The tide is going to shift for many of us who have been accustomed to working from home and practising social distancing over the previous few months. When we face larger groups of people and try to negotiate interactions with more than one or two participants after experiencing loneliness, zoom fatigue, and other consequences of isolation, we may start to feel disoriented.
When you add in concerns about social distance, it's possible that you'll be so preoccupied with reading social cues and maintaining a safe distance that you won't be able to follow what's being said at all, let alone intervene with your own views and opinions. Many of us are shy, but our friends and coworkers can't tell what we're thinking when our doubt or self-consciousness nearly turns into silence. Even when we're not coming out of a three-month quarantine, putting our thoughts into words and then uttering them out loud is a complicated process requiring multiple different brain and nerve activities. As we move forward and begin to reassemble and rebuild our communities, we will all experience a range of emotions in response to these changes, ranging from dread to exhilaration to, yes, even greater uncertainty. But, like the most extroverted personalities among us, we all deserve to be a part of the renewal process and raise our voices. Here are some of our finest suggestions for speaking up in a group setting: 1. Put yourself to the test. Set a definite, measurable goal for yourself to speak more. Can you participate once in two of the three meetings you have this week? More? Can you participate in the conversation at least three times if you're having dinner with friends? Determine how much you now contribute and make a small increase.Challenge yourself to speak up twice if you generally only speak up once or know you'll have to speak up once to report on a specific assignment. (Be careful not to overwork yourself! This will make the task appear much more insurmountable). If you meet your objective this week, raise it a notch the next week. 2. Get your bearings. This mindfulness technique aids in the creation of more mental space for presence and focus. Feel the ground beneath your feet and bend your knees slightly to feel the weight of your entire body if you're standing. Feel your back against the back of the chair, your bottom down, and your feet on the floor if you're seated.Rather than feeling light and fluttery, being grounded allows us to focus on the conversation at hand, gives us a more confident appearance, and sends signals to our brain that might help us physically feel more confident. 3. Speak with assurance. Prepare yourself mentally to project your voice and over-articulate, and then do it! Even if you aren't feeling secure, speaking loudly and clearly will make you sound more confident. If you keep this voice, you might start to feel more confident yourself—fake it til you make it is a neurobiological premise! Projection advice: Choose a person who is seated far away and cast your vote for them. 4.Make a nonverbal signal that you want to take part. When it comes to people talking over you, we try so hard to break past our silence barrier, yet no one notices we want to speak (or the other people in the group are hogging the conversation a bit). To get a word in edgewise, use some of these cues: Holding a hand or a finger in the air. Sitting up and forward in your chair while keeping your gaze fixed on the speaker. I'm pointing at them. With a forceful nod or a vigorous shake of the head. These actions demonstrate that you have strong feelings about what is being stated and that you have more to say.
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The conference season has arrived! Our gatherings are still confined to the digital realm a year later, but the majority of us are now accustomed with and comfortable navigating online conferences.
Panels are one of my favourite aspects of conferences. Panels are a fun way to tap into subject matter experts' knowledge and experience. Great panels are both educational and entertaining. Each panellist has a chance to shine while also contributing to a bigger group discussion that captures the diversity of different points of view. That, after all, is what a great panel can be. There are also some...less-than-stellar panels. As a professional, I've been to some mediocre panels. As a communication therapist, I've dealt with several clients who were panellists on less-than-stellar panels and then informed me about their troubles. All of the speaking time was taken up by one panellist. There was no such thing as moderation. The panellists were either talked over or disagreed with by the moderator. The panellists were either unable to respond to the questions or appeared unsure of what they were intended to say. Who is to blame for this? The moderator is in charge. It's an art and a skill to moderate, but it's also a science. By executing a set of very basic duties, inexperienced moderators can create successful, gratifying panel encounters for both speakers and audience members. Surprisingly, many moderators (even seasoned moderators) fail to do so, leaving even the most prominent of panel speakers in the dark.
