I wrote out a little schedule of events for Nick. It went something like this;
Breakfast
iPad
Hang out the washing
Nick hasn't been so keen on helping out with chores of late. It could be a teenage thing or perhaps the pull of the screen is stronger! Whatever the reason, I decided to give him advance warning.
The list helped enormously. He willingly turned off the iPad when I *invited* him to come and help hang out the washing (a small load of towels).
I had already decided on our roles and what I hoped to achieve during the activity. Initially my role was to hang up the washing and Nick's role was to hand me the pegs. Easy peasy. A relaxed and familiar co-regulatory pattern for us. Once that was established, I wanted to provide Nick with a little challenge and give him the opportunity to make an independent decision on how his role was going to change.
I approached this challenge by pegging the left hand side of the towel and then pausing. I didn't say anything or make any sort of gesture while waiting for Nick's response. To my delight he collected a peg and clipped it onto the towel. With each towel thereafter, I paused and gave Nick the opportunity to decide what he wanted to do. Each time he would take his own turn, although at times, the peg was placed in the middle of the towel or otherwise he would clip on two or more pegs. Although this didn't cause me any concern, I did spotlight his pegging by making little declarative comments..... 'That's a great place to put a peg'. 'Wow, you have put on lots of pegs'. The fact that he was making his own decisions was far more important to me than how many pegs he used!
The activity went well and we worked nicely together. I am thrilled that my plan to pause frequently and give Nick the time and space to make his own decisions, encouraged him to come up with a plan. Self discovery can be very powerful.
Hey ho, my last RDI/Autism blog post for the year!
2014 has seen some lovely growth in Nick. His increased
resilience and flexibility has made for a better quality of life for the whole
family. Although we make accommodations for him, our life is no longer ruled by
autism. We make spontaneous decisions, change plans at the last minute and get to experience new places. Nick just goes with the flow (we do have the iPad for backup should
he need a distraction).
How has Nick become more resilient and flexible? Number one; he has a great team behind him. Number two; I continue to embrace the RDI way of life. One way of ensuring progress is to focus on the concept, 'edge plus one'. Therefore to finish off for the year, I thought I would share our last 'edge plus one' planned engagement.
~*~
I found a very yummy looking recipe for Ginger Biscuits, and considering that Nick is happy to get involved with cooking, I thought we could start by prepping the ingredients. To get him into the swing of the engagement, I chose to focus on weighing the flour. Nick is familiar with the reciprocal pattern; I take a turn/he takes the same turn; so I knew that he would feel comfortable with his role.
For the challenge, I decided that we could weigh the butter. This would be harder for Nick as it involved cutting the butter off the block and then transferring it to the bowl. This part of the activity would include a whole lot of motor planning and sensory stuff that Nick would have to deal with. All a bit tricky for him.
So....
Measure out the flour and take Nick to his *edge*
Measure out the butter = *plus one* The following clip shows that Nick took on his role of measuring flour easily and he was very aware of taking turns. We both had a lot of fun and it is fabulous that we are coordinating our actions and working really well *together*. Nick is so relaxed and is happy to be part of the whole experience.
edge
You will see in the clip below that Nick finds the challenge difficult, however, I am really thrilled that he keeps trying.
The power of video footage is huge. I can reflect on the challenge and ask myself:
What did I observe in terms of the challenge?
Did anything surprise me?
Was the challenge too hard?
Am I happy with my style of communication?
How was my scaffolding and how can I adapt it to assist with the challenge?
Did I offer opportunities for Nick to 'think for himself'?
Do I feel that the challenge turned the engagement into 'task mode'? If so, what can I do about it?
Was I too focused on following my plan or did I pause and 'rethink' my plan of action in order to help Nick.
Was the challenge a plus one..... or more?
What did I do well and where could I improve? What will I do next time?
plus one
Well, that's it folks. I hope I have given you some food for thought! Have a fabulous holiday season. See you next year!
