Here, drama therapist Penny McFarlane shares two fun useful activities from her latest book, Creative Drama for Emotional Support, that will enable parents, carers, teachers, youth workers and others to help…
In this series of videos, Deborah Plummer discusses the careful construction of the emotional environment in which the games and activities in her existing books…
Encouraging imaginative play in the classroom is an effective way to teach young children how to think creatively and interact socially – vital parts of…
“School…can offer a great deal to pupils with autism, but it also presents them with daunting challenges. […] Flexischooling allows school, parents and child to work together, as a team. In so many ways it is a thoroughly ‘autism friendly’ approach, and is one recommended by many autism experts.”
By Michael Chissick, primary school teacher and qualified yoga instructor, and specialist in teaching yoga to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and author of Frog’s Breathtaking…
“…historically, the intervention for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties has generally been based on behaviour improvement on a cognitive level rather than looking at the meaning behind the behaviour. For a school to accept that a deeper understanding and interpretation of behavioural difficulties is necessary to meet a child’s needs on a sustainable level is a big leap of faith. Therapy is about change and the capacity to maintain changes, and this book can help allay the fears that prevent schools from embracing this mode of intervention.”
“The formula (called the Dramatic Formula) in the book presents each step with a specific skill that the students need in order to succeed in the drama, while at the same time balancing the level of stimulation for the students so they can focus on each section. Structure and balance of stimulation are the two main factors which give this book success. These two elements allow the students to succeed in a safe and nurturing environment.”
“The activities in the book capitalize on AD/HD traits because I use the traits as the vehicles to complete the task. AD/HD students like to move, so activities include jumping answers, and singing facts, and activities that are interesting enough to promote focus. The child is empowered to make tents, read on the floor, discuss emotions, and pop bubble paper.”
“Looking back I think that one of the main factors that inspired me to turn the yoga play into a book was the feedback from the children. I have lost count of the amount of times that children would tell me how they had used the techniques to deal with incidents in their lives. Problems ranging from being angry at siblings who stole their sweets or broke their toys, to being the calming influence in big family arguments. My two favourites will always be: the nine-year old boy who was terrified of the dentist and who quietly sat in the waiting room, and ultimately the dentist’s chair, practising his Crocodile Breath to calm himself; and the ten year old girl, who was angry with her parents, who would go to her room and practice Woodchopper Breath every day for three weeks, who eventually came and told the class teacher and me that that she had Haaaa’d out her anger.”
By Dr Dorothy Howie, author of Teaching Students Thinking Skills and Strategies: A Framework for Cognitive Education in Inclusive Settings. The teaching of thinking has…