WRITING A CHILD'S PROFILE TO PREVENT EXPULSION

Directors and owners of childcare facilities request IECMH consultation support for their teaching staff when there is a child who is exhibiting behaviors that are challenging to the adults. These behaviors typically make it difficult for the child to participate in the daily routines of the class. For example, one consultant received this request for support:

The director at a private childcare center requests support for a 4 and a half-year-old child who consistently flees large group activities and aggressively harms any child who approaches him during his free play. The child is protective of his play designs, such as Lego structures, and artwork. He growls at peers who approach him, and if they do not retreat, he physically pushes them from his space. The teacher does not know how to help this child, and the director is considering letting the parents know that they can no longer care for this child in their center.

Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common as is the stress parents experience when they cannot find childcare for their child so that they can work. While the term "expelled" is not often used, telling a family that a child needs to be removed from a childcare center is early childhood expulsion. Preschool expulsions and suspensions cause young children to lose their early educational placement or time in care, directly undermining their access to educational opportunities (Gilliam, 2005; Gilliam et al., 2016).

With the goal of emotional well-being for the child, his teacher, and his parents in mind, the IECMH consultant assigned to this case, chose to begin her relationship with the adults in this child's life by using what has come to be known as a Hello My Name Is profile. She knew that sharing a list of questions about the child with the team, and writing this profile from the child's viewpoint, using the child's voice, was an effective strategy to promote parents'/caregivers' and teachers' sense of competence, connection, and overall well-being.

WRITING A PROFILE : SAMPLE OF QUESTIONS TO ASK UNDER EACH DEVELOPMENTAL DOMAIN

Close interactions and observations are key in writing the self-statement or profile. Here is a sample of important questions to ask under each developmental domain in order to write a helpful profile.

EXPRESSIVE AND RECEPTIVE COMMUNICATION

  1. Do I communicate with others and how? (i.e., gestures, words, phrases, augmentative systems)
  2. Is it difficult for me to understand things people tell me to do or questions they ask me?
  3. What helps me to understand? (i.e., visual cues, fewer words, time to process what they said)
  4. How do I feel when I can't communicate my needs and ideas? (i.e., angry, frustrated)
  5. What do I do when I can't communicate? (i.e., scream, hit, withdraw)

COGNITION

  1. Can I look for something I was playing with after it goes out of sight?
  2. Can I represent my feelings and ideas with my words and gestures or through my play?
  3. Can I use past experiences to solve my problem, (i.e., drag a chair over to reach something out of reach)

SENSORY INTEGRATION AND MOTOR PLANNING

  1. How does my body feel most of the time? (i.e., floppy and tired, overexcited and uncomfortable)
  2. What helps my body calm down or wake up so I can tune into the world and other people? (i.e., burying myself in pillows or beanbags, jumping, marching, swinging, running)
  3. Do I know where my body is in space? If not, what kinds of things do I do to help me understand where my body is? (i.e., lay on the floor so that I can feel each part of my body, sit in a chair with arms so I can feel where I am)
  4. Can I organize and feel the stimuli that come at me through my different senses? Do I get overwhelmed because I can’t shut out unimportant stimuli? Do I close my eyes or cover my ears so that I only have to pay attention to one type of stimulus? (i.e., auditory or visual)
  5. Do I have ideas about what I want to do? ( i.e., build with blocks, climb the ladder, play with toy cars) Do I know how to start? Do I know what steps come next?

RELATIONSHIPS

  1. Do I recognize and/or smile when I see certain favorite people?
  2. Do I have ideas and memories about fun things I did with certain people? (i.e., when I see Daddy, do I put myself near him and say "up" so we can play the same game we played last night?)
  3. Can I calm myself down when I get upset or do I need help from someone else? (i.e., someone talking slowly and softly or rocking me)

GROSS AND FINE MOTOR SKILLS

  1. Can I independently move around my environment to explore things?
  2. Do I have the upper body strength to support myself in a seated position?
  3. Can I use two hands to explore materials and play with toys?

SURFACE BEHAVIORS

  1. What do I do when I am left alone? (i.e., run back and forth, watch familiar videos, play with toys)
  2. What do I do with other people? (i.e., move away so they won't interfere with my play, hand them familiar objects)
  3. What do I do if someone gives me something new and different? (i.e., throw it, explore it with my mouth and hands, bang it)