Whenever I plan an activity with Nick, I always keep in mind the concept, 'edge plus one'. Yeah, I know I keep banging on about it! However, since starting RDI, Nick's progress has not regressed or plateaued. His progress may be slow but this concept enables us to continue moving forward.
A couple of weeks ago, I invited Nick to help me with some cooking and I introduced a new can opener. You can learn about our experience right here.
The following video clips are a follow on from that experience.
I wanted to go back a step and focus on operating the can opener. Simply put, we would both have clearly defined roles. Nick would take the easiest role first. I would hold the handles together and he would turn the blades (taking him to his 'edge'). When I felt the time was right I would bring in the challenge, which would be to swap roles. I would turn the blades as he held the handles (his 'plus one').
This clip shows how much Nick has progressed since my last blog post. He is putting in some muscle and doing his very best to open the tin. I am thrilled with his determination and resilience. Success.... and he is definitely ready to move onto the challenge.
edge
In the following footage, I introduce the challenge to Nick. Even though this is his 'plus one', I don't want to set him up for failure. He does have low tone and major motor planning issues, therefore I would prefer to guide him slowly and help him out where necessary. I also keep this part of the activity short, ensuring that we don't go into 'task mode'. I want Nick to feel comfortable trying new challenges, without getting stressed over the fact that I may be pushing him too far out of his comfort zone.
plus one
You can see that Nick didn't understand the concept of changing roles; therefore I spend quite a bit of time explaining what needs to be done. *Note to self: Don't talk so much; simplify my language a bit more.
It gets a bit confusing, so I pause.... and spotlight, "I know it is tricky". I then spend some more time scaffolding the activity for him. He really doesn't have the *feeling* for squeezing the handle firmly, therefore he is going to need a lot of practice. Eventually I assist by also holding the handle and we end on success.
You may be wondering why I am bothering to teach Nick how to use a can opener! The fact is that the activity is so much more than the can opener. It is about working together in a co-regulatory way. It is about my guiding and Nick learning from the experience. It is about trust, resilience and relationship. It is about connection, competence and progress. It is about adjusting my style of language to give Nick opportunities to 'think for himself'. It is about slowing down and being in the moment. It is about believing in my child.
It has been a while since I last shared an RDI engagement. This one is a 'warts and all' post. The video has not been edited, therefore if you want to watch it, be prepared, as it goes on for five minutes! The following notes are my reflections for the video footage. Please excuse sentence structure, grammar and any other glaring mistakes. The information shared here is what was sent to our RDI Consultant. I hope that you find it helpful and if you do have any questions, please feel free to ask me any questions.
THE PLANNED ENGAGEMENT
I decided to try a car washing activity for this planned engagement. It has been years since I attempted this with Nick, although he has done this activity with Allan a couple of times (also a very long time ago!!). I planned to start off with a reciprocal pattern. Using one cloth, I would wash the car and then Nick would wash the car. I wanted to start off with a familiar pattern and thereafter bring in the challenge (the next step) of changing to a simultaneous pattern. I also wanted to revisit some referencing for info, working in sync together, Nick co regulating his actions with mine. All in all, it was set out to be an simple activity and the challenge wouldn't be too huge. I planned this purposely, as I wasn't too sure how Nick would manage. I told myself beforehand to cut back on the chat and slow MYSELF down by being more non verbal and only make the odd comment, declarative suggestion.
WHAT DID I OBSERVE IN TERMS OF THE CHALLENGE?
I observed that the planned engagement was far too easy for Nick. The video footage clearly shows how he is following my lead and also at times making up his own mind on what to do. His processing time is incredibly quick, which is brilliant. This activity wasn't a challenge for him (really when you think about it, it is WONDERFUL that it wasn't a challenge!).
SITE ONE OR TWO (OR MORE TIME CODES)
1:47: Nick accidentally got me wet, so I spotlighted the incident in the hope that he would react..... i.e, maybe do it again (on purpose). However, he didn't pick up on my cues. I am bookmarking this to remind myself to try again.... or even splash him in retaliation!