How many people should be on the panel? This is largely determined by the amount of time given for the event. Seven panellists is too many if you want a meaningful conversation between panellists and your event is only an hour long. By the time they finish introducing themselves, the event will be nearly finished. 2.Select your Panelists: personality Individuals with specific experience and/or subject matter expertise make up the majority of panellists. Not all experts, however, make good panellists. Someone who is a good panellist is someone who: I know intelligent and experienced folks in my own fields of work who are unquestionably experts but whom I would not consider on a panel for one or more of the reasons stated above. The best panellists know how to keep the conversation flowing. Because a panel is not a monologue, a strong panellist does not need to be a great public speaker. Even the most conscientious speakers can become carried away when they are passionate about a subject. When this happens, considerate speakers respond with regard to the moderator's nudges and eagerly surrender the talking space to the other panellists. Yes, it is your role as the moderator to keep the speakers on track. However, a moderator who is fighting to moderate does not make for a pleasant experience for anyone. Recruit speakers that enjoy working as part of a group to set yourself and your panellists up for success. Summer 2021 has arrived, and what a summer it appears we are in for. Concerts, restaurants, festivals, and vacation getaways are all making a comeback. We may dress up for elaborate weddings, sing at religious ceremonies together, and root for our favourite sports teams. We can have genuine face-to-face chats and engage in the kind of spontaneous communication that is difficult to achieve over Zoom.
While many people are looking forward to living their best post-COVID lives once the US reopens, many others are experiencing a new type of anxiety: how do I engage with people again? Although it may not be clinically significant social anxiety, I believe that many people are currently experiencing social anxiety. COVID may have put you out of practise if you're the type of person who suffers with communication even a tiny bit for a variety of reasons. You appreciate having relationships and want to be among people, yet the prospect of returning to the social sphere may fill you with dread or fear of coming discomfort. Communication is similar to a muscle: if you don't use it for a while, it might stiffen and become clumsy. There are recovery principles for communication ability, just as there are for physical training. If you're ready to interact with others again but are hesitant due to rusty communication skills, here are a few pointers to help you "limber up" and ease back into social situations. 1. Pace yourselfSummer is always a time for large gatherings, and this will be especially true in 2021. One of the most difficult forms of social circumstances is a huge gathering with different talks, diverse kinds of friends, acquaintances, and strangers, and little to no interaction structure. If you've been socially withdrawing for eighteen months and are feeling more anxious than ever, it's time to seek help. A marathoner who takes a year off to recover from an injury does not immediately begin training by running 26.2 miles. When working back up to previous activity levels, athletes consider duration, distance, intensity, and recovery. To help you re-acclimate to being with others, consider similar parameters for diverse communication contexts. 2. Keep it shortSet a time restriction for your first social outings. One or two hours is more than enough time to have a good and sufficient chat. When the get-together is still being planned, let your communication partner(s) know that you need to leave by a specific hour. This establishes the expectation that you will be there for a specific amount of time and that you will not be late. Of course, if you're having a great time, you can choose to stay longer! Setting a deadline for yourself gives you a sense of organisation and predictability as you approach the gathering. Certainty and routine can help to reduce anxiety and make it easier to push through uncomfortable situations. 3. Keep it smallThe intensity of a social contact is influenced by the amount of individuals in the room and your relationship with them. An open-ended large group event attended by a mix of acquaintances and distant coworkers is significantly different from a time-limited get-together with two or three familiar pals. Consider the types of social gatherings that you enjoy the most, as well as the types of people you encounter. If you're feeling utterly overwhelmed with wedding and party invitations, consider reaching out to a few close friends and organising some modest social events to help you get the practise you need. Consider where you'll be meeting and who you'll be meeting. Is there a difference between being in someone's house and being in a coffee shop or restaurant for you? Helping the Adults is Helping the Children
Children need excellent social and emotional abilities to endure the psychological hurdles posed by the pandemic. While it may seem contradictory, the greatest place to start for schools wishing to engage in their children' social-emotional learning is with the adults, not the pupils. Before they can truly aid their kids, teachers, administrators, and support personnel in schools must have a clear understanding and solid hold on their social-emotional abilities, as well as attend to their own emotional well-being. The RAND Corporation and The Wallace Foundation recently published an exhaustive analysis that found that professional development programmes for integrating innovative social-emotion. The 3 Areas to Focus OnLearning“Teachers don't just need to know how to explicitly teach social and emotional skills; they also need the knowledge, dispositions, and skills for creating a safe, caring, supportive, and responsive school and classroom