Schmidt Chapter 3

From reading chapter three in Schmidt, I learned a lot about behavior. I learned about the term accommodators and camouflagers.  My classroom has many accommodators and camouflagers. Accommodators self-accommodate for their disabilities by doing things like looking at what other people are doing before they start working. The accommodator that I am going to reference is also a camouflager. This student of mine was recently diagnosed with ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. We just had a 504 plan meeting for him recently. These diagnoses flew under the radar at school because he hides his disabilities so well. In fact, he bottles up all day and then has huge explosions at home. The ways in which he hides his disability are through self-coping mechanisms like talking to himself during tests and when copying down the assignment notebook-- both overwhelming tasks for him. He is very good about self-accommodating at school. These coping behaviors can become a distraction to others and he needs to learn to control his behaviors at home by using more coping and relaxation methods there as well. 

Something else that I took away from the Schmidt text were a few reminder to use body language in order to get desired results for a behavior change and to provide supportive redirection. I was reminded that a simple glance or sign language sign could completely stop an undesired behavior in one of my students without causing a huge disruption or embarrassment for the student. I was also reminded on page 60 that my comments should reflect concern for the child. An example she gives is "I know you love to talk to your friends but..." I think that these are good for me to remember to use more often because they are effective and loving ways to help my students become more aware of their behaviors and when they need to alter them.