I was participating in a webinar last week which was designed to help teachers deal with students who have ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder). The facilitator stated, “It’s all about the relationship. The relationship is everything. If the relationship is missing, there is NO effective intervention to be found.”
No Effective Intervention to be found! WOW! Powerful!
As a special educator, I deal with many students with ODD. I have seen the need for the relationship so many times. Teachers or assistants come to me complaining about how a student won’t follow instructions, even the most basic. Then, they want that student to be punished. I have always tried to explain that the student will not comply with even the simplest of requests if they don’t feel that the person requesting genuinely cares about them. I know the teachers and assistants DO care, but sometimes the actions they take don’t indicate that to the students.
Teaching is hard. Learning is hard. Both are complicated when a child has a diagnosis like ODD. However, that is when, as adults, we need to reach inside ourselves and find a way to let these students know we care - so they will care in return.
If adults focus on the relationship, we can then begin to find effective intervention!
Please feel free to add your relationship building ideas to the shared document linked here:
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