Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Unlocking hope for children who have incarcerated parents: Module Two University of Phoenix Tony Aponte

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Manifested Behaviors  Absence from school  Withdrawn behaviors  Outbursts of rage  Hygiene concerns  Excess hunger  Signs of financial loss  More tired  Less responsive  Distrustful of others, even those they are bonded with  Feelings of being different  Decrease in quality of schoolwork and homework

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Absence from school  As sleep problems arise, children may become sick or need to sleep during the day  The other parent may be too preoccupied with the situation to argue with the child.  The child may want to avoid verbal attacks from other children.  Attendance suffers.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Attendance, How you can help.  Children need to be told they are missed when they are not at school.  Children need to be warmly greeted when they are at school.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Withdrawn behaviors  When the world becomes overwhelming children often withdraw from it.  Children often need a quiet space and time to de-stress.  Daydreaming occurs more frequently.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Withdrawn behaviors, How you can help.  Continue to include the child in one on one conversations, even if you need to carry on both sides of the conversation for a while.  Leave the child positive notes, on papers.  Make brief positive statements about the child to third parties, ensuring the child can overhear.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Outbursts of rage  Lack of information and control creates stress in children  Loss of a support system provides the child with a positive outlet for anger and other feelings  Eventually the child can not handle the pressure and may demonstrate outbursts of rage, often unrelated to what is happening around them at the time.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Rage, How you can help.  Provide quiet times and spaces for all students to be able to clear their minds.  Allow one on one opportunities for children to talk about feelings.  Discuss feelings in general and help identify feelings as normal, but not always easy.  Involve more sensory integration into classroom activities because the calm children and reduce stress.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Hygiene concerns  Financial problems may prevent laundry from being done as often  Time concerns may prevent remaining parent from providing the child with adequate assistance and monitoring  The child may not have the self-help skills they need to take care of themselves.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Hygiene concerns, How you can help.  Promote hand washing.  Add activities that involve water and soap (bubbles, soap carving, etc.).  Teach self-help skills  Ask children to brainstorm on solutions to unrelated situations, nurturing creative thinking.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Excess hunger  There may be fewer resources for food.  Food may be of lower quality and nutritional value  Adults may be unavailable to prepare meals

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Excess hunger, How you can help.  Add more cooking projects to the curriculum.  Teach the children about things they can make for themselves, like sandwiches or toast.  Provide small snacks in the classroom.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Signs of financial loss  Children may not have the money needed to attend outings  Children may have dirty or worn out clothing  Phone, electricity and water may be turned off.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Financial loss, How to help.  Provide parents with phone numbers of local resources such as food banks, churches and government agencies.  Do not call for the parent, they need to be empowered by involvement in the process.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 More tired  When routines are upset, sleep patterns change.  Children may not be able to sleep at home and may be tired in school  Children may seem less alert.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Tiredness, How to help  Be understanding and patient.  Provide short rest periods throughout the day. Sometimes 5 minutes of rest is helpful.  Provide quiet areas of the room for kids to study in.  Provide children with a reasonable amount of school work to complete.  Talk with the parent, who may not even be aware how tired the child is.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Less responsive  Children’s worries are not left at home and they will process information throughout the day.  Children may not have adequate quiet time at home to study or complete homework.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Responsiveness, How to help.  Use eye contact, proximity and appropriate touch to connect with the child.  Say positive things out loud and negative things privately.  If the child looks uncomfortable with public praise make positive comments through a third party.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Distrustful of others, even those they are bonded with  Since children can not count on parents to care for them, it is hard for them to trust secondary caregivers such as teachers.  Children may strike out at those closest to them because it feels safe to do so.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Distrust, How to help  Trust takes time to build, be patient.  Be consistent in routines, structure, rules and expectations.  Provide a safe environment for all children.  Use reflective listening when communicating with children.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Feelings of being different  When feelings become bottled up children lose a connection to those around them.  Children who are teased and taunted may begin to internalize that there is something wrong with them.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Feeling different, How to help.  Provide positive outlets for feelings.  Discuss and identify feelings without judgment.  Talk about differences and similarities amongst people and object throughout the day.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Decrease in quality of schoolwork and homework  It is difficult for children to focus in a chaotic environment.  It is difficult to receive the support and guidance needed when other people are highly stressed.  Papers are more easily lost in a disorganized environment.

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 Schoolwork, How to help  Use team projects and peer tutoring when possible, allowing children to learn from each other.  Be sure the work load you place on your student’s is reasonable.  Give over-achievers extra credit projects as opposed to increasing the work load on all children.  When there is extra time available in the classroom allow children to start homework assignments

Tony Aponte copyright 2005 End of Module Two proceed to resource section two University of Phoenix Tony Aponte