Transcript Grab-Bag-of-Tricks

A Grab Bag of Tricks:
Working with Scouts with
Behavioral and Sensory Issues
Chris Parrott
Webelos Den Leader, Pack 260
Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 240
Hillsboro, Oregon
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Agenda
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Introduction
Understanding ADHD and SPD
Tips and Tricks
Stories from the Field
Open Discussion
Encouragement
Resources
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Introduction
• My Scouting bio
– Fifth year as a Scouter, third year in CPC
– 15th year overall in the BSA
– Active in Scouting as a youth in Texas
• Arrow of Light, Eagle Scout awards
– Three sons active in the BSA now
– Working on completing Wood Badge ticket
• Interest in special needs
– Oldest son diagnosed with ASD (Asperger’s)
– Youngest son has ADHD/sensory issues
– Focused on Scouts with special needs as
diversity component for Wood Badge
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Three Subtypes of ADHD
• Predominately Inattentive (ADHD-PI)
– Classic “ADD”
– Sometimes referred to as ADHD-I
• Predominately Hyperactive-Impulsive
(ADHD-PHI)
– Classic “ADHD”
• Combined (ADHD-C)
– Individuals who demonstrate elements of both
of the above subtypes
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Symptoms of ADHD-PI
• Easily distracted
• Difficulty maintaining focus on a single
task
• Boredom with a task after a few
minutes
• Trouble completing assignments
• Often losing things
• Disorganized
• Doesn’t seem to listen when spoken to
• Difficulty processing information
accurately
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Symptoms of ADHD-PHI
• Hyperactivity
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Fidget and squirm in seat
Talk nonstop
Dart around, touching everything in sight
Excessive trouble sitting still
Excessive difficulty with quiet tasks or activities
• Impulsivity
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Excessively impatient
Poor impulse control
Frequently blurt out inappropriate comments
Act without regard to consequences
Frequently interrupts conversations or activities
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Comorbid Conditions
• Comorbidity is a clinical term
– Refers to conditions that are also present
alongside a given condition
– Such conditions may exist simultaneously, yet
independently of a given condition
– May arise from a common cause, or otherwise
be related to a given condition
• A number of other conditions are
known to be comorbid with ADHD
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ADHD: Comorbid Conditions
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Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Conduct Disorder
Mood disorders (depression, bipolar)
Anxiety disorders
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Sleep disorders
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
– Including Asperger’s Syndrome
• Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD)
• Sluggish Cognitive Tempo
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Sensory Processing Disorders
• Often present alongside ADHD
• Indicated by difficulty integrating
stimuli from multiple senses
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Visual
Tactile (touch)
Auditory (sound)
Olfactory (smell)
Gustatory (taste)
Vestibular (balance)
Proprioception (body placement in space)
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Causes of ADHD and SPD
• Unknown, research ongoing
• Many theories
– Strong genetic component indicated
– Possible environmental factors
– Some symptoms may be related to allergies or
food sensitivities
• Probably varies from individual to
individual
– Everybody is unique
– Famous saying: “if you have met one person
with autism, you have met one person with
autism.” Also true here!
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Executive Functioning
• Many ADHD symptoms tied to
Executive Functioning (EF) problems
• EF is the “CEO” function of our brains
• EF expressed in our abilities to:
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Regulate sensory inputs
Process, organize, and store new information
Retrieve existing information
Make decisions
• Regulated by the prefrontal cortex area
of the brain
– Research indicates people with EF issues
appear to have lower prefrontal cortex volumes
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Executive Functions
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Initiating
Stopping
Shifting
Planning (Complex Problem-Solving)
Monitoring
Inhibiting
Sense of time
Goal-setting
Self-awareness
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Treatment of ADHD
• Common to see many or all of these
strategies for treating ADHD
– Medications
– Nutrition / dietary modifications
– Behavioral therapy
• Important to create a culture of
openness with families
– Better to know ahead of time, before issues
arise
– Need to get medications, dietary info on med
forms for outings
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Sensory Processing Disorder
• Typically falls into three categories:
– Sensory-seeking
– Sensory-defensive
– Combination
• Sensory-seekers have need to augment
external stimuli
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“Stimming” or pacing
Crashing
Flapping
Fidgeting
Enjoy being wrapped in blankets, wearing
weighted vests, or being held tightly
– Thrill-seeking behavior (beware of risks!)
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Sensory Processing Disorder
• Sensory-defensive people have
hypersensitive aversions to stimuli
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Smells
Tastes
Food textures
Noises
Clothing materials
Lighting (too bright, or fluorescent lights)
• Failure to mitigate these aversions can
lead to sensory meltdowns!
