By: Vikki Carrel, CALT
Change is complex and can be overwhelming. What was “normal” in recent years is not so today. The current climate in education is faced with ongoing transformation. At times we can shelter our kids from change, but it’s not always possible. As parents and educational professionals navigate the changing climate in education, solutions may not be obvious, especially for children with learning or behavioral challenges.
It’s natural for parents to feel overwhelmed with the demands of family, career, and other responsibilities. However, necessary steps need to be taken to manage these life challenges. First, recognize that routines become more complicated, and stress increases when a child struggles with working memory, anxiety, inattention, laziness, or other conditions that make learning difficult. Next, when a lack of balance occurs, parents feel overburdened because they perceive their resources are limited or lack the necessary skills to manage the stressor. In addition, many kids experience significant stress as their academic workload increases, and they fall behind. Finally, tension builds for children because they fear an unfavorable outcome will occur, and as these behavioral problems begin to accumulate, parents feel additional frustration, worry, and concern.
Stress is multifaceted and complex, but we know that positive emotions are essential to managing it. One thinks, behaves, and responds to a stressful situation by coping. Effective coping strategies help kids alleviate the adverse effects of stress and meet their demands in healthy ways. Children must learn to view stress as a challenge and not a threat. When kids see a specific situation as a threat, their initial response is to fight or flee. This response often increases frustration, as it is a gut reaction that may have negative results. Children need to learn how to properly manage this initial response to utilize their personality and reflect their needs. Efficacy, optimism, hope, and resiliency are all positive personality traits that influence the coping process. All should be taken into consideration. Without them, children learn to cope in unhealthy ways, pushing them farther away from the best possible solution.
What’s in your child’s backpack – confidence builders or breakers? A backpack full of confident builders will provide kids with the empowerment tools they need to navigate their way through life’s toughest challenges successfully. Vikki Carrel’s book Building Blocks is designed to help parents and educators support kids who struggle with ADHD, organizational skills, test anxiety, bullying, motivation, working memory, unhealthy labels, and low self-esteem. Learning is a step-by-step process, and it’s essential to take it one step at a time—one building block at a time.
Vikki Carrel is an academic language therapist and a multi-book author. Her recent book Building Blocks is a practical guide for supporting kids and teens with learning disorders and academic and behavioral challenges. Building Blocks is available on Amazon! Direct Link to Book
