Fagus Coping Guide

Coping

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Contents How to Use This Guide to Set Goals

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Introduction 3 Developmental Sequence Overview

7

Infancy

(0-2 years)

8

Early Childhood

(2-7 years)

9

Middle Childhood

(7-11 years)

11

Adolescence (11-19 years) Overview 13 Progression Through Adolescence 15 Example Objectives, Goals and Plans

17

Glossary 20 References 21

This guide was written by Alastair Lidster and Rebecca Best.

Fagus is a Beech Lodge School initiative.

Printed in the UK

How to Use This Guide to Set Goals 1. R ead the definition at the beginning of the introduction to familiarise yourself with the topic (decide if you want to read more of the introduction).

2. Establish the child’s current point of development – where are they now?

• T he child’s Fagus developmental profile gives you a good starting point – look at the profile to identify the age range in which the child is currently functioning. Turn to this point in the developmental guide.

• If you have not created a profile, start with the age range appropriate to the child’s chronological age range. Work backwards through the guide to see where their current functioning lies. The right age range is one where most of the behaviours match the child’s current functioning.

• You have identified that child’s current point of development and can now choose an objective for the child to progress towards.

3. Set a general objective – where do you want them to get to?

• M ake a general statement outlining what you would like the child to achieve.

• The developmental checklists and guides may help you do this.

4. Set a SMART goal – what specifically do you want them to be able to do?

• R ead on from the child’s current point of development in the guide to help you identify a suitable goal.

• Select a target behaviour that will help you move towards the objective; the goal should refer to a specific behaviour from the developmental sequence that you want the child to show.

• Make the goal SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time bonded).

5. Make a plan – how will you get them there?

• D evise an intervention plan to work towards that goal: who will do what, where and when? How often will interventions happen? What materials will you need? When will the target be reviewed?

• Making a plan will help you see whether you have set a realistic goal. The goal may need to be adjusted as the plan is made.

Please see the Manual for more information. © 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

Coping

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Coping Defining Coping “Coping refers to how people mobilise, coordinate, manage, and direct their actions (including behaviour, emotion, attention, cognition and physiology) under conditions of challenge, threat, or loss.” (p. 40, Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2010). In other words, coping refers to how we adapt to things, people or events causing us stress (referred to as stressors - words in bold are defined in the glossary). Coping is effective when it resolves the source of the stress or manages our emotional reaction to the stress. The way that children cope with stress is associated with later psychological adjustment and well-being; therefore it is important that practitioners help them to develop effective and varied coping strategies for different stressors within a wide range of contexts.

Coping Strategies Some coping responses are adaptive – these strategies reduce the negative effects of the stressor and tend to result in positive outcomes. Others, however, are maladaptive – these do not reduce or remove the effects of the stressor and may lead to negative outcomes. For example, an adaptive coping response to mounting debt may be to seek extra employment and reduce spending; a maladaptive coping response might be to ignore the debt, which may bring about immediate relief but would not result in permanent resolution. Whilst a person who is exceptionally frightened of leaving the house may cope with their anxiety by staying inside, their coping strategy may have adverse effects on their physical and mental health and would not, therefore, be adaptive.

Different coping strategies are used by different people, at different ages and when faced with different types of stressors. Skinner et al. (2003) grouped coping responses into twelve families of coping styles:

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Problem solving

Information seeking

Helplessness

Escape

Taking action to prevent unwanted outcomes

Self-reliance

Support seeking

Delegation

Social isolation

How people choose to use social support available to them

Accommodation

Negotiation

Submission

Opposition

Selecting from available options

Adjusting actions to eliminate the stressor or reduce its effects (e.g. formulating a plan in attempt to solve the problem)

Protecting social resources (e.g. relying upon self, refusing to seek help from others)

Adjusting preferences to available options (e.g. accepting the problem, focusing on the positive)

Finding additional solutions to the problem (e.g. asking friends for advice)

