School Therapists: Set Yourself Up For Success

When planning your therapy sessions you might have children that will not cooperate. You must set yourself up for success. There are a few ways that you can ensure cooperation. We need to remember that children need an environment that is conducive to learning, routines and rules.
1. Environment:
Therapy sessions should be conducted in a quiet, well-lit, comfortable area. Child size chairs and worktables are needed as well as appropriate storage for materials. We cannot underestimate the value of an orderly room in creating a positive learning experience and reducing non-compliant behavior.
Due to the shortage of space in schools, many school-based therapists are conducting sessions in less than ideal conditions like closets and stairwells. Under these circumstances, sessions may not flow as smoothly and accommodations for noise and other distractions need to be made. One therapist, whose office was in a storage closet, covered the open shelves with shower curtains to protect her client from over stimulation. The shower curtains still allowed for easy access to stored items. Another worked out schedules to borrow offices for highly distractible children and confidential conferences.
2. Routines
Children like routines, and need to know what is expected of them. Predictability and structure fosters a sense of security for our clients which enable them to communicate more effectively.They need time to get used to a new clinician and therapy room. Give them the time to transition. Let them have the space to explore your room and get comfortable with you and the therapy schedule. Children should have a say in activities selected for therapy. Use of favorite toys and games will also promote a feeling of security and well-being. Take some time to train the child regarding what is expected of her as she walks to and from therapy, separating from friends and parents. When children are taken from a classroom, they may feel singled out and embarrassed. Their embarrassment may be misconstrued as misbehavior.
3. Rules:
Similarly, we often overlook the fact that children are uncooperative because they are unaware or do not understand basic rules. Remember to review your rules with them. Example:
We walk in the hallways. No running.
We hold hands in the hallway.
After prize time, we return to the classroom.
One toy at a time.
First you choose a game and then I choose a game.