community,” writes Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl in Social and Emotional Learning and Teachers. If schools are to properly integrate SEL, employees must be encouraged to enhance their social and emotional competence while also learning how to support SEL in their peers and children. Teachers improve their efficacy and job happiness by participating in social and emotional learning, while also serving as role models for students' SEL. (Elias et al., forthcoming; Jones & Weissbourd, forthcoming) Collaboration All Systems Go: The Change Imperative for Whole System Reform, by Michael Fullan, claims that “The power of collective capacity lies in the fact that it enables ordinary people to achieve exceptional results—for two reasons.” “One is that effective practise knowledge is becoming more broadly available and accessible on a regular basis. The second argument is much more compelling: working together leads to commitment.” The way staff interacts and collaborates has a big impact on the school climate. When staff members support and trust one another, they form the foundation of a healthy professional community, which strengthens their commitment to their schools, fosters knowledge and expertise sharing, and encourages productive collaboration toward common goals. Establishing systems that support strong staff connections and providing regular opportunity for employees to actively contribute can help school teams build this type of staff community. Modeling Adults are continually modelling their social and emotional skills, whether intentionally or unintentionally (Jones & Weissbourd, 2013). Modeling SEL traits, mindsets, and skills sets the tone for the school community and gives children positive examples of how to deal with frustration and stress while also maintaining healthy relationships. The most important social-emotional learning begins with the adults in a school since pupils are continually mimicking what they see. As a result, administrators should consider whether the adults in the school model self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, healthy relationships, and responsible decision-making throughout the school day. When an adult makes a mistake and verbally punishes the wrong pupil, does the adult recognise the error and apologies sincerely, or does it go unnoticed? Do adults at school speak openly about their lives and experiences in order to foster strong relationships with both colleagues and students? Do the grownups discuss their own emotions and feelings with the children? If adults in the school do this on a regular basis, the school culture will improve, and students will become more interested in their social and emotional learning. Simply put, while imparting SEL skills to kids is vital, it is not sufficient to ensure that they manage their SEL talents. The desirable behaviours must be demonstrated through adult interactions within the group. Where It All Begins For the longest time, academic tests have been the main measure of performance in the classroom. However, study after study reveals that the evidence is overwhelming: social and emotional learning (SEL) is critical for student achievement. Aside from the fact that it is so important for student performance, additional studies have revealed that numerous dangerous behaviours, such as drug use, are linked to it. What is Online Speech Therapy?
SLPs (speech-language pathologists) have universally attested to the tremendous potential of online speech therapy in recent years, bringing it to the attention of the general public. Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and even playing games are all common activities in clinical sessions. Students are pre-screened and examined for specific communication issues, and therapy sessions target fundamental deficiencies. To maintain therapist-patient confidentiality, all papers, including evaluations, are kept totally confidential. Therapists are fully credentialed, high-quality SLPs who have worked with youngsters similar to your students. How Schools Benefit from Online Speech TherapySchools can now afford high-quality SLP services for their pupils without incurring the price of employing in-house experts thanks to the availability of online speech therapy. Furthermore, there is no longer any concern about a speech therapist scarcity, as an internet business may dispatch a therapist as needed. Additionally, online speech therapy makes it exceedingly simple for your pupils to get the therapy they require. Consider this: all your children have to do is sit in front of a computer screen and communicate with the speech-language pathologist on the other end. Many kids find this to be far less daunting and even enjoyable than on-site training. Students and therapists will save time and money commuting to and from sessions by using an online speech therapy service, freeing up more valuable time and financial resources to better meet each student's other requirements. Whether your school is located in a rural area with limited access to therapists or you just require a larger network of therapists that can deliver excellent speech therapy sessions for your students, online speech therapy provides you with tremendous flexibility and potential. Increase in Teletherapy Due to the Pandemic“When COVID first arrived in our country in February of 2020, telepsychiatry was already widely available but only rarely used. Dr. Jay Shore, a professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Telepsychiatry Committee, describes the situation as "a tsunami." The American Psychiatric Association contacted its members in mid-May 2020 to see how often they held tele-psych sessions before and after the outbreak. The outcomes were eye-catching and thought-provoking. 