Use of social resources (e.g. seeking comfort from family and friends)

Finding new options (e.g. making a compromise which brings about a solution to the problem)

Passivity to the problem or finding limits of action (e.g. believing there is nothing one can do to solve the issue)

Finding limits of social resources (e.g. complaining that others are not doing enough to help)

Focusing on the negative features of the situation (e.g. constant focus on the problem, rather than the solution)

Leaving the situation (e.g. walking away from an argument)

Withdrawal from a supportive context (e.g. avoiding those who are trying to help)

Removing barriers to preferences (e.g. acting aggressively towards those perceived to be causing the problem)

Figure 1. Skinner et al.’s (2003) twelve families of coping styles.

Some of these coping styles tend to be adaptive, whereas others tend to be maladaptive. For example, attempting to solve a problem by seeking information from others is likely to be more adaptive and lead to a greater reduction of the stressor than a strategy involving social isolation from those trying to help. However, it is difficult to argue that some coping strategies should always be used and others avoided – we must take context into account.

Coping Š 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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Clarke (2006) examined the association between active coping and children’s social and behavioural functioning. Active coping involves purposeful behavioural and/or cognitive strategies intended to achieve control over a specific stressor or the effects of the stressor (e.g. emotional reaction, social implications). Active coping includes problem solving and information seeking (from Skinner et. al’s coping styles – see Figure 1). Clarke found that active coping is associated with healthy social and behavioural functioning when children have some degree of control over the stressor (‘controllable stressors’ e.g. overdue homework, conflicts with a sibling). However, active coping for uncontrollable stressors (e.g. parental conflict or illness, a friend moving away) is associated with poorer social and behavioural functioning. As the child’s efforts to actively resolve an uncontrollable stressor fail to make a difference, further stress may be caused. This can result in an increase in acting out behaviours and reduced social competence. For uncontrollable stressors, strategies which involve disengagement from the stressor (e.g. wishful thinking, distraction, avoiding the situation) can be more effective.

Clarke (2006) suggests that “health promotion and primary prevention programs are likely to be more effective if they provide youth with a framework for thinking about the conditions under which active coping is more or less appropriate. This approach involves teaching children and adolescents how to assess the “terrain” (i.e. controllability of the stressor), in addition to teaching them specific coping strategies. Furthermore, to cope with uncontrollable situations, it is important for youth to develop alternatives to active coping. These alternatives may include positive self-talk or healthy distraction. It is also important to emphasize that some forms of active coping, such as seeking social support to feel better about a problem, may be adaptive in multiple contexts, including uncontrollable situations” (pg. 20-21). Therefore, practitioners should help children to develop a sufficient range of coping strategies and support them to use these flexibly and appropriately.

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Coping Strategies during Childhood and Adolescence

In a review of 58 studies, Zimmer-Gembeck and Skinner (2011) examined the use of coping styles across childhood and adolescence. The researchers found that the dominant styles of coping used by children and adolescents were problemsolving, support seeking, escape and distraction (part of the accommodation family in Skinner et al.’s model in Figure 1).

Additional accommodation strategies (e.g. focusing on the positive) and self-reliance methods were also adopted regularly.

It is likely that school practitioners will observe these coping strategies more than others and can support students to apply them in appropriate ways (see Table 1).

Problem solving ■■

Drawing up a plan when work seems overwhelming

Support seeking ■■

Seeking comfort from the teacher

■■

Using buddy system in place at school

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Scheduling homework

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Apologising in order to repair a relationship

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Sitting in a different place to avoid a difficult relationship

■■

■■

Escape ■■

■■

Asking a mentor for advice Getting a hug from a friend

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Walking away from a confrontation with peers Taking a break from a frustrating task to come back to when calm Spending 2 minutes away from the classroom to calm down

Accommodation ■■

Playing with a toy to distract self from pain

■■

Engaging in a preferred activity to distract self from upsetting situation

■■

Thinking about something different

■■

Focusing on the positives of a difficult situation

Table 1: Examples of ways to help children apply different coping strategies appropriately.

