Challenging Behaviour And Communication Skills
a) Donna Williams (1992) described a 6-year-old primary school student (herself) hung by her knees from the top of one of the school’s highest trees, swinging and singing “On Top of the World”. She swung higher and higher and sang louder and louder while attracting a growing number of students and teachers below her (pp. 23-25). Swinging and singing on the top of the tree can be defined as the child hanging on one of the branches of a tree upside down with her both the knees and going to and fro motion and opening her mouth widely and producing words loudly in a rhythm.
b) From the context we learned that though little Donna learned a lot of words but she have difficulty understanding stories without the help of pictures. She “participated too much but never in the right way”; she chattered incessantly to herself, annoying everyone else. She could sing, yet she would not sing with others. These descriptions (pp. 25-26) show that she was in lack of communication skills that is necessary for her daily communication and interaction with others. Such a lack of communication skills would make her isolated from others, suppressing her needs for attention and communication. Probably this is why she would attract attention and establish connection with others in such an extreme and dangerous way.
c) Using a picture of Do’s and Don’ts which clearly explains the child to understand that swinging upside down on the tree and singing alone loudly is not appropriate or not allowed. And also showing the appropriate way to swing and sing along with peers is explained in the picture, since Donna’s reception of pictures or cards is higher (p 23) than verbal narration this can be implemented. A video of how to play safely on the playground by her activity of swinging (https: //youtu. be/vX1mRCnIT3o) and climbing (https: //youtu. be/l0UVw1tD9PY) can be shown once after getting her down safely from the top of the tree and by also making her friend Sandra to model her the safe play.
d) Picture exchange communication system (PECS) which uses picture cards for communication can be implemented for Donna to increase her expressive communication skill. It is one method that Donna can use to indicate his basic needs and wants which reduces her frustration and her social isolation. PECS is a stepping stone to effective communication. Where Donna will learn that when she hands over a picture with an orange on it, and says orange she will receive orange. This builds a foundation for communication. Gradually, she can learn to use the cards to string words together and form sentences, which lends itself to the development of verbal communication. Using PECS – picture exchange communication system video. Donna can better understand how to use PECS for expressive language.
