Even the students who are very attentive and respond promptly with every request may be responding this way as a learned response from trauma. You may be very pleased with these types of students but you may not be aware of the anxiety or fear they are harboring based on a traumatic experience in their life. This child could be conditioned to make the adults around them happy because they may live with an alcoholic parent who becomes verbally and/or physically aggressive when they don’t comply.

Why does self-care come easily for some while others struggle in allowing themselves the time? When the concept of self-care is mentioned, many dismiss it out of hand as a buzzword or fad.

Are you concerned about the progress of your child but do not know where to begin? The day to day grind of life presents us with different scenarios. For example, some parents get to the point of acceptance, becoming desensitized to the struggles and writing it off as part of life and learning. In other cases, every struggle is personalized, to the point of dreading their child’s homework because it has become such a battle. There is no right or wrong here, it’s understanding your reality in order to find a path forward.

My area of expertise and pride point is focused around behaviors. I gravitate toward the students who exhibit the most outward of behaviors. It’s critical to understand that many students, regardless of having a disability or not, are communicating through how they behave. Really think on that for a moment and think of examples where you’ve seen that in your life.