Development of Coping Strategies

An individual’s current stage of development affects the resources that they have available for coping and can also limit the types of coping that they are able to enact. Indeed, there tend to be age trend shifts in coping strategies, with an improved capacity for coping as children get older. Zimmer-Gembeck and Skinner’s (2011) review found that with age, there was a shift from reliance on adults to more self-reliance (support-seeking/self-reliance), from instrumental action to planning (problem solving), and use of more distracting cognitive strategies alongside behavioural distraction (accommodation). Older children were also able to select different coping methods in different situations, selecting the most effective strategy for the specific type of stressor. Age related trends in the other coping styles were less easy to identify as they were studied less and were often combined with more dominant styles of coping. © 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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It is important to note that the development of coping appears to be cumulative i.e. children use previous strategies as well as newly developed ones. For example within the information seeking family of coping, a 12 year old child is likely to use social referencing and play (first seen in infancy) as well as asking questions (first seen in preschool), reading and making social comparisons (which are first used for coping between ages 5 and 12). Additionally, coping families are not used in isolation of each other and may be used together to maximise the effects of an individual’s coping.

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The following pages examine developmental changes in coping strategies and behaviours from birth to 19 years. Much of the research on coping during childhood and adolescence has been conducted in Western cultures therefore the information listed within the booklet is most relevant to Western populations.

Please note that developmental ranges and ages vary substantially from child to child within typical/neurotypical development. The sequence should be used only as a guide when determining a child’s current development. In writing this guide we have been mindful that every child is unique and develops in their own way due to a wide range of factors. The ages provide a useful starting point and the reader is encouraged to use their own experience and judgement to best understand a child’s developmental progress.

This is not a diagnostic tool. It does not suit a process of diagnosing developmental or psychiatric disorders. Tools such as ICD-10 or DSM-5 are designed for such purposes. The sequence of development described in the guide is designed to help educators set developmentally appropriate goals to help a child progress.

Infancy

• Coping is mainly achieved via the caregiver • Engages in some selfsoothing behaviours (pg. 8)

Early childhood

• Uses voluntary actions to self-regulate, selecting from choices presented by the caregiver • Some independent coping (pg. 10)

Middle childhood

• Emergence of cognitive strategies • Has a wider range of coping strategies • Considers past experience and interpersonal factors when choosing a coping method (pg. 11)

Figure 2. An overview of the development of coping during childhood and adolescence.

Adolescence

• Increased self-reliance for coping • Chooses coping strategy with most predicted positive outcomes • Develops better coping responses to interpersonal situations • Early adolescence: Considers their personal values when selecting coping strategies • Late adolescence: considers their long-term goals when selecting coping strategies (pg. 13-16)

Infancy (0-2 years) Reliance on Others for Coping ■■

reflexes develop into patterns of linked behaviour o infant

■■

learns that crying results in attention from the caregiver and therefore cries when in need

relies heavily on caregiver to regulate their internal and external environment to reduce distress o coping

■■

is mainly achieved via the caregiver

hen distressed the infant seeks contact, comfort and social support from their caregiver via crying (see w Attachment) o seeks

and reaches for caregiver for comfort and/or to escape the stressful situation

o soothed

by caregiver’s responses (e.g. touch, skin to skin contact, stroking, massage, warmth, holding, cuddling, ‘snuggling in’, rocking, soothing vocalisations, feeding)

o from

approximately 12 months will be ‘emotionally refuelled’ by caregiver when upset, tired or angry, sitting on their lap and cuddling for a few minutes to calm down

■■

may shy away or hide face when threatened or overwhelmed

■■

social referencing occurs from around 9 months

■■

cquires new information about objects, environments and the effects of their own and others’ actions via play a (see Play)

Independent Coping Strategies ■■

engages in some self-soothing behaviours (e.g. sucking thumb, stroking)

■■

may have a comfort object (e.g. toy or blanket)

■■

development of locomotion allows the infant to move away from/escape an undesirable situation o gaze

■■

Social referencing

When in an unfamiliar situation the infant looks to the caregiver and gauges their emotional reaction.

