Attachment in Education Educla By Jude Harrison-Smith - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Attachment in Education

By Jude Harrison-Smith jharrisonsmith@educla.co.uk www.educla.co.uk 01228 560286 – Warwick Centre 016974 73456 - Ivegill Centre 07501481944 - Mobile

Educla

What is attachment disorder?

• What do we know already?
• Use the paper provided and in pairs or groups, jot down some

things you know already about attachment disorder

Attachment disorder

Attachment disorder is a broad term intended to describe

disorders of mood, behaviour and social relationships arising from a failure to form normal attachments to primary care giving figures in early childhood

Brain Development. Fight, Flight or Freeze

Signs and symptoms of attachment disorder

• Fidgety
• Eye contact
• Feeling contained
• Authority figure reactions
• Creating chaotic environment
• Low self-esteem
• Lack of self-worth
• Sabotaging good things
• Bravado
• Struggling to maintain friendships
• Causing distractions and purposeful

disruptions

• Manipulating situations
• Emotionally needy – fishing for

compliments

• Trying to please others, especially

adults

• Over reactions
• Telling lies and/or stealing
• Unwilling to accept help
• Emotional functioning
• Interpersonal relationships
• Cognitive/moral development
• Behaviour
• Developmental variations
• Being superficially charming
• Being indiscriminately affectionate

with strangers

• Being overly demanding or clingy
• Asking persistent nonsense

questions/incessant chatter

• Lack of cause/effect thinking
• Pseudo maturity
• Abnormal eating patterns
• Poor impulse control
• Showing increased shame levels
• Difficulties with organisation.

Classroom strategies

• Giving responsibility as with PDA, blame 3rd party,

praise work, not the child. Provide concrete, specific and authentic praise; be aware that too much praise may be met with scepticism and mistrust

• Give limited control
• Teach positive ways to interact with others
• Provide opportunity to work with peers who will

model appropriate social skills

• Interact often with to monitor his/her social

interactions

• Reinforce for demonstrating positive, appropriate

social skills

• Address inappropriate social interactions privately
• Make time to spend talking and listening to them
• Be empathic and nurturing; be attuned to their

response to your nurturance and respond accordingly

• Interact with these students based on their

emotional age; some of these children and adolescents may be “stuck” in a younger age of emotional development and do not have the skills to “act their age”

• Be consistent, repetitive, and predictable
• Provide some rewards that are not contingent upon

the student accomplishing anything

• Respond consistently and calmly to unacceptable

behaviour; approach with a “matter of fact” voice

• Discipline students with

natural/logical consequences; avoid consequences. Do not give second or third chances.

• Use humour to deflect

provocative behaviour.

• When they misbehave, do not

ask “did you…”, “why did you…” what did you…” questions

• If they demonstrate poor

physical boundaries or indiscriminate sociability (i.e. hugging someone who enters the classroom) avoid lecturing them; instead suggest a more appropriate way “why don’t you shake the teachers hand”

• Have patience and

understanding and remember that the student is acting from a place of fear and a true belief of worthlessness and un-loveability; each time they are successful in driving people away by their behaviour, their world view of themselves is only further entrenched.

Classroom strategies

Where we can go wrong:

• Prejudism/unconscious bias
• Giving control
• Treats and rewards
• Boundaries
• Assumptions

Unconscious bias is the bias we are unaware of that happens outside of our control and automatically. It is triggered by our brain making judgements and assessments of people and situations, influenced by our background, cultural environment and personal experiences. We can’t prevent it – just be aware of it

Items to have/help in the school setting

• Squishies
• Stress balls
• Water bottles
• Sensory items
• Quiet/calm area

Leaflets, websites and books for reference

• Dibs – in search of self
• Poppies on the rubbish heap
• Tory Hayden and Dave Pelzer
• www.educla.co.uk

Any questions?

Thank you

• Normally, when children feel frightened or in need

they seek proximity with their primary caregivers. These biologically programmed behaviours are the basis for forming attachments, and also help to shape brain development. Children whose needs are met by sensitive and available caregivers learn to trust and develop secure attachments (Howe, 2009).