63.6 percent of respondents did not use virtual sessions at all before to COVID-19. Following the outbreak of the pandemic, this figure fell to just 1.9 percent. In contrast, before COVID-19, only 2.1 percent of respondents said they used telepsych 76-100 percent of the time. This figure has risen to 84.7 percent during the pandemic. For speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists, the transition from traditional face-to-face to remote therapy has been similar. This isn't solely a mental health issue. Why the Trend Will ContinueAt first look, this occurrence appears to be merely reactionary and transitory. While other aspects of life have experienced COVID weariness, with everyone eager to get back to “normal,” teletherapy is an exception. There are various reasons to anticipate that online speech therapy will become more common in the future. 1. ConvenienceWhile switching to teletherapy was first a necessity, many people are enjoying it. It's difficult to top the convenience: a 50-minute session is a 50-minute session, not a 90-minute one, because neither the client nor the therapist spends time getting to and from the appointment. The time aspect is more than simply a question of convenience for remote towns who were treatment deserts before COVID. The most accessible therapists are frequently found in the big city, which is a long drive away. Dismantling geographical obstacles can mean the difference between someone receiving therapy and not. 2. Continuity of CareTeletherapy also makes it easier for therapists and clients to maintain long-term connections. If your family relocates to a different city, you may easily find a new doctor to take care of your medical needs. You may easily replicate your doctor-patient connection. The client-therapist connection, on the other hand, is frequently a very other storey. “Clearly, the benefit [of teletherapy] is that you get to have continuity of care.” Daniel Hoover, a child and adolescent psychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, and a colleague discovered that 40 to 90 percent of children with autism are bullied, compared to 10 to 40 percent of average children, in a review of papers published in 2018. Why are Autistic Kids More Vulnerable to Bullying? “There's a kind of chronic potential trauma of being in a world where you only understand half of what's going on most of the time because you're missing all these social cues, so you feel constantly out of the loop and have chronic stress around that,” says Connor Kerns, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, who runs the Anxiety Stress and Autism programme. Thomas Frazier, the Chief Science Officer of Autism Speaks, is a clinical psychologist and autism researcher whose two-year-old son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. According to Frazier, children with impairments frequently display an innocent or quiet demeanour, making them non-threatening to bullies. The last thing a bully wants is to be discovered. Furthermore, bullies are more likely to target a student with autism than a youngster in a wheelchair. Because it is socially undesirable to target people who have visible physical limitations, this is the case. The bully realises that it won't be considered a "fair fight." Those with a more "hidden" handicap, such as autism, on the other hand, are fair game. Another reason autistic children are more vulnerable is that they have difficulties reading people' motives and, as a result, may misinterpret bullying as harmless teasing. Autism is characterised by a fundamental misunderstanding of their intents and viewpoints, which frequently results in extremely painful situations. An experienced bully knows that autistic children are generally unable to defend themselves verbally, lack fundamental problem-solving abilities, and are unlikely to be able to accurately recount the bullying experiences to an adult. This effectively guarantees the bully's ability to attack the victim with impunity. It's not always easy to see bullying, and it's even more difficult with autistic children. They may have limited speech or be unable to appropriately articulate their feelings. Nonetheless, you should keep an eye out for indicators of physical harm, behavioural abnormalities, or emotional extremes like withdrawal or tantrums. 5 Strategies for Prevention and Repair 1. Parental Intervention to Help Protect the Child from Being Bullied 2. Support and Love in the Home If your autistic child is being bullied at school, he or she needs extra love and support at home. Conversations with you that are calm and loving will help your youngster feel loved and supported. Assist your child in comprehending the concept of bullying. To teach your child the difference between bullying and misconceptions, you could utilise role-playing, cartoon strips, or social stories. 3. Discuss Bullying with your Autistic Child If you feel your child is being bullied, you should listen to and chat with him or her to figure out what is going on. Once you have additional information, you can contact the school and request that they take the appropriate steps to protect your child. If your child's communication is restricted, you can ask him or her to sketch, point to pictures, or demonstrate the issue to you. 4. How Teachers Can Help Prevent Bullying When bullying occurs in the classroom, teachers are frequently on the front lines. This places them in a position of responsibility and opportunity to do whatever they can to help an autistic youngster avoid or escape a bullying scenario. 5. Education “Education is the best defence,” says Thomas Frazier. Teachers can keep their eyes open, but other pupils will be needed to see bullying in real time. Educating the entire class about bullying has proven to be a successful strategy for dealing with these issues. Encourage students to notice and report bullying, as well as to immediately defuse it. Adjusting to Life in LockdownManaging a range of emotions is going to be a large part of life for many of us who will be spending an undetermined amount of time at home with our children in the coming months. For some, homeschooling may have been a huge success during the honeymoon stage, but what happens after the novelty wears off? Conflicts were unavoidable for others, as everyone tries to acclimate to life in lockdown. As parents, we have a lot of responsibilities.