2:04: I change our pattern of working together. I feel that it is important to spotlight this as it shows me guiding Nick on what we are going to be doing next.
2:32: I decide that I want to be very clear about what we are doing, so I start off scaffolding with saying "go" in order for us to start together. I use facial expressions and noises to indicate "stop".
3:30: I make the comment that I need some more water. Together, we move to the bucket and dip our cloths. I am spotlighting this because I love that we are in sync; and Nick is naturally matching his actions with mine.
3:40: I add in a little variation because it has been going so smoothly. We start cleaning the window and I make a comment about it being so "high", in order to invite Nick to think about what he needs to do next.......... he immediately realises that he needs to clean the area that I can't reach.
WHAT DID I DO WELL and WHERE COULD I IMPROVE?
I thought that this was a successful planned engagement........ although it was way too easy for Nick and as mentioned previously, the challenge was quite minimal. Therefore, next time we do this activity, I really need to think of something that is going to be hard for my boy AND also require him to think a bit more. Note that his left hand is not used a lot...... I also want to bear this in mind for a future activity..... get both of those hands working together. I think this video shows good examples of roles, switching patterns and problem solving in its simplest form!
Note: This footage was filmed before Nick got sick with Pneumonia. We are taking a break from further planned engagements until Nick has fully recovered.
We are having a home day and it feels so good. No rush, no stress, just a slow meandering type of day. I have been pottering about the kitchen and Nick has been parking off on the sofa, either listening to music or playing on the iPad.
Now, I am not one to sit back and let an opportunity pass me by (I exaggerate!!); so I figured that today could be used to connect with my boy.
I decided to invite Nick to join me in a few activities, using an RDI approach.
For each engagement I chose the roles that we were going to play, the comfortable and familiar pattern to start off with, the challenge that I was going to introduce and the style of language to use. I reminded myself to take it slow, pause a lot and give Nick time to hear the info, process the info and then react. Easier said than done I know..... but after a while on the RDI road, it becomes a piece of cake (cough, cough!).
In the process of cleaning up the kitchen I found a game that I had bought for Nick. Woohoo, great start to doing *stuff*. The boy, who was all nice and snug on the sofa, was very happy to turn off his music and take a look at what I had to offer. We spent a few minutes going through the game and taking turns to collect letters in order to make simple words.
I then got a bee in my bonnet and emptied out the very messy bottom shelf of my pantry cupboard. I took a look at the dust, crumbs and tiny bits of rubbish that were gracing the cupboard and had an *aha* moment. We could use the small dustpan and brush to sweep out the mess. After hunting high and low for what was needed, I stood next to Nick with dustpan in hand (yep, he was back on that couch!); and casually mentioned that I needed some help cleaning the cupboard. Well, he was up in a flash, although needed a little encouragement to put the iPad to one side (I frowned and gazed from the iPad to the bench). Thereafter, we worked so well together, one person holding the dustpan and the other working the brush. We then swapped roles. It went very smoothly and Nick seemed to enjoy the challenge.
Due to the cupboard clean out, I had a pile of junk now sitting in my Butler's sink. Another opportunity to invite Nick to help! I dragged in the large rubbish bin from the garage and together we took turns to transfer the rubbish from the sink to the bin. I used non verbal communication for this activity to slow down Nick's actions and encourage him to look to me for guidance. I felt a little pang when Nick picked up his old cassette player. He looked at it, fiddled around with the buttons and then put it in the bin. Out with the past!!
I was also left with a heap of stuff to keep.... but it was in need of a wash. Our next activity involved washing one item at a time and then passing that item to the other person. I scaffolded the activity by modeling how to use a dish brush; while making comments about what I was doing (talking aloud). Nick was so chilled and also very comfortable about swapping roles with me. It was interesting to note that he really battled with holding and washing at the same time. Something for us to work on another time.
