them which make it much more likely the plan will be implemented.

As the school year is coming to an end, I am really excited to take some time and dig through this material again. I am looking forward to modifying some of our systems we currently have in place, by using the developmental mindset paradigm from day one next school year. As I develop my beginning of year and on-boarding stuff I plan on starting with felt experiences and talking about stress. Beginning that conversation with the whole building at once makes me feel empowered! (And, slightly less burned out than I was earlier this week (insert winky emoji face here).

Thanks for all of our time together this year Judy! It was great.

[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Class 9 Post Due 4/26/2023 #2182

My role in our program is the mental health consultant and special service provider. I work with both children with identified special education needs, and with our general education preschoolers and all their families and teachers. The role I have is to guide all support plans related to behavior or mental health. I believe that I can support others on our team, including the family, to see the value they have in creating plans. Although I may be looked at as the expert, I am definitely not the expert on that child in all environments and during all periods of regulation and dysregulation. I would encourage families in particular to make sure their input and what they see their child doing is critical to the process. I can help them by explaining that they understand their preschoolers dysregulation in ways we may not and they have insight into what is regulating. Particularly when students have never been in school before. I can help our specialists (OT, ECSE and SLP) realize that they also have roles in the process, as each of them has a different lense from myself, the teaching team, and the family. In addition to the family, I believe that the teaching team has enormous amount of information about the child’s regulatory needs although they may not realize it. I would encourage them to notice that their relationship with the child is different than mine would be, and just as important. I would give examples of how children will seek out particular adults during different parts of the day depending on what their needs are. An example I could give is that the OT brings out lots of energy in the child, so when the child sees them they are excited and bouncing around and wanting to play. Thus during rest time, this adult is not the most appropriate to bring the child down to a resting state and that person may be one of the teaching assistants, or the speech therapist. Giving examples like this make it concrete for them to realize we all have an important and separate role in the child’s life- and therefore in the support plan.

[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Class 8 Post Due 3/14/2023 #2076

I would approach creating regulatory spaces in my building, by first looking at what we have that when used is patterned and repetitive. Secondly, I would help educators recognize that we can use what we have on hand by asking them to look around their classroom and find objects that are currently in the room which they find regulating for themselves. I would point out how they were able to find things that created options for regulation. I want to make regulatory spaces in every classroom, and in our motor/sensory room. One of the things that I keep coming back to, is giving doses of regulation all day. We don’t have to have a specific room to be able to do that, and in preschool I think we have a phenomenal opportunity to demonstrate to teachers that children gravitate toward play that is regulating for themselves, and we can observe and deliberately put those items in spaces that the children can access. In addition, I have recommended to teachers to use nap music that has a heart beat sound. This can be regulating for an entire classroom, and I would connect that to using what we have and where we have it.

[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Class 7 Post Due 2/22/2023 #2026

The challenge that I have most recently been thinking about is the negative beliefs of students. There are many times I walk into a classroom and teachers just start venting about how hard the child has been, even when they are standing away from the group talking the message is still being inadvertently reinforced that the child isn’t enough/good/smart/safe/etc. Previously I thought it wasn’t good that students may overhear the venting, but know I am realizing the energetic message the student is getting is just as impactful. This is a challenge that I will have to constantly be aware of when talking to teachers and coaching them on the felt sense of irritation and feeling stuck isn’t just what they are feeling and internalizing but the student is experiencing that too (and myself!). I’m thinking that I can use felt sense experiences to show teachers the experience really can impact students negative beliefs (and thus teacher’s negative beliefs too).

[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Class 4 Post Due 11/30/2022 #1493

I am intrigued by the developmental perspective and this lens has really started to resonate with me. Working within early childhood, I am continuously talking with teachers about what is developmentally appropriate for one child may not be appropriate for another, and we meet children where they are at. It just makes sense that this perspective be used for adults as well. I am excited for this perspective as I have been frustrated with teachers in the past for what felt like unwillingness to work with students with challenging behaviors. Now, I recognize that it may not be unwillingness at all, but it is where teachers are in their level of understanding in the moment. I also am noticing that when a teacher is in one ‘stage’ they may not stay there, especially depending on the dynamics of the particular classroom at any one time.

Using this lens will impact everything I do with teachers. Using the clues to determine what stage they may be in will help me accept that what they are ready for is perfect for them at the time. I am thinking that accepting them for what stage they are at developmentally will actually help me stay more regulated and able to model/coach/ support at the appropriate level. It will most likely help our professional relationships when I am giving them the appropriate level of supports.

[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Class 3 Post Due 11/9/2022 #1478

A benefit of using the timeline approach is how it helps keep students right on the edge of their ability to learn. The approach allows for optimum learning when used effectively. When we understand what reasonable expectations for that brain state, it allows the educator to remain regulated. It’s an opportunity to have one foot in and one foot out, to intervene appropriately.
I agree with Abigail 100% that a challenge of using this approach is being able to identify the brain state the child may be in. Many times as an observer I can see where a child may have been teetering right on the verge of becoming dysregulated, but the teacher may have missed the subtle (or not so subtle) clues to a change in regulation for the student. When teachers are not noticing that a student is dysregulated, and they use an approach such as being reflective- the student will remain in dysregulation and most of the time will escalate to communicate the mismatch. I talk to teachers often about how they may feel that a student did something ‘for no reason’ but there is always reason we may just have not seen it (or felt it). Thus, the challenge is noticing to then ensure we’re using an appropriate strategy for the correct brain state. To work with this, I would use the brain states visual and felt experiences to model the approach.

[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Class 2 Post Due 10/4/2022 #1416

Abigail,
I really appreciate your view of the set up. I think it is right on.

[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Class 2 Post Due 10/4/2022 #1415

The set up of this experience is loss of control, which is why I feel they may misunderstand this concept. They are feeling out of control of the situations and therefore misunderstanding what “behaviors make sense” actually means. When talking with educators about behaviors making sense, I talk with them about behaviors as a communication tool. We talk about body responses to stress and feelings of being safe. This helps to address the fact that behaviors people exhibit are their responses to what they are perceiving from our environment on a continuous basis, sometimes those responses may look maladaptive to others, other times they may be considered appropriate for the situation. It’s important to recognize that our responses to stress may be acceptable or not depending on what the situation is. What I feel they can learn to understand is that we can determine a lot about a student when we observe and experience the behaviors with the student. This allows for attunement and then co-regulation to occur. I believe in the power of leading the teachers to experiencing concrete examples, this can help them understand the concepts.

[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Class 1 Post Due 9/14/2022 #1241

As a school social worker, I am constantly called in during challenging situations in classrooms. Recently, I’ve noticed as I walk toward the room I am guessing what the room will be like when I walk in. I’ve noticed that I am walking into the dysregulation many times already dysregulated myself. Since our first class, I’ve tried to recognize what I was bringing in to the room upon entry. It’s difficult to model skills when I’m not attuned to that. I have absolutely recognized how my unintentional behaviors may have extended challenging situations. So, I do feel using this lens will positively impact both my thinking and behavior. Now as I am coaching teachers, I am committing to using regulation strategies for myself immediately prior to our work as a teaching team.

[Heather Porter]

in reply to: Introduction #1223

My name is Heather Porter. I currently am a school social worker, who is working in early childhood education. I provide direct services with children and a lot of coaching and consultation with teachers/administrators. I’ve become stuck in my work and am excited to learn how to get ‘unstuck’ with the students and staff who are also stuck. This class came at such a perfect time for me!

[Author]

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