See Beyond

I've been saying this for a while, but I'm bringing the receipts.

Kids are struggling since the pandemic.

We hear this reflected in the surge of diagnoses (not just AuDHD), in schools difficulty around sorting kids' behaviour needs, and the complex challenges we're seeing across the board.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.13738
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23328584251330165

These two studies show distinct differences across motor and cognitive development, executive function and early maths/literacy skills. These pretty much encapsulate learning in the early years.

We can't keep doing things the same way and expect different results.

We need:
☘️ More neuroscience backed approaches to understanding behaviour
☘️ Opportunities to capture lost skills through remediation efforts
☘️ Play based learning
☘️ Focus on motor development from skilled specialists (i.e. physios, OTs, teachers with degrees in physical education)

We also need about 10000000000 other things...but these are a starting point!

School readiness losses during the COVID‐19 outbreak. A comparison of two cohorts of young children The COVID-19 context has created the most severe disruption to education systems in recent history. Its impact on child development was estimated comparing two cohorts of 4- to 6-year-old Uruguayan c...

When I hear about the struggles teachers are having, and the difficulty managing kids' behaviour - it always comes back to these core principles

Things are changing at See Beyond!!

If you have been here from the get-go, thank you for your support. And a HUGE thank you to all of you who spread the word about the work I do.

I've stopped asking where parents heard about me because most say they can't remember, but they see other people suggesting me in Facebook groups. A LOT.

My work doesn't exist without the word of mouth referrals and the trust all of you put in me when it comes to supporting the needs of your kids.

Annnddddd...I didn't mention that the owners of our house are selling so we have no idea if we'll be staying here or moving in the next 6 months!! 😵‍💫

Exactly right - I see a lot of schools get stuck into "there must be a consequence or they'll never learn from their behaviour."

What if we ASSUME that kids know their behaviour isn't ok, but their physiology takes over and launches them into fight/flight/freeze.

Their rational brain isn't running the show because they've popped their top, and no longer have access to their pre-frontal cortex for planning or their language centres for communication.

Instead of consequences, we can look at supportive and preventive measures to decrease behaviours.

If your child has limited communication, and isn't using an AAC device through their speechie, this might be helpful for them to have at school.

I don't have any kind of sponsorship with this company or deals. But, I'm using this with one of my tutoring clients and finding it SO helpful.

He has verbal communication abilities, and uses set words or phrases that don't always literally mean what he is trying to communication (it's called Gestalt Language Processing if this sounds like your child and you want to go down the rabbit hole).

The boy who I work with has been coming to me for 4 years now. He's just started making jokes using this device. He'll push the button for what he perceives to be silly things he doesn't need or want, and then start cracking up.

He also loves the "I want time alone" button and has been saying that at home AND school when he needs time to himself. He didn't have a way to express this before.

The bottom buttons are also great because kids can record their OWN voice, or you can record some of their favourite or preferred sayings/means to communicate.

My little guy does puzzles at the end of our tutoring sessions, so one of the buttons is "puzzles." He now finds it hilarious to stop reading mid-sentence and push the puzzles button. 😂

As a side note: if the school tries to tell you this is too disruptive to class, push back. Kids are ENTITLED to have a voice, and tools to support their communication. It's not different than children who can use oral language skills fluently.

Did you catch the ADHD Mums podcast?

Jane asked the best questions to help draw out all the juicy tidbits of what happens when you've been REASONABLE, and need to know where to go next.

You can have a listen here: https://adhdmums.com.au/adhd-podcast-episodes/88-when-being-reasonable-gets-you-nowhere-at-school/

🤷🏼‍♀️

via A Day In Our Shoes and Don't IEP Alone

We've got options!

But, educators have to be willing to change what they're doing; and have the capacity to do so.

Many don't have capacity because they're getting smashed from all sides with other requirements.

Not a trend and not a fad.

Our nervous system sets the stage for ALL of our bodies operations.

It's the hardware that allows our software to run effectively and efficiently.

When I talk to people about the results we've had in our household, I always feel like I'm selling them snake oil.

They sound impossible.

I mean, how could music possibly have such an impact?

The magic is in the filtration.

It's specifically engineered to use the sound frequencies that our brain registers as "safe".

Because our body is lacking that sense of felt safety, it stimulates our body to establish a NEW foundation of what felt safety is.

I'm currently repeating my 3rd complete cycle of SSP, and have been using it off and on for the past 5 years.

It's brought me back from the brink and helped me avoid an in-patient psych stay.

You can find more info here: https://seebeyondau.org/ssp-rrp

Or, reach out and I can answer any questions you might have.

(It is evidence/research based - just search up Stephen Porges, Polyvagal Theory, Safe and Sound Protocol, or Deb Dana for more info.)

EXACTLY right - if this is the "worst we've ever seen," what we've been doing won't work.

We can't keep doing the same things in classes and expect the same result when the clientele are drastically different.

Isn't there a quote about doing the same thing in the same way, and expecting a DIFFERENT result is the definition of insanity?

The rise in struggling kids isn’t a character issue — it’s a call for a new approach.

In schools, that means moving beyond reactive discipline and toward meeting students where they are developmentally — and Dr. Ross Greene is leading the charge to help make that shift possible.

He lays out his vision in this week’s podcast episode (link below)!