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Tips for educatorsSchool creates multiple challenges for children with DMDD, but with patience and an organized plan, educators can help them to succeed at school. The most effective tool to help these children is to create a positive attitude. Also, teachers and parents need to work as a team. The following strategies can be used by teachers to work with children with DMDD in the classroom:
One of the first steps for children and young people with DMDD is to learn to recognize their moods and how to monitor the changes in their moods. They can use diaries or smart phones to make the necessary notes. Parents and teachers can ask these kids to relate their mood shifts with a physical sensation, thoughts or memories. They can also record the what happened before their mood change (e.g. arguments, music, poor sleep, missed meals, alcohol or substance abuse). These responses usually include repetitive thinking. Sometimes young people don’t notice their negative thinking process. Once they learn to recognize their mood change and negative thinking, they also understand their style of thinking and its consequences.
Sometimes the student may feel that she/he can’t handle staying in the classroom and needs to get out of the room. The student needs to go to a “safe place” to go to calm down or stay with a “safe person” previously identified by the student. A discreet signal should be also planned, so there is no disruption in the classroom.
Teachers need to establish consequences before the problems occur. This helps students to have a better understanding of the outcome of their actions. By giving them this information, they have the chance and the choice when making their own decisions and the child is in charge of their own actions.
Teachers need to meet the students’ parents and doctor regularly. They should work together on a plan to manage the irritability and rages in school. They can talk about the observations and how the interventions are working.
Teachers should encourage DMDD students to focus their energy on controlling themselves. Students need to make their own choices and be conscious of their decision and consequences. They need to focus on these consequences and relate them with their behavior.
Teachers should use positive behavior and tell them how proud they are of their achievements. This will help them build self-steem and trust their choices.
Teachers can be very effective in preventing outbursts. One of the triggers of DMDD associated outbursts is stress. Therefore, teachers can help eliminate stress from the student’s environment. This can be done by establishing a routine for the student. It can also be done by modifying the time permitted to complete assignments and tests, therefore eliminating some of the stress caused by them
Students with DMDD may often be ostracized by their peers who do not understand their outbursts. This may contribute to further misbehavior. Therefore, educating the whole class, either alone or with the school psychologist may mitigate this problem. If other students are able to understand that these outbursts are not intentional on the part of the student, they may be more likely to accept him or her.
The teacher should also serve as a portal to home; informing parents about all the changes in behavior of the student. It is also important to detect if changes in medication or medication doses are affecting the student either positively or negatively. In order to have thorough communication with parents and psychologists/psychiatrists teachers may consider having a behavior/mood reporting chart. This may be written freely by the teacher or it could be a checklist designed by the team working with the child.
Analyzing each case individually, some teachers may want to give the child a choice in where he or she sits in order to enhance comfort. However, if the child is off task it may be necessary to seat the child near the teacher so that more supervision and prompting can be added. Also, it may be beneficial to have the student’s desk near the door so that when he or she needs to go to the “safe place,” there is not as much attention drawn to the student.
Teachers should attempt to understand the students, and his strengths and weaknesses. Also, they inform themselves about this disorder.
Use differentiated instruction and assessment for all students; however, this technique is specially useful in preventing outbursts as mentioned above. |