After such a busy morning, it was time for Nick's lunch. Together we collected the fruit and veg needed for his juice. As I prepped the fruit, I invited Nick to help me cut them into pieces. Then I introduced the challenge of peeling the carrots. It just blows my mind how relaxed Nick was when confronted with something that is potentially hard for him. Of course he battled BUT he tried. I was there right beside him, guiding him when needed and assisting when required.
I always used to stress over what sort of RDI activities to do with Nick! Crazy really. In fact, it is so helpful to just take a look at my day and the things that I want to do. I can then fine tune my plans to include Nick in the process. #Mindfulguiding is my middle name! :-)
This afternoon I invited Nick to help me make a chicken casserole for supper (not that he will eat it!). It has been an age since we last cooked together and I had forgotten that the simple act of preparing food is a fabulous opportunity for me to guide Nick. Cooking is an activity that he feels comfortable with and he is receptive to little challenges and new experiences.
We spent a good twenty minutes cooking the chicken and preparing the sauce. I am always astounded at the amount of time that he remains engaged with me and with what we are doing. I can't help comparing today's success to his lack of interest during the early days of RDI.
Twenty minutes of video footage is way too much to share, therefore it took me a while to decide on what segment to use for this post. I eventually decided on the following piece of footage as I feel that it shows my nonchalance how relaxed I am over the fact that the chicken ended up on the floor, I wiped the said floor with the towel and then used the same towel to hold under the remaining chicken. (Yuk, right?). What the footage also shows is Nick's resilience. He battles to use the tongs, however, he doesn't give up and he keeps persevering with his handling of them. This is HUGE! The activity is not a chore for Nick, he understands his role and he is an active participant.
I realise it looks odd that I have placed the casserole dish far away from the actual frying pan, however, there is a method to my madness! I want to add the extra challenge of carrying the chicken across a large open space. It slows down the pace of the activity and offers Nick further opportunities to motor plan and think about what is happening and what to do next.
My mind is also working overtime, I am continuously planning and reassessing on how to scaffold the situation and think of ways in which I can guide Nick. As with any of our activities, I want him to make his own decisions and be proactive in his approach without me telling him what to do every five seconds.
By the time we got to the end of transferring the chicken, Nick was using the tongs with confidence and also holding the chicken with enough control in order to carry it from the pan to the casserole dish without dropping it. He is learning from experience.
As for me, I like being a mindful parent and guiding Nick the RDI way. For sure, I am not perfect, however, I am also learning from experience!
Not so long ago I was asked if RDI was all about teaching my child to do chores! Was I training my child self help skills. Ummm, no! It may *look* like I am training my boy to be a fabulous cook who cleans up after himself; and of course these are great skills to have. However, what I am actually doing is choosing activities in which to engage with Nick. Each activity is a prop that provides opportunities for me to guide him from a developmental perspective. The by product is that he also gets to learn something new!!
* Note: Nick does not *play*, therefore the use of chores works for us at this current time. Nick also seems to be really interested in cooking so I like to encourage this interest.
When planning an engagement, I take into account the following steps; What are our roles? How can I guide Nick to ensure that he is operating on a conscious level? What style of language is needed to encourage *thinking for himself*? What is his level of competence? What is the next step that will take him just beyond that level of competence? For interest sake I thought I would share three *very short* video clips..... For my planned engagement I decided to focus on peeling a vegetable. Due to Nick's motor planning issues this is very difficult for him! However, remember *it's not about the carrot!* I decided that I would peel a carrot and talk about what I was doing. I would also take it slow and give Nick the chance to absorb what was happening. His role was to take a turn peeling the carrot... and sure enough he realised what he needed to do. Please note that Nick was very relaxed and he only needed a little bit of scaffolding with how to hold the peeler. After he had successfully peeled one piece, I made sure to spotlight what he had done and then we stopped.
