Teachers and/or Parents- Constant Talking?

[golfgal]

I don't understand why you want to wean him off the pacifier if it seems to help him?

There is no way I would pay for any of this out of pocket. Have the parents buy something. If it doesn't work, they can return it. You should NOT be expected to pay for additional equipment needed for a child. If money is an issue with them, have them contact the state social services and see if there is something there. Also, if you have a district occupational therapist, see if they have some you can use to try.

 

[Jeafl]

I have an Asperger's student who sounds exactly like this child. My student verbalizes everything he is doing (i.e. "I'm now getting up to get a tissue") and even says every letter of every word as he is writing it. The constant talking is totally disruptive and pretty much drives the whole class crazy.

The only thing that semi-works for me, is when he is being disruptive I walk over to him, squat down so that I am at eye level, put my hand up about 18 inches from his face and say "STOP" very firmly. Then I repeat "The talking needs to stop". Sometimes this works for a short time and sometimes it doesn't, since he is a different kids pretty much every day.

The other thing that I sometimes do is have him sit at a back table by himself when I think he is overstimulated by what's going on around him. If I remove him from being in the middle of everything he tends to stop talking a little. The weighted lap belts and vests never worked for me, and neither did the chew tubes. They all became just one more thing to distract him.

Honestly, I feel your pain. There are some days when I wish I had vodka in my water bottle because nothing I say or do helps. At that point I just tell myself to make it through the day and start fresh again the next day.

Good luck, and if you find a good solution, let me know!

 

[kirstenb1]

out of curiosity...what is a "chew tube"? Im envisioning a piece of surgical tubing used as a chew toy to occupy the kid orally.

A chewy tube is usually t-shaped or p-shaped. It's a flexible piece of rubber that has little nubs on it. Some kids use them when they're agitated and need something to fixate on. Our daugther was a biter (only family, not other kids thank goodness) when she was younger, so we kept several within reach.

 

[agnes!]

I have an Asperger's student who sounds exactly like this child. My student verbalizes everything he is doing (i.e. "I'm now getting up to get a tissue") and even says every letter of every word as he is writing it. The constant talking is totally disruptive and pretty much drives the whole class crazy.

The only thing that semi-works for me, is when he is being disruptive I walk over to him, squat down so that I am at eye level, put my hand up about 18 inches from his face and say "STOP" very firmly. Then I repeat "The talking needs to stop". Sometimes this works for a short time and sometimes it doesn't, since he is a different kids pretty much every day.

The other thing that I sometimes do is have him sit at a back table by himself when I think he is overstimulated by what's going on around him. If I remove him from being in the middle of everything he tends to stop talking a little. The weighted lap belts and vests never worked for me, and neither did the chew tubes. They all became just one more thing to distract him.

Honestly, I feel your pain. There are some days when I wish I had vodka in my water bottle because nothing I say or do helps. At that point I just tell myself to make it through the day and start fresh again the next day.

Good luck, and if you find a good solution, let me know!

Just wondering...do you teach in an inclusive classroom that mixes students of varying levels/abilities or in more of a special-needs classroom?

agnes!

 

[Magpie]

A chewy tube is usually t-shaped or p-shaped. It's a flexible piece of rubber that has little nubs on it. Some kids use them when they're agitated and need something to fixate on. Our daugther was a biter (only family, not other kids thank goodness) when she was younger, so we kept several within reach.

I wish I'd known about chew tubes when my son was a little guy! He was a chewer - chewed through the necks of all his shirts, chewed his sleeves, would chew on my shoulder if he was upset when I picked him up... We've still got his tooth marks in some of our furniture, and on the railings! It was like having a puppy in the house.

OP - I don't have any particular advice, but I still wanted to offer my sympathy. It sounds like you're in a really difficult spot, trying to balance the needs of this one student with the needs of your other students, you're not getting any help from your school or district, and the student's parents are incapable of advocating for their child.

I'm sorry you're in this situation! I'm curious though - do you HAVE to wean your student off the pacifier this year? Since it doesn't sound like this student will be integrating into a regular classroom any time soon, is this something you could leave to later, when the child is hopefully a little more mature and able to understand "if/then" statements?

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I don't understand why you want to wean him off the pacifier if it seems to help him?

There is no way I would pay for any of this out of pocket. Have the parents buy something. If it doesn't work, they can return it. You should NOT be expected to pay for additional equipment needed for a child. If money is an issue with them, have them contact the state social services and see if there is something there. Also, if you have a district occupational therapist, see if they have some you can use to try.

Like I said, there is severe mental illness in the home. The student is already having dental problems. The parents claim that the student screams without it, but the student hands it off regularly. Basically, the pacifier is kept in the entire time the student is at home except for meals. So there is no opportunity to talk. There are already dental problems because of it. The pacifier is not used at school nor should it be.

If we require something, by law we have to pay for it. I couldn't even suggest to a parent last year that a child who was having 3-4 accidents a day have pull ups at school because we would have had to pay for it. I will talk to our OT again tomorrow to see if she has any chew tubes.

Unfortunatley the exercise balls are too large for the student (I had bought a smaller one last year, but my kids last year destroyed it). I might have a T Stool though that is short enough and would have a similar effect.