School Psychologist
We have all watched it happen. You are in line at a grocery store. It is the busiest time of day, people are in a hurry and the lines are long. In the midst of all this, a child asks a parent for a candy bar at the checkout counter. His (or her) parent says ‘no’ – the child throws himself on the floor in a tantrum, screaming at the top of his voice, as if this candy bar is the most important thing in the world.
So now what? If a parent says, “… if you just be quiet, I’ll get it for you,” the child has just been trained to throw a tantrum and get what he wants. And so the next time he wants something, he will again throw a tantrum. If the parent decides to hold fast and not give the child what he wants, the child will throw an even bigger tantrum to see if the parent will again give in. The lesson: in any time, in any setting, for a child to get what he wants, he only need throw a tantrum.
Dr. Tom Grebouski is School Psychologist and Behavior Consultant for the Monarch School of New England. He works with children who are not verbally able to ask for a candy bar – yet like any other child, they have behaviors that are both positive and negative.
So what is behavior? According to Tom, it is “anything that anyone does.” It can be positive behavior which moves a child towards a helpful goal or negative behavior, which interferes with goals a child’s teacher and staff may have set for him (or her).
Behavior is communication.
School Psychologist and Occupational Therapist
Tom works with staff at the Monarch School to find the best ways for children to get their needs met. He helps the adults determine why children behave the way they do … and what can be done differently so that a child can get what he needs without the negative behavior.
Take for example, walking – for a child to walk, especially one who has never walked and is of the age to do so, how is behavior involved? According to Tom, behavior involves motivation. “Why would a child want to walk? We assume that everyone wants to but that’s not always the case. If all his needs are met while he’s sitting and everything is brought to him – and there is no reason to get up and move, why bother walking, especially if it’s also painful?”
These questions reflect the challenge for Tom and Monarch School staff to find ways to motivate a child to go beyond the hurdles. “All of us avoid things we don’t like. For a child who has gone many years not being able to walk, walking is frightening and can be very uncomfortable. All therapies work closely together to face the challenge from all sides.”
As part of the Monarch School team, Tom works with physical therapists (PT), occupational therapists (OT), speech/language pathologists, education technicians and teachers to help children move forward. So in the instance of helping motivate a child to walk, the team looks at small steps that may take the child one move closer: perhaps leaning into something or adjusting themselves in a chair. Movement is guided by PT and OT; the role of the behaviorist (Tom) is to motivate the child to make those choices, one step at a time.
The philosophy of the Monarch School is a focus on what students can do – as opposed to what they cannot. Dr. Tom Grebouski’s talents with behavior strategies assist the school in doing what it does best … providing unlimited opportunities for students with special needs.