Why did I stop? I could see that Nick was comfortable with the challenge that was presented, therefore I decided to add another little challenge. Dr Gutstein calls this "edge plus one", which means that you take the child to the edge of his competence and then you take him one more step. In the second clip I am still using a carrot, although this time I decided that we were going to *cut* the carrot. I wanted to give Nick the opportunity to think for himself, so I think out loud "what can I use to cut?". I purposely don't want to tell Nick what to do and I certainly don't want to tell him that he has chosen the wrong utensil. With a few declarative comments he realises that the scissors are not going to work and he indicates that the scissors are for cutting hair! I then thought it best to add in a bit of scaffolding and offer up the knife! You will see that Nick recalls the previous pattern of peeling the carrot and he tries to do the same with the knife. I don't want him to become stressed over the fact that he is battling with the carrot, therefore I scaffold the situation and we cut the carrot together. When I decide to stop the activity, I make sure to spotlight that we "did it!".
Due to the fact that the carrot was too hard to cut, I decided to go back a step and bring in a cucumber, which will be easier to peel and then cut. This added a variation to our activity, although we were revisiting the now familiar peeling action. This is another *step* for Nick. You will see that Nick is very focused, although he is starting to speed up his actions. I sense that he has reached his edge of competence plus one; and if I want him to remember this engagement as a positive experience, then I need to finish up. I make sure to spotlight that he successfully peeled a piece of cucumber.
You will see in all three video clips that we both had our own roles to play and that Nick understood that he also contributes to the engagement. He trusts that I won't push him too far, therefore he is also a willing participant. I offered him opportunities to *think* for himself and also provided scaffolding where I thought necessary. Nick watches me carefully and is very aware of coordinating his actions with my actions. At no point does he feel under pressure to perform. He is by my side because he wants to be with me. We have lots of lovely co-regulatory patterns happening and we take our time, quietly and calmly, guiding and being guided. I hope that this makes sense! I have a lot more information to share regarding the above video clips and our planned engagement, however, this post is getting far too long. Just a wee reminder ~ it's not about the carrot!! ;) Oh yes.... if you have any ideas for our next step, just toss them my way! Cheers! x
When it comes to planning any type of RDI engagement with Nick, I sometimes struggle to think of an activity that I could use as a prop for that engagement.
Nick can be a bit of a tricky customer, in that he is limited in
what he can do. In part this is due to his motor planning issues and lack of imagination.
He does not have any interest in playing independently and he needs a lot of
guidance to ride a bike, kick a ball, draw or paint! He really battles with something as simple as brushing his teeth.
The advantage of Nick’s limitations is that there are SO many
activities I can introduce to him. Anything and everything I do with Nick will
be a learning curve for him and an awesome opportunity to engage with each
other. I am very aware that the interaction is more important than the
activity, although I think that it can be a two way street, as the activity can
also be a learning tool.
For a while now I have been focusing on the chores that need to be done around the house. You know..... cooking, cleaning and all that other fun stuff that needs to be done daily! It has actually been working out quite well and I have discovered that Nick is quite happy to get involved with food preparation.
Nick is also a whiz at the supermarket. Shopping with my boy is such a breeze these days and it provides further engagement opportunities. I am sure that we look quite a sight in the isles, as at times we have a bit of a throwing contest. For example, I might toss a carton of milk to Nick and he will then deliberately throw it into the trolley (he is very aware that I want the carton to be placed carefully!). *Ooh, I have just thought of an idea ~ we can have a throwing activity at home but use breakable items such as eggs!
Now that we have added two dogs to our family, I have also been setting up planned engagements in which we have to collect the dog toys, feed the dogs or even take turns to throw the dogs a ball. Just for interest sake I am going to list a few examples of simple activities I have chosen in the past and continue to build onto, step by step.... Cooking
* I collect an item from the cupboard and pass it to Nick. He places it on the counter * I give an item to Nick and he places it in the cupboard * Together we put the items away * I measure out ingredients and Nick puts them into the bowl * I pour an ingredient into a bowl and Nick stirs * I stir, Nick stirs * Together at the same time, we spoon the mixture into another bowl * Nick adds an ingredient to the bowl and I stir * I pass Nick a dirty plate and he puts into the dishwasher * Nick holds the jug and I turn on the tap and together we fill the jug * I cut up the vegetables and Nick places them in the saucepan * Together we put the rubbish into the bin
Very simple co-regulatory activities, yet initially very difficult for Nick to do. Through my guidance he now feels competent with all of the above. My next step is to now think about his next step! How can I expand on what he already knows? What can I add that will be a little challenge for him? What can I do to invite him to take that one step beyond his level of competence? Onwards and upwards.......