1. Give them space to talkIf a youngster expresses concern about the coronavirus, our first impulse may be to dismiss their concerns, assuring them that there is nothing to be concerned about before moving on to another topic. However, this does not provide our children with the opportunity to talk about their fears. This goes a long way towards lowering them. We can assist our children in processing their concerns by enabling them to speak freely. As much as possible, just listen.When we do speak, we should refrain from asking questions that reinforce our own beliefs. So, rather than asking, "Are you concerned about the coronavirus?" 'How do you feel about the coronavirus?' is a good question to ask. or 'Is there anything that makes you nervous?' I also think that ‘normalising' my counselling clients' fears is quite beneficial. Assuring young people that their concerns are normal and understandable. 2. Honesty is the best policyChildren have an incredible ability to discover what we don't want them to know. Withholding the facts, even in isolation, is unlikely to keep children safe from the news, and we risk them questioning if they can turn to us for the truth. We will have more influence over how they find answers to their inquiries if we share what's going on in an age-appropriate manner. While it is vital to share the news with youngsters, too much exposure might cause anxiety. Limiting how often we check the news or social media will safeguard our children's mental health while also protecting our own. 3. Take care of yourself.The oxygen mask on a plane analogy is frequently used in mental health training. In the event of an emergency, we must first ensure our own safety before assisting others. We can better support our children by recognising and addressing our own fears about the pandemic. Talking openly and honestly with our loved ones is really beneficial, and if that isn't possible, teleconferencing is an excellent alternative. Preserve your Emotional Balance.Our physical well-being is equally crucial. Like my eldest, I've discovered that the world's uncertainty has put me in a Christmas mood, when the usual rules don't apply and healthy food and exercise are put on hold until normal life resumes. Healthy eating and exercise, on the other hand, produce natural chemicals that help us maintain our emotional balance, so I'm making an effort to live a healthy lifestyle and encourage my children to do the same. 4. Create a routineI'm also fighting the urge to stay in my pyjamas all day and watch my favourite movies. Young people require more boundaries and structure than ever before to feel safe in the face of uncertainty. Creating a regular schedule in which they wake up, dress, and eat at the same times each day will assist to provide a sense of continuity and lessen worry. Be Kind to Yourself.I should feel well-equipped to home-school my children as a former teacher, but even for a professional, it feels overwhelming. For younger children, simply doing a little reading, writing, and math every day is enough to keep them from falling behind, while self-directed learning will be nothing new for older children. They wouldn't mind filling the rest of the day with more thrilling activities. Now that we're all trapped inside due to Covid-19, it's safe to say your adolescent is driving you crazy! They could be sitting in their room, rejecting your attempts to communicate with them, or refusing to complete any schoolwork. These behaviours could indicate a typical adolescent's reaction to a stressful circumstance, but they could also indicate speech, language, or communication issues.