They then use this information to inform their own response

aversion decreases and turning/moving towards another object increase

l anguage development allows for the child to express their needs in words from around 15 months (see Language Development) Coping

© 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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Early Childhood (2-7 years)

Coping

Reliance on Others for Coping ■■

gradual reduction in the reliance upon the caregiver to regulate their internal and external environments

■■

s eeks social support from caregivers, sometimes as a back-up strategy when self-regulatory methods do not work (see Figure 3 below)

■■

ecoming more confident and skilled in seeking comfort from appropriate people within different settings b (i.e. knowing who to approach and how to ask for help) (see Language Development, Self-Awareness and Socialisation)

Cries, reaches for and moves towards family members to seek cuddles, kisses and supportive words when distressed

Engages in shared activities with family members to distract themselves from the stressor

Coping via social support from caregiver

Asks family members questions to gain information about how to reduce the effects of the stressor Figure 3. Social support seeking methods used for coping during early childhood.

Seeks objects from family members to help themselves cope (e.g. asks for transitional object)

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Independent Coping Strategies ■■

dvances in motor and language skills result in an improved ability to independently use a greater variety of a coping behaviours (e.g. crawling away from a situation, understanding verbal reassurances from parent) (see Language Development)

■■

is supported by adults to generate their own coping response

■■

hooses and performs coping behaviours voluntarily and independently, selecting from choices presented by c the caregiver (e.g. when the child is distressed, the caregiver may present the options of coming for a cuddle, getting a comfort toy or doing something new; the child then chooses a coping strategy from these options)

■■

f rom approximately 6 years is able to coordinate some coping responses with reduced support from adults (e.g. adult asking “what would help you now?”)

■■

i n some situations the child is able to independently choose actions to self-regulate, without the need for choices from the caregiver (see Figure 4 below)

Voluntary behavioural strategies Behavioural withdrawal

(e.g. moving away from the situation, covering ears to drown out loud noise)

Self-soothing

(e.g. using comfort objects e.g. blanket or teddy bear)

Distraction

(e.g. turning to new play activity)

Figure 4. Voluntary self-regulatory behavioural strategies used for coping during early childhood.

■■

y the end of the preschool years shows more confidence and better coping in new situations (e.g. starting b school)

■■

nderstands that it is not appropriate to have a tantrum at school, indicating some control over their own u emotions (see Self-Control)

■■

ay have imaginary companion(s), which are sometimes used to help the child cope with new or strong feelings m (e.g. guilt – blaming the imaginary companion for the behaviour) (see Socialisation)

© 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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Middle Childhood (7-11 years)

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Independent Coping Strategies ■■

demonstrates less behavioural withdrawal than in early childhood

■■

more problem-focused coping

■■

development of cognition allows for more advanced and independent coping (see Cognitive Development)

■■

emergence of cognitive strategies - coping using cognitive means o cognitive •

distraction

sed when behavioural distraction is not possible (e.g. thinking pleasant thoughts whilst sitting in a dentist’s u chair)

• awareness

of cognitive distraction strategies increases as the child gets older

o self-reassuring o cognitive o thinks

statements (e.g. “you can do this”)

reframing (e.g. focusing on the positive aspects of a stressful situation)

positively about new challenges

o increased o mental

rumination (e.g. thinking deeply about the problem/stressor)

escape strategies - daydreaming, withdrawing mental effort

o mental

representations of caregiver(s) act as a source of comfort, without the need for the caregiver to be physically present (see Attachment)

■■

advances in cognition result in better problem-solving (see Cognitive Development) o rehearses

hypothetical responses in their mind

o selects

the best coping strategy without trying out all of the alternatives, producing a wider range of coping possibilities

o uses

past experience when selecting the best course of action

o

nhanced perspective taking allows consideration of interpersonal factors when selecting the best coping e method

o

information seeking is more organised, flexible and specific to the problem

Problem-focused coping

Taking practical action to tackle/ remove a stressor in an attempt to reduce distress

Cognitive distraction

Thinking about something different

Cognitive reframing

Seeing a problem from a different point of view/in a different way

Rumination

Thinking deeply. In Psychology, the term rumination refers to fixation upon the causes of a problem, rather than the solution.