~*~
If you are on facebook you can find me and my boy by clicking on this link.....Bright Side of Life!
I enjoy talking about RDI and sharing my thoughts and the progress of my relationship with my child. My involvement with my son has moved on from being that of a carer to being an active participant. I can really feel my connection with Nick ~ it is if we have an invisible thread holding us together...we move and dip and sway.. rolling along but always together. I can see how relaxed my boy has become and I feel extremely *chilled* at taking him out into the community. I can hear my son connecting with me. He may not express himself with words but we communicate with ease. Life is slow. Life is calm. Life is good.
The info.......
It is my understanding that RDI is divided into three categories. #1 Parent goals. #2 Student goals. #3 The Dynamic Curriculum. At present we are weaving and interlinking our way though #1 and #2. We are a long way off #3, however, I have no doubt that we will get there……. slowly but surely, we make progress!
The beauty of RDI is that each developmental stage has been carefully thought out in accordance with a child’s natural development. Each and every objective within each stage is there for a specific purpose. We may not have worked our way though many objectives during the past year, however, our personal growth has been positive and very visible. Nick’s level of competence has improved and he is much more confident at approaching new challenges. His increased flexibility and resilience has made life so much easier for us all. I have learned the importance of *engagement* and I rejoice in the strides that we have made in this area. I am also very aware that with any activity I do with Nick, the activity is only the *prop* for our connection with each other. I know the importance of non verbal communication and I am slowly coming to grips with using declarative language in a more natural way. Using this style of language with Nick works a treat. I enjoy watching him process and *think* about what I have said...... and yes, he always responds! :)
The how.....
When we are assigned an RDI objective, I take some time to think about what we are going to be doing. I choose a few activities that I can use as props. I write up a framework sheet for each activity:- our roles within the activity and the co-regulatory pattern that we will use. I make a point of setting myself some limits as it is very important to me that I don't push Nick too far beyond his level of competence. As Nick's guide, I need to be very aware of taking him to the edge and just a little bit beyond. It is a fine line....if I take him too far, our interaction becomes more about the activity than our interaction, which defeats the purpose of what I am trying to achieve!
I have two video clips to share....
The first clip is on engagement ~ emotional investment and responsibility. My assignment went something like this. Consultant: I want to now concentrate on Nick's engagement *contract*. All this means is we are going to target Nick's engagement on a higher level. To do this, we start with seeing what he does when you are less engaged in moments of interaction. We want to see his understanding of his responsibility to do *something* to re-engage you . When you pause with engagement, I would like you to wait and have limited eye contact for approximately 30 seconds. What does Nick do? Then you can resume the activity."
We spent around two weeks working on this objective, using different activities to ensure that Nick didn't get *stuck* on the same old, same old! This is one of our final clips and you can see that Nick is very capable of re-engaging! You may wonder why I didn't respond immediately; but I know my Nick so well..... I wanted to wait until he re-engaged with purposeful intent......
My second video clip is also on engagement ~ keep going! This assignment follows on from the one above! Consultant:This next objective is to continue with Nick...being able to re-engage. You stopped engagement and he was still (with you). Now we want to see what happens if you leave the (space)...*lose focus* with instructions for Nick to keep going with the action you left him with.(very simple actions) First start off very simple and only *stop* your focus for 5 seconds. We will be focusing on giving him more opportunities in this area. You are going to be walking away or stopping more then you are used too! We are going to gradually build up time for Nick to *keep going*, understanding the end point but also being engaged, for 30 seconds.