When we think of speech and language therapy, we often think of young children with speech difficulties or teenagers with stammers, but the truth is that Speech, Language, and Communication Needs (SLCN) are the most common special additional needs identified in both primary and secondary school aged students. Around 10% of teenagers have some form of persistent SLCN. SLCN is frequently described as being "hidden" in teenagers. This is because they have gotten very proficient at ‘masking' their problems, and the problems get more subtle as they get older. If a teenager, for example, doesn't comprehend the joke but laughs along with their buddies, it's tough to tell if they're having trouble making inferences. How do you know if your teenager has speech, language and communication difficulties?1. Difficulty understanding new and abstract vocabulary.Multiple interpretations are identified in 37 percent of secondary school teacher explanations, according to studies. In addition, as part of studying new topics, young people are expected to learn an average of 7 new words per day. It's understandable for a teen with language issues to become disengaged or daydream. It'd be like us going to a Spanish-only class when you don't speak the language. You have the option to. How can it appear?Teenager looks to be daydreaming a lot and frequently asks, "What?" 'After you've requested something from them. When asked to perform something after supper, for example, they appear forgetful or sluggish and do not complete the task. As young individuals become older, their vocabulary issues become more evident as the language they are expected to know becomes more complex. 2. Doesn’t get jokes, take things literally, or struggles to ‘read between the lines’When an adolescent can hold a conversation well, these higher-level language skills can easily be overlooked. If they are having difficulty with inference activities at school, young people frequently laugh along with their friends, replicate jokes made to them earlier even if they don't understand them, or duplicate other people's work. How can it appear?When a teenager takes a command literally (e.g., ‘wait upstairs until dinner time' – the teenager refuses to come down if you ask them to undertake a chore before supper), they may appear to be ‘doing it on purpose.' To avoid showing that they don't understand some of what is stated, the teenager may withdraw from dinner table talks. 3. Have social communication difficulties.Making and maintaining friendships can be challenging for some young people throughout their lives. Issues with social communication can range from an inability to understand another person's point of view to a lack of understanding of the norms governing how near you should stand to others. How can it appear?Teenagers who spend a lot of time alone may make up buddies or have just internet friendships. When a young child has a disagreement with peers or adults, they may not comprehend what they have done wrong and be very strict with friendships (e.g. I can never speak to him again now). Some socially awkward teenagers will make inappropriate eye contact or say things about someone they hardly know. 4. Difficulty sequencing events, or explaining why they did something.When you think about it, there are a lot of steps that go into telling a narrative, such as what happened this morning in the grocery. First, we must recall everything that occurred in the correct order; then, we must consider what the person to whom we are delivering the storey already knows (for example, the position of the shampoo aisle if this is significant); and last, we must consider any other relevant information. Are you stuck at home on lockdown, wondering how other families you follow on social media spend their days making cakes, colouring rainbows, and smiling in the sun? Well, chances are they aren't..... and if you're wondering the same thing, you're not alone! It's sometimes helpful to remind ourselves that taking a picture only takes a second, literally a snapsh.
Lockdown with a family isn't easy, as we've all definitely learned at least once (or a hundred times). Yes, there are some silver linings, but even in the happiest households, being at home with the family a lot more than usual with very little alone time may become a pressure cooker. For our children, lockdown has resulted in a loss of school routine, the loss of friendships, boredom, and uncertainty, to name a few. These things can have a big impact on your child's emotions and, as a result, on the family's harmony. Why are they angry? So, why is it that a normally peaceful youngster is now yelling at you because you didn't buy their favourite cereal? It's possible that your child is anxious and uneasy because of the unique circumstances we've found ourselves in. In the face of everyday worries, children have less experience and thus fewer personal resources to draw upon. It's understandable that, in the midst of a global pandemic for which even their parents don't have all the solutions, they'd feel concerned, powerless, and upset. This is where the rage may originate. As the rage iceberg (right) shows, anger may encompass a wide range of emotions. How do I know if it’s anxiety related anger or just bad behaviour? When your child doesn't understand what you're saying, it might be difficult to figure out how they're feeling. For younger children who are unable to express their concerns, this means that parents must read between the lines to determine whether their children are worried. Here are some age-related guidelines to consider while thinking about your child's emotional state. 1.Children under the age of three are more easily affected by trivial events, they may be insecure and weep for you when you leave the room, or they may want to be comforted by you more. 2.Between the ages of four and seven, unhappy children may begin to exhibit younger behaviours or appear to be regressing in their development. A toilet-trained child, for example, may begin to have accidents again, demand to sleep in your bed, or revert to screaming instead of trying to communicate. 3.Children between the ages of four and seven may begin to exhibit younger behaviours or appear to be regressing in their development at this point. A toilet-trained child, for example, might start having accidents again, wish to sleep in your bed, or revert to screaming instead of speaking. 4.Ages eight to eleven; Anxiety manifests as in the inability to concentrate, recall, or focus on tasks that they would typically do. Anger is frequently displayed by children this age to hide sadness. 5. Tweens and Teenagers: Children in their pre-teen or teenage years may withdraw from their families, spending more time in their rooms than usual and refusing to participate in family events. They may have dramatic reactions to simple events and believe that minor issues are a huge deal. They may put their emotions onto a certain subject and channel them in an excessively direct manner. What do we really know about sleep? Have you ever thought about how you feel when you haven't gotten enough sleep? Does it have an impact on your attention span? Are you more irritable than usual? I believe the answer to these questions is a resounding YES!! Children are no exception, and we appear to be in the midst of a sleep-deprivation epidemic.