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Sensory Meltdowns
• A meltdown happens when sensory
stimuli exceeds one’s ability to cope
• Symptoms of a meltdown
– Screaming
– Crying
– Acting out
• Important to understand the reasons
behind a meltdown
– Not a conscious choice to misbehave
– Person may not have skills to communicate
what is wrong
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Tips for Scouts with ADHD
• Keep behavioral expectations simple
– Scouts with ADHD have difficulty following a
long list of rules
• Use positive reinforcement
– Give Scouts incentive to follow expectations
– Reward Scouts when they comply
– Progressively build up to bigger reward(s)
• Prioritize kinesthetic and visual
experiences
– Scouts will enjoy and remember more of what
they see and do
– Keeping them busy keeps them out of trouble!
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Tips for Scouts with ADHD
• Change up activities frequently
– Boys are naturally wired for short attention
spans
– Fortunate if you get them to sit still more than
about 10 minutes
– Alternate active and passive activities
– Give boys an appropriate outlet for their energy
• Use the EDGE Method for teaching
– Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable
– Limits teaching time to short duration by design
– Gives boys a chance to try it out for themselves
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Tips for Scouts with ADHD
• Use lots of visuals
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Posters
Slide shows
Multimedia
Visual schedule
Use colors to highlight important information
Graphically organize important information
• Use memory tricks to help remember
important things
– Mnemonics (e.g. acronyms)
– Spatial layout of information (e.g. time lines)
– Connect new information to old information
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Tips for Scouts with ADHD
• Incorporate Scouts’ special interests
– Everybody likes to feel like an “expert” at
something
– Give Scouts a chance to indulge their special
interests on occasion
– Use their special interests as a bridge to teach
new information
• Use technology where appropriate
– Great resources: Youtube, TED, Netflix
– Balance is key – encourage Scouts to unplug
on outings
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Tips for Scouts with ADHD
• Typical Den Meeting schedule
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Gathering activity
Opening (flag ceremony, Pledge, etc.)
Announcements
Game
Advancement activities
Closing
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Tips for Scouts with SPD
• Understand the sensory needs of your
Scouts
– Are they sensory-seeking, sensory-defensive,
or both?
– If sensory-defensive, what are their triggers?
• Provide fidgets for your Scouts
– “Fidgets” are items that Scouts can manipulate
with their hands
– Often cuts down on interruptions by keeping
Scouts’ hands occupied
– Stress balls, even cheap “koosh” balls from
dollar store work great
– Specially designed fidget toys also available
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Tips for Scouts with SPD
• Crash Pit good for sensory-seekers
– Use a child’s wading pool filled with pillows,
stuffed animals, other soft objects
– Allows child to safely crash without harming
himself or others
– Requires some investment of supplies and time
• Weighted blankets also helpful for
sensory-seekers
– Available commercially at modest expense
– Can also make your own at home – take an old
blanket and sew pouches of poly pellets into it
(around 1 lb. of pellets per 10 lbs. of user)
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Tips for Scouts with SPD
• Provide and staff a sensory room
– May need more than one, if sensory needs of
multiple Scouts are at odds with one another
– Gives Scouts who are melting down a safe,
comfortable place to reset
– Provides a safe place for Scouts to stim, if they
need it
– Important to keep BSA Youth Protection and
Safe Scouting policies in mind
– Keep lighting soft, noises to minimum for
sensory-defensive Scouts
– Crash pit, blankets, fidgets all useful items here
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Tips for Scouts with SPD
• Light Covers help mitigate negative
effects of fluorescent lighting
– May be impractical to install and remove these
every week before a meeting, however
– Alternately, may want to bring in a lamp with
full-spectrum lighting (e.g. incandescent light)
• Consider clothing alterations
– Example: if the uniform collar bothers a Scout,
remove it!
– I would much rather have a Scout participating
in the program, than to make a big issue out of
his uniform not meeting his sensory needs
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Stories and Open Discussion
• I will relate a couple of successes from
my experiences
• You are invited to share any of yours as
well, if you have any
• Also welcome open discussion
pertaining to ADHD and SPD
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Encouragement
• Give yourself permission to have a bad
meeting or outing now and then
• We all have them
– Yes, even me!
• Important to learn what worked, and
what didn’t after any experience
– Especially the negative ones
• Try to solve the things that didn’t work,
and improve on them for next time
• Even though it may not feel like it at the
time, you are a hero for trying
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Takeaways
• Boys with ADHD and SPD can succeed
in Scouting
• We are volunteers, not miracle workers
– Nobody expects you to solve all the problems
– As we tell our Cub Scouts: “Do Your Best”
• It’s OK to ask for help
– Some boys need extra attention
– Do not be afraid to call in extra help if a
particular Scout is taking an unreasonable
amount of your time and energy
• You can make a difference!
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Resources
• CHADD – Children & Adults with ADHD
http://www.chadd.org/
• Sensory Processing Disorder
Foundtaion
http://www.spdfoundation.net/
• Kranowitz, Carol Stock. The Out of
Sync Child. Perigee, 2006.
• BSA: Scouts with Special Needs
– http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/boyscouts/
thebuildingblocksofscouting/specneeds.aspx
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Resources
• Autism Empowerment
(including Autism & Scouting Project)
– http://www.autismempowerment.org/
• Autism & Scouting on Facebook
– https://www.facebook.com/autismandscouting
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