Our environment and philosophy focuses on prevention as a means of creating a peaceful community of children. Grace and courtesy lessons such as walking around other’s works, saying excuse me when walking between people, making eye contact, greeting and saying good bye, using materials carefully and more will be emphasized with Nick as they are with other students.

In addition, the following measures are helpful for preventing tantrums:

1. Tantrums are not to be extinguished, they are to be replaced. Communication of his immediate need is the most viable and preferred replacement for tantrums. Tell him, for example, "No crying Nick. Tell me ‘I don’t want to ____’"
   
   
2. Nick needs a warning if a preferred task is to be stopped or interrupted. Generally, begin at 5 minutes by saying, "Nick, it is almost time to be done looking at books." At 2 minutes remind him, "Nick you are almost all done." When the task must be finished, state "It is time to be finished Nick."
   
   
3. Use "if then" statements pairing non-preferred tasks with preferred ones: "If you go potty, then you can come back to look at your book."
   
   
4. Consistency is okay. Establish routines and follow them. He finds security in established routines.
   
   
5. Follow through on all requests. Once a teacher has made a request or given a directive, he must comply even if he is only quickly "guided through" the task or he only partially participates after a tantrum.

 

Guidelines for Facilitating Adults

1. Adult perceives that Nick is about to tantrum.

• Adult will provide verbal cues to attempt to help him remain calm, (i.e. "Calm down, you’re okay, all done crying, all done screaming, shhhh).
  
• Adult will wait 5 seconds for his response.
  
• If tantrum does not escalate, adult continues to provide verbal cues (i.e. "Time to work now") and positive verbal feedback (good job, you are all done crying,I see you are choosing to be calm) every 5 to 10 seconds until Nick can continue with the activity.

2. Adult has provided verbal cues and waited and tantrum appears to be escalating.

• The adult will tell Nick, "Time to be all done crying" and walk away. If Nick tries to escape or leave the area, the adult may have to sit close by to remind him to sit ("Not a choice, Nick. You have to sit.")
• When Nick calms down the adult will return providing positive verbal feedback as described
  above."

* Extracted from Nick's IEP (October 2001).