During my time working as a CAMHS children's therapist, I saw the impact of sleep deprivation on a child's mood and behaviour on numerous occasions. As a result of this realisation, I decided to join in The Sleep Charity's Sleep Practitioner course to gain a deeper knowledge of the problem. I'm proud to announce that since receiving this training, I've gone on to assist hundreds of individuals. I also find myself assisting teachers, who are increasingly being forced to intervene and speak with parents about their children's sleeping habits. These teachers are aware of the negative influence that a lack of sleep has on a child's school life, both academically and mentally. This may seem like another another item on a never-ending to-do list, but if we can assist parents in doing it right, the benefits will be plentiful. The Impact of Sleep-DeprivationDid you know that a sleep-deprived child would exhibit almost identical symptoms as a child with ADHD? This little-known truth was revealed to me by an ADHD nurse who works in the same town as me. This explained a lot, because the majority of the children I counselled in schools were brought to me because of behavioural difficulties. Children did, in fact, in several of the schools where I worked. Clearly parents and children need more education in sleep and the effect it has when they don’t get enough Zzz’s. Realising this led me to begin my quest in helping children and young people understand sleep hygiene. Changing a behaviour pattern is always going to be tricky, I mean which young person or indeed parent has the desire or energy to make these types of changes? It’s a balancing act between recognising the effects of poor sleep versus putting the effort in and maybe having tricky bedtimes for a few weeks. Top Tips for Better SleepSo, what constitutes a good sleep pattern, and how do you go about putting one in place? Well, any bedtime ritual is a good routine; simply having one is critical when it comes to mental wellness. Here are the top ideas I provide parents when I work with them to help their child achieve a better night's sleep. 1. Create a Calm Sleeping Environment The sleep pattern that I assist with begins with an examination of the setting in which sleep will take place: the bedroom! Parents frequently show me their child's bedroom, from the high-tech television mounted on the wall to the lovely, complex mural that adorns their children's walls. What parents should think about is how this would appear to their young children when it becomes dark. 2. Clear the Clutter The next thing to think about is how tranquil the child's room is. I'm not the "neat house police," but it's necessary to assess their bedroom's cleanliness. I understand that youngsters play in their bedrooms because space is limited, but if their bedroom is a mess, the child will find it difficult to relax, as “a tidy house is a tidy mind” and all that. 3. Dim the Lights and Scrap the Screens I often advise parents to think about how much light a child's room gets. Is there a night light in this child's room? What about the fairy lights hanging around a child's bedhead? Unfortunately, any type of light is a nemesis of sleep; here's the science. To fall asleep, we all (including adults) require darkness. I frequently ask parents and teachers if they understand why using any form of device before going to bed is not a good idea. The reason for this can be anything from a blue light to an overactive mind. The truth is that Melatonin production is the key. It's simple: any type of light inhibits Melatonin production, making it difficult to fall asleep. |
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September 2021
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