Being a kid with a language processing disorder is tough! Children with language processing disorders often do not possess the vocabulary or patience to adequately express their needs and emotions. This can lead to meltdowns, behavioral issues, and impulsivity. There are a few tricks parents can use to help mitigate these behaviors and promote more positive behaviors.
Bring awareness to the issue
o Often times, children are trying their very best to do the right thing and don’t realize they are doing something inappropriate. When your child does something like interrupt you when you are talking or snatch a toy away from another child, they may not even realize they did it in the first place. Instead of jumping to punishment, raise their awareness.
o If your child interrupts you when you are on the phone, they may not realize that it was inconsiderate. This is an opportunity to bring awareness to the situation and explain that everyone should have the chance to say what they want to say. Explain to your child how it would be more appropriate if they waited for you to finish your conversation, and then asked their question. You could also give them a strategy like slipping you a note if it was urgent.
o Point out when your child takes a toy away from another child. In that moment, remind your child how crummy it feels when other people take things away from them. Your child will begin to understand how the other child might feel as a result of their action. Encourage them to return the toy to the other child and provide modeling for a better way to handle the situation such as asking “May I play with that toy when you are finished?”.
Encourage alternate behaviors
o For the child who interrupts conversations often, bring it to their awareness, and offer an alternative to interrupting the conversation. Maybe your child would like to lightly touch your arm when they have the impulse to speak. Have them wait until you acknowledge their touch before they speak.
o For the kid who has aggressive outbursts, suggest they take a deep breath and count to 10 when they feel the urge to kick, punch, or bite.
o For the child who likes to grab at things that don’t belong to them, suggest they wear textured keychains on their bookbag or belt loops. This way, they will have the option to grab their fun keychains instead of snatching something that they shouldn’t be messing with.
o For the kid who snatches toys, ask them to offer up a trade whenever they want to grab a toy from someone. Instead of snatching the toy train from their friend, they could offer their friend the toy conductor in exchange for their toy train. If their friend doesn’t want to share, remind your child that they should practice patience and wait for their turn.
Praise the positive
o Whenever you see your child resist their impulses or showcase positive behaviors, lend them lots of praise. Make sure you offer more than a simple “good job”. Point out the specific behavior, and tell them why that behavior warrants praise.
Provide immediate feedback
o Make sure that your child is held responsible for their “undesired behaviors” and they receive a punishment or redirection in that present moment. We do not want to accidentally enforce negative behaviors by not addressing the head on.
Have some grace
o Let the little things slide, and remember your children has to practice these new behaviors. They won’t be able to perform these new positive behaviors all at once, just like they wouldn’t be able to do long division after seeing someone do a division problem once.
For more ideas and resources, check out our other blog posts here. For more information about how our team can support you with home learning, visit our website.