We have tried, in the past to ignore this behaviour but that didn't work at all and saying NO hasn't work either. After that camping trip and quite a bit of thinking I have been addressing the behaviour like this;
When Owen is groaning/yelling I respond quickly by
- going over to him and saying his name
- and then waiting for him to respond
- if he doesn't respond I touch him gently on the shoulder and he always stops yelling/groaning
- then I say to him - do you want to come up, up ??( I repeat the KEY word and use the natural open arm gesture)
- and I wait for him to respond - initially I had to model what I wanted him to say, so actually had to say to him - "say up", he learnt quickly and now he responds by saying "uhhhh, uhhhhh, uhhh" and putting his arms out to be picked up
- I pick him up immediately
I know I am still responding to the yelling/groan and I worry that I am still reinforcing it but I hope that by responding quickly he will learn not to go on and on with it as he has in the past. I hope that over time the yelling/groaning will begin to fade away (it has already lessened considerably) and I think as he begins to understand the POWER of words this will happen. I needed to break things down into more steps than you would a typical kid but this strategy is working really well, he seems happier-I am happier!!
That sounds like the best way to deal with it to me...Great job!! I am having some behavior issues with Russell right now...I'll have to do a post on it soon and see if you have any advice :)
ReplyDeleteLuc gets bored too and just follows me around and cries. If I pick him up and sit down he just wiggles off and it starts all over. Today was one of those days, I'm glad it's over. Glad you found something that seems to be working!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are managing it. My issues are with hair pulling. Have any ideas on that for me?:) Does he do sign language? Maybe that could help.
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