As we work through the activity, I notice that Nick is involved with removing the items, however, he isn't referencing me for information. Therefore, I pause and wait for him to acknowledge the pause. I slowed down the whole process.You can see that Nick was comfortable with me moving away from the activity. He took a few moments to process that his role was to carry on unpacking the bag. I thought he did great. He easily slotted back into our pattern when I returned to the activity. The second time I moved away from the activity, I used the word *finished* without thinking about what I was saying. Whenever Nick hears the word *finished* he thinks we have *finished*!! I realised my mistake when I saw Nick leave the table and walk over to the camera. I didn't want the interaction to finish like this, so I went back to the camera and stood by Nick and made a point of commenting that I needed to turn the camera back on. You can see that he came back to the bag with me, without any fuss. How's that for resilience? :)
The last paragraph for this blog post........
This is only a tiny peek through the window. A minuscule glimpse into my relationship with my boy. This blog of mine is my own personal journal to chronicle our journey. My beliefs are my own and I am comfortable with my choice of intervention. For further information on RDI and children who are at the other end of the spectrum, you can pop on over to my friend Zoe's blog, Food for Thought ~ adventures in the not Nigella not Jamie kitchen. You may like to take a look at this blog Jacob's Journey. You could also go and check out Kathy's blog...What is RDI?
~*~
Today's facebook status.....
Me and the Nick have just walked for one hour and twenty minutes. We collected pinecones, threw stones, looked at the birds, waited for the zebras to move out of our way, hummed, blew raspberries, very carefully walked through long grass (phew, no snakes!) and we had the best time.
Hello, I thought that the following might be of interest to some of you! :)
If you have been following my blog, you will know that I am working on the relationship between myself and Nick. Having a 'connection' with my son is what gets me through the day. I can't just let him be to do his own thing ~ I would end up with a spaced out computer junkie who shows no interest in the people around him! I am also against forcing him to conform to whatever it is that society/Joe Public expects.
"Utmost to me is the fact that I am not interested in 'changing' him, just developing his potential" (I pinched this from Kate because I really loved it!)
In this latest post I have included two video clips. Each clip shows us bouncing on the trampoline, however, there is a huge difference between each clip.
The first clip was an impromptu interaction and the second clip was planned. You will find further information and my reflections after each clip!
Trampoline # 1
1. What was the objective and assignment?
Pause and attention
2. What was the frame for this objective?
Jumping on the trampoline!
3. What was the challenge? The challenge was to jump together. I also wanted to spotlight my pause and see if Nick was able to maintain my pause and my gaze.
4. What did you spotlight?
This activity wasn’t planned, therefore, I hadn’t really thought of what to spotlight.
5. Tell me if the challenge and spotlight were successful, what did you observe?The interaction was not successful. My main objective was for Nick to be comfortable on the trampoline with me ~ I observed that because I didn’t really have a plan in mind of what to do with Nick, he was feeling anxious. Due to his anxiety he wasn't able to maintain gaze with me.... he did pause; however, I felt (and could see) that he was in flight mode!
6. Did anything surprise you? I didn't realise that Nick would switch off so completely. I also thought I would be able to wing it BUT it didn't work! 7. Site one or two (or more if you like!) time codes that you feel are important and state WHY they are important: At 0.24 Nick wanted to hold hands with me and I declined. At 0.28 I bounced and Nick got a fright! I didn't pick up that Nick really needed the extra scaffolding to feel safe and secure! At 0.33 Nick switched off..... this is when I should have ended the interaction! At 1.00 Nick 'complied' with the interaction and this is where I can see that for Nick it was all about the task, not the interaction.
