Resources to Support Challenging Child Behavior

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?

My student chews anything he can.  He will chew anything that is on his desk like his pencil or eraser.  He chews on his shirt sometimes and often his fingernails.  What can I do to stop this behavior?

I am a Learning Support Teacher, and when I observe my kids in the general education class, they don’t seem to participate at all. While other kids raise their hands often, my students tend to just sit there doodling or daydreaming. How can I get the regular education teachers to engage them more?

I have a 4th grade student who continually raises her hand to answer questions in class. She has ADHD and can be very oppositional and disruptive. When I do call on her, she often answers incorrectly which leads to her slamming her desk, pouting, yelling or sometimes cursing aloud. I love that she is so willing to participate but hesitate to call on her anymore. Do you have any ideas?

My life is a nightmare of feeding problems with my son. He will only eat potato chips or peanut butter packaged crackers. I’m worried about his health. If I offer something else and tell him he must eat it or he’ll get sick I have to deal with a full fledged tantrum! What can I do to stop this behavior?

I know there must be a way to help my son with his toileting. It becomes so chaotic sometimes as he runs into the bathroom to use the toilet. He doesn’t seem to know what to do first. Do you have any ideas to help?

I teach elementary students in a resource room. It seems like I have a few students who repeatedly talk out or need constant prompting to get to work. Do you have any strategies I might use that could help…I am struggling to keep it together.

My child typically fights going to bed, thinking of more and more activities to do to prevent bedtime from occurring. Once he is settled in bed, I have to stay until he falls asleep. He often wakes during the night or is up very early.  I am exhausted, what can I do?

I teach 2nd grade and have a student with autism in my class this year. Although he is bright, he is often out of his seat and does not want to do his work. I usually have to give him a direction 3-4 times before he responds and in many cases, he still does his own thing! He constantly draws Scooby Doo characters all over his books, desk and papers and will get mad when he is corrected. I would love some ideas about helping him get his work done.