Rumination does not lead to active problem solving to change the situation and is associated with symptoms of depression

■■

coping strategies become more complex and differentiated o

selects the strategy that will most effectively reduce the effects of the stressor

■■

uses verbal reassurance to comfort themselves

■■

shows resilience when conflicts arise with peers and thinks of ways to resolve these conflicts (see Socialisation)

Reliance on Others for Coping ■■

less reliance on family for emotional support o seeks

social support outside the family, as well as from family members (e.g. from peers, teachers and family friends) (see Socialisation)

■■

seeks information from adults to help deal with the stressor

■■

y the end of middle childhood adults remind the child about effective coping behaviours and the child selects b the most suitable strategy for the problem (from approximately 10 years)

■■

learns from others’ experiences and uses this to inform their own coping response

Resilience

An individual’s ability to achieve “good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation or development” (p. 228, Matsen, 2001)

Coping © 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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Adolescence Overview (11-19 years)

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Within the psychological literature, developments in coping behaviour tend to be either summarised across the entire adolescence age range, or associated with early, middle or late adolescence. We provide a description of general trends and features in adolescence followed by a tabulated developmental sequence.

Independent Coping ■■

increased self-reliance

■■

uses meta-cognitive strategies for coping o reflects

on their own cognitive processes, emotions and actions when selecting the best coping strategy

o considers

long term social and emotional consequences of possible coping behaviours

o considers

the effects of their actions on, and coordinates their actions with, others

o allows

the adolescent to choose the coping strategy that will result in the most positive emotional and social consequences for themselves and others (e.g. choosing to seek information rather than withdraw themselves from a family problem, in order to tackle the issue and reduce stress for themselves and other family members)

■■

more sophisticated problem solving skills result in improved coping (see Cognitive Development)

■■

increased knowledge results in quicker, better informed and more useful responses to stressful events o generates

more response options to a problem

o considers

the effects of their actions on themselves and others

o identifies

the salient features of a problem and uses their knowledge of possible responses to co-ordinate the most effective coping strategy

o integrates

information from different sources and perspectives to develop the best plan of action

■■

coping becomes more differentiated to different stressors as the adolescent gets older

■■

insightful coping - uses moral character and personal philosophy when choosing coping strategies

■■

may meditate or use guided relaxation as a form of distraction coping

■■

coping style can affect self-esteem (see Self-Esteem)

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of, and reflection upon one’s own thought processes

o active

and direct coping methods which attempt to tackle and remove the negative effects of the stressor (e.g. problem solving) are related to higher self-esteem (vs. avoidant coping strategies which involve avoiding the stressor e.g. denying that there is a problem)

■■

irls tend to use more self-soothing strategies (e.g. soaking in the bath, relaxing by reading a book) and place g more reliance on social and spiritual support

■■

oys tend to self-regulate through strategies that are more physical (e.g. using a punch bag to relieve stress) and b avoidant (e.g. pretending that there isn’t a problem)

Reliance on Others for Coping ■■

olds mental representations of others as sources of support, without needing the person to be physically h present o feels

supported without needing to physically seek that support, allowing them to focus better on co-ordinating their coping actions

