Should I or Shouldn’t I?

For my second item of interest I would like to share a game that I use with my supervisor
tailored to middle and high school students. The game is called Should I or Shouldn’t I? by Social Thinking. This game is used for students who struggle with problem solving, expected and unexpected behaviors, also helps with perspective taking, social thinking, and self-awareness. This can be played in large, small or induvial sessions. Asking follow up questions are beneficial to encourage deeper thinking. This game can be used with children who are on the autism spectrum, ADHD, nonverbal learning disorder, social communication disorder and other learning challenges. The junior high students seem to enjoy using this game and remain engaged throughout the session. On the website, there is also the same game for elementary students.

Social thinking is an evidence-based practice which takes characteristics related to cognitive behavioral therapy by allowing students to reframe their thoughts or behaviors by understanding how their reactions or behaviors affect others. There has been a vast amount of research done on the benefits of using the social thinking framework. On the website posted below you can excess more information on social thinking, the different products and curriculums offered though Social Thinking.


https://www.socialthinking.com/Products/should-i-or-shouldnt-i-middle-school-high-school-edition

Should I or Shouldn't I? Price: $26.99

Social Behavior Mapping

Item of Interest #2

My second item of interest is a worksheet that focuses on social behavior mapping. This is a great tool that we use with our students in the Bridges Program (Adult Transitional Program). It helps give a visual guide to the expected and unexpected behaviors of the student. The sheet is formatted in the form of a chart. To start, the student and the social worker (or other professionals) describe the situation taking place. Then the student describes the behavior that is expected. In this section, the behavior itself, others’ feelings about the behavior, how others will treat them based on the behavior, and the student’s feelings based on how they are treated are explained. This is then repeated for the unexpected behavior. An example of when I have used this chart is when working with a Bridges student before going out into the community for group (we will sometimes go off campus and into the community for social work group). We will use this chart to discuss the expected and unexpected behaviors of the student while in a specific setting. For example, for group, we will sometimes go to the mall and visit stores such as Barnes and Noble, or restaurants like Starbucks. This chart helps establish the expected behaviors with the student so that they can act appropriately while in the community. This in turn helps them effectively learn things such as social skills, self-regulating emotions, or self-awareness. Social behavior mapping helps make expected and unexpected behaviors clear to the student. The chart allows the student to think about how others are also affected within specific situations depending on their behavior. It is also based on a CBT approach. This is because it has the student consider thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. Overall, this is a great tool that can be used with multiple age levels in a variety of situations.

GoNoodle 

My first item of interest is one that is used at the school I work at. Gages Lake school is a therapeutic school for kids who may struggle in a standard academic setting and who may have fallen behind due to emotional, behavioral or other psychological challenges. Gonoodle is a tool that is used to provide desk-side movements that allow kids to achieve more by keeping them engaged and motivated throughout the day. It provides many different opportunities for short or long movement breaks to get kids up and moving. There are different categories to choose from depending on what you want to focus on. This tool is normally used with children that are 5-12 years old. This website is great because it is free because it can be used anywhere by educators, family and kids can use it. 

https://www.gonoodle.com/

GoNoodle is connected to evidence-based practice for many reasons. It boosts productivity, improves behavior and builds community. Students who move and practice mindfulness with this program tend to be more focused, engaged and ready to learn. It improves behavior because it gives kids the opportunity for kids to move and learn different mindfulness skills to manage their emotions. Study shows that students who use GoNoodle are involved in fewer behavioral incidents. GoNoodle also builds fun into classrooms by boosting students' confidence and providing the opportunity for peer to peer connections. Gonoodle could be connected to the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy model because it incorporates meditation, mindfulness, and relaxation. Through these techniques, CBT teaches children to take control of their own emotions. 

Calm Guided Meditation

Calm is a guided mindfulness and meditation app that can be used in a lot of different ways.  Each day has a daily calm that provides the user with a focus on how to be more mindful and helps guide the user into recognizing times that cause stress.  Most of the meditations are about 10 minutes but you are able to find ones that are shorter or longer depending on your needs.  There are also different programs for things like sleep, anxiety, stress, self-care, focus, etc.  There are different practices that last between 7 to 21 days that focus on different needs as well which I thought could be helpful for a student or an educator who might be facing certain challenges.  Other features include music that is calming or energizing that lasts a few minutes or over an hour, a collection of sleep stories to help individuals with anxious minds work on their sleep hygiene, and short stretches and yoga moves to help relax the body.  

I believe this practice would be helpful to use in sessions or groups with students because it has been shown to be effective and is fairly simple to practice.  It helps with feelings of disappointment or overwhelming experiences.  Mindfulness has been used with students with ADHD and Autism as well as anxiety, depression, and behavioral challenges. Mindfulness can be used as an empowerment tool for students and help them regulate emotions and build resilience in tough situations.  The creators of Calm state that using mindfulness can help students regulate emotions better, be more alert during learning