Resources to Support Challenging Child Behavior

How do I help a student transition from a preferred activity?

I am a paraprofessional who works with a student in regular education settings and in a Support Room. He has a very hard time working. I’ve learned many strategies and have used them with some success but sometimes he will just groan and refuse to work. The other day he was doing so well and had finished 3 papers but refused to do the last one. I know he could do it but he just wouldn’t think and fill in the answers. What do I do in those cases?  I hate to just say he doesn’t have to do it – that seems like going backwards and giving in.

A few of my students can read, but get very frustrated when asked to answer comprehension questions based on what has been read. How can I reduce frustration and increase comprehension?

My student has a melt-down when there is a change from outdoor play/recess to indoor play. How can we make him understand the visual picture change to his schedule?

What do you do with a student who continually asks questions unrelated to the topic being discussed? When they are not allowed to ask off topic questions they become upset or angry.

I have some students who continually get into arguments or fights. Many times I don’t know who did what. I don’t like to give consequences without having enough information and they of course blame each other. Do you have any suggestions?

I have a student who will not begin her writing work in English class. I have tried graphic organizers, adult assistance, allowing her to dictate but she just doesn’t want to do the work. What can I do to motivate her to start her writing tasks?

I have a 3rd grade student in my Learning Support class who needs extra help with most academic subjects.  She becomes very resistant when I try to work with her on a one-to-one basis.  If I do get her to work with me, she only lasts a few minutes before she starts asking when we’ll be done or she refuses to work altogether.  How can I get her to focus and work cooperatively?

My 7 year old is strangely tuned in to certain sounds. For example, if the pages of a book are being turned within hearing distance, he reacts by screaming at the offender to stop it. He is agitated by the noise to the point of having to leave the proximity so he doesn’t continue to fixate on it. When someone who has dry hands rubs them together and he can hear it, it gives him the “willies” and chills. Yesterday at a restaurant, I reached to pull a napkin out of a dispenser , and he reacted by slinking down in the booth saying, “Great! Thanks a lot –I just lost my appetite from you doing that.” He couldn’t finish his toasted cheese sandwich. Another example is that he reacts loudly when paper is being ripped or a sheet of paper is being torn from perforations in a spiral bound notebook. When my long fingernails scratch against him, or I scratch my own itch, it drives him crazy.

How can our family help minimize these seemingly over-the-top reactions to what seem like innocuous sounds–besides the obvious removal of known triggers? Should we be concerned?

Help…all my students seem to arrive on different buses and times in the morning. What do I do with those early arrival kids while waiting for the later kids?