■■

v alues of social partners are internalised by the adolescent and inform the selection of coping behaviours (see Attachment and Socialisation) o looks

to friends and siblings for support

o parents o may

still have some influence over coping strategies used by the adolescent

rely on romantic partners

Coping © 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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Progression Through Adolescence ■■ m ay use humour as a coping strategy Early adolescence ■■ attempts to cope with anxieties about friendships (11-14 years) ■■ shows an awareness of coping strategies that help deal with difficult emotions (e.g. distracting themselves from worrying about things out of their control) ■■

nderstands that it may be harder to carry out coping strategies that deal u with difficult emotions

■■

aware of strategies which help to overcome stress

■■

avoids potentially negative situations

■■

plans activities to distract themselves from negative emotions

■■

considers personal values when choosing a coping strategy from approximately 13 years (e.g. if achieving high grades at school is important to the adolescent, they are more likely to choose problem solving or information seeking strategies to cope with a heavy work load, rather than use escape/avoidant strategies)

■■ d emonstrates an awareness of the importance of managing one’s emotions Middle adolescence ■■ has better control over emotions caused by interpersonal conflict (14-16 years) o t hinks carefully about the complexities of relationships and uses insight to develop strategies to deal with conflicts and think about what to do differently next time ■■

s hows increased resistance to peer pressure, coping with the associated emotions

■■

i ntegrates information from various sources when developing a coping response

■■

seeks professional health advice when needed

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■■ considers long term goals when choosing a coping strategy (e.g. if the Late adolescent has a long term goal to stay fit and healthy, they may choose to adolescence do exercise and avoid using substances to deal with stress) (16-19 years) ■■

looks to peers for social support (see Socialisation)

■■

shows increased confidence in choosing strategies to deal with conflict

■■

uses positive thinking to cope with difficult emotions

■■

onsiders the consequences of their actions, resulting in better c management of emotional impulses

■■

typically demonstrates increased resilience

Coping © 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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Coping: Example Objectives, Goals and Plans These examples were developed for pupils attending Beech Lodge School.

Pupil A is 14 years old. She frequently complains about feeling unwell and finds this extremely distressing. Pupil A is heavily reliant upon her key worker to calm her down; teaching staff would like to enable her to cope more independently and set the following goal:

Reference in Early childhood: is supported by adults to generate their own coping response (pg. 10) guide Objective

For pupil to take appropriate steps to help herself cope when she is feeling unwell.

Goal

Pupil follows her coping plan and chooses an appropriate action to help her cope when she feels unwell on 50% of occasions.

Plan

■■

ey worker to create flow chart of options with pupil, giving her a visual plan of different K methods to help her cope when she is feeling unwell

■■

taff to encourage pupil to collect her plan from her box when she is feeling unwell and S support her to follow the flow chart and take appropriate action

■■

Praise and use of reward system when pupil follows the plan appropriately

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Pupil B is 13 years old. She does not ask for help when she needs it. She often finishes her work before her peers, but does not communicate this to the teacher; she will sit at her desk until the teacher notices.

The class teacher wants to support Pupil B to ask for help and sets the following goal:

Reference in Early childhood: becoming more confident and skilled in seeking comfort from appropriate people within different settings (i.e. knowing who to approach and how to ask for help) (pg. 9) guide Objective

For pupil to ask for help in lessons.

Goal

Pupil uses a signal of her choosing to notify staff that she has finished the work in classroom learning. She does this 75% of the time.

Plan

■■

hole-class intervention: all pupils to choose a signal to notify staff when they are finished W their work (e.g. card on table, hand raised)

■■

Extension worksheets to be available at the front of the classroom

■■

To be included in class guidelines, which will be stuck on wall

■■

upil dislikes being given praise in front of others therefore avoid giving praise in front of class P – praise whole group or do individually at end of lesson

Coping © 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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Pupil C is 12 years old. Generally, he manages his emotions well throughout the school day and does not tell staff that there have been any problems. However, when he goes home he becomes distressed and reports several issues to his parents. His teacher would like to support him to deal with these difficulties before the end of the school day:

Reference in Middle childhood: seeks social support from outside of the family (pg. 12) guide Objective

For pupil to tell staff members about things that have upset him during the school day.