REFLECTIONS!! I have watched the above video clip a number of times! I can see where I am trying to add in pause and attention, however, my lack of planning, my uncertainty with what I was doing and Nick's anxiety did not make for a successful interaction. I know that I wanted Nick to be happy to jump on the trampoline with me, however, all I did was to increase his anxiety ~ I removed scaffolding when he needed it. I kept him on the trampoline for too long. He switched off and really didn't want to be there with me ~ he stayed because he thought it was expected of him!! I am not going to beat myself up over it, however, it certainly makes me more aware that I need to be more mindful of our interactions ~ I need to take the time to plan exactly what I want to do with Nick and ensure that I don't push him too far past his level of competence! I don't want our interactions to be about the task. I want to have the connection with him...... and this clip really showed the lack of connection!
Trampoline # 2
1. What was the objective and assignment?
Pause and attention
2. What was the frame for this objective?
To jump on the trampoline ~ using a simultaneous parallel pattern. Hold hands and jump together. My limit was to jump….pause….jump…pause….jump...
3. What was the challenge?
The challenge was to pause after each jump and see if Nick could maintain the pause and my gaze until he ‘saw/felt’ we were going to jump again.
4. What did you spotlight?
I spotlighted the pause after each jump.... and then spotlighted (using a facial expression) just before we were to jump again!
5. Tell me if the challenge and spotlight were successful, what did you observe?
I felt that both were successful. We held attention nicely and generally Nick waited for me before jumping. He held gaze with me for long periods of time and we were both comfortable with it.
6. Did anything surprise you?
Yes, I wasn't expecting it to be so successful!
7. Site one or two (or more if you like!) time codes that you feel are important and state WHY they are important:
You will see in the video footage that I went onto the trampoline first and I just waited (we got some lovely pause and attention gaze going).
At 0.04 I chanted "I'm bouncing".... this was my invitation to Nick to come and join me! After a bit of 'processing time' he came to me .
At 0.42 you will see me withdraw my hands from Nick - this was because he was trying to pull me off the trampoline - the easiest thing to do was to just step back slightly out of reach!!
At 0.53 I gave Nick my hands.... this time I was very aware that I needed to give some scaffolding!
At 1.01 Beautiful pause and attention
At 1.08 - 1.32 Nick trying to take a bit of control but I just ignored him!
At 1.33 Yay, bouncing together!
At 1.44 more nice pause and attention!
At 1.47 lovely co-regulatory swinging of our arms....
8. What did you do well in this frame? I was pleased to see that I waited for Nick to respond (i.e. waiting for Nick to come from the swing). I used some declarative language to state what I was doing ~ a subtle invitation for him to join me. At one stage Nick tried to take control but I didn’t really respond to his “distractions” and we eventually got back into sync. I was happy with my pauses, perhaps they could have been for longer but in this instance they were 'good enough'. I also like that I initiated a co-regulatory pattern of swinging our arms.... and I was thrilled that Nick went with the flow!
9. Is there anything you would change? Can you find ways to incorporate this objective into more routines?
At this stage I wouldn't change anything! I am always thinking of interactions where I can bring in pause and attention!!
REFLECTIONS!
I went into this interaction fully prepared. I decided to be the first person on the trampoline and to give Nick the choice to join me if he wished! When he tried to pull me off the trampoline I knew that I needed to step back. I wanted to remain the person in control.... but still let him make the final decision to join me. I knew exactly how many times I wanted us to jump together. I was also more aware of the scaffolding that was needed ~ therefore I gave my hands to Nick for him to hold, and that remained a constant. There is one spot in the video that Nick starts to jump first (1.27) and we are slightly out of sync, however, I just waited and then I jumped - which enabled Nick to jump at the same time!
I was really thrilled with the outcome of this interaction. For the most part, we had a lovely co-regulatory pattern going on. There was a lot of nice pause and attention. Nick was feeling competent so he felt very comfortable referencing my face for information. I was feeling competent because I knew what I wanted to achieve! My best moment was towards the end of the video ~ we are just about to get off the trampoline, we are looking at each other and I start swinging my arm...... which starts Nick swinging his arm in sync with mine!
~*~
I think that you will agree ~ planning makes perfect sense!
~*~
P.S. Please excuse any errors! I tend to write my posts at night and then get too tired to check my spelling and punctuation!!!
.