Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Collaborative Problem Solving

Finally....I intent to finish this subject today....right now.

How to implement PLAN B or collaborative problem solving.....

Since the last post, you sat down with the ALSUP and identified your child's unsolved problems. Curious about the PLAN B FLOWCHART (I hope), you printed it out and identified 3 unsolved problems and are wondering how to implement the next step on the flow chart; which is, adult taking the lead on Plan B. And guess what? That is the beginning of collaborative problem solving.



Plan B (or collaborative problem solving) begins with 3 (difficult) steps: Empathy, Define the Problem, and the Invitation. You'll want to print out the Plan B Cheat Sheet. 


After identifying your child's unsolved problem, you sit down with him/her and begin with the Empathy step.  The cheat sheet has some examples and help on how to do this. 
Then it's on to DEFINE THE PROBLEM. Here is where you'll want to make sure that both your concerns and the child's concerns are on the table. 

The INVITATION STEP is where you will brainstorm  solutions that will address the concerns of both parties. Remember, you are looking for solutions that make sure the problem doesn't happen again. A good solution will be realistic (don't set your child up for failure) and mutually satisfactory. The invitation step will end with an agreement to return to Plan B if the solution isn't working. 

So that's it! Good luck! 

You'll want to watch the videos on Lives in the Balance website. Start with Dr. Greene's overview of Plan B. And look at the videos on Plan B in Action. 



Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)

Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects at least one in twenty children. Children with SPD don't process or experience sensory information the way other typical children do; therfore, they don't behave the way other children do. They struggle to perform tasks that come easier for other children. Consequently they suffer a loss of quality in their social, personal, emotional and academic life.

The Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation is dedicated to continue their research into the knowledge and treatment of SPD, so that, as Lucy Jane Miller writes in her book "Sensations Kids", "the millions of sensational children currently "muddling through" daily life will enjoy the same hope and help that research and recognition already have bestowed on coutless other conditions that once baffled science and disrupted lives."