Goal

Pupil expresses any feelings of injustice from the school day in his review of the day. Mum reports 1 additional issue from home.

Plan

■■

1:1 reflection time with key worker at the end of each day to discuss incidents that have occurred through the day and help pupil rationalise why they occurred and they have/can be sorted out

■■

Home-school diary system to be set up to ensure concerns and events are communicated between parents and teaching staff

Pupil D is 11 years old. He struggles to cope when he loses a game with peers, becoming very upset or angry. His teacher set the following goal to support him to develop appropriate coping strategies:

Reference in Early childhood: is supported by adults to generate their own coping response (pg. 9) guide Objective

For pupil to appropriately accept losing a game.

Goal

Pupil graciously accepts defeat in 1:1 games with adults. He does this 75% of the time.

Plan

■■

Key worker to play 1:1 games with pupil in key worker time

■■

ey worker to have open discussions about emotional experience of losing and teach K strategies to manage this (e.g. scripts, managing emotional reaction, remembering that it is only a game)

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Glossary Active coping: purposeful behavioural and/or cognitive strategies intended to achieve control over a specific stressor or the effects of the stressor (e.g. emotional reaction, social implications) Adaptive coping: effective coping that permanently reduces the negative effects of a stressor, resulting in positive outcomes and improvements in functioning Cognitive distraction: thinking about something different Cognitive reframing: seeing a problem from a different point of view/in a different way Controllability of the stressor: “the degree to which the objective conditions of a stressful situation can be prevented or eliminated by the abilities, resources, or actions of a typically developing child or adolescent” (pg. 13, Clarke, 2006) DSM-5: the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, a tool used by mental health practitioners to diagnose mental health conditions ICD-10: a World Health Organisation (WHO) classification tool which lists diseases, symptoms, abnormal findings and external causes of injury. The acronym stands for the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems

Maladaptive coping: coping which does not successfully and permanently reduce the negative effects of a stressor. Maladaptive coping may appear effective in the short term (e.g. ignoring a mounting debt), but results in increased levels of stress in the long term (e.g. debt increases and remains unpaid) Metacognition: awareness and understanding of, and reflection upon one’s own thought processes Problem-focused coping: taking practical action to tackle/remove a stressor in an attempt to reduce distress Resilience: an individual’s ability to achieve “good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation or development” (p. 228, Matsen, 2001) Rumination: thinking deeply. In Psychology, the term rumination often refers to focus upon the causes of a problem, rather than the solution. Rumination does not lead to active problem solving to change the situation and is associated with symptoms of depression Social referencing: when in an unfamiliar situation the infant looks to the caregiver and gauges their emotional reaction. They then use this information to inform their own response Stressor: a person, thing or event which causes a person to feel stress

Information seeking: a coping strategy in which the individual finds new information about the problem in an attempt to solve it (e.g. asking others, reading about the problem)

Coping © 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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References

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Aldwin, C. (2010). Stress and coping across the lifespan. In S. Folkman (Ed.). The Oxford handbook of stress, health, and coping (pp. 35-59). New York: Oxford.

Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(5), 400–424.

Blakemore, S-J, & Choudhury, S. (2006). Development of the adolescent brain: Implications for executive functioning and social cognition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(3/4), 296-312.

Oates, J. & Mengoni, S. (2013). Early years developmental journal. London: National Children’s Bureau.

Chapman, P. L. & Mullis, R.L. (1999). Adolescent coping strategies and self-esteem. Child Study Journal, 29(1), 69-77.

Clarke, A. T. (2006). Coping with interpersonal stress and psychosocial health among children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(1), 10-23.

Compas, B. E., Connor-Smith, J. K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A. H., & Wadsworth, M. E. (2001). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and potential in theory and research.

Psychological Bulletin, 127(1), 87.

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Coping Š 2016 by Beech Lodge School. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without written permission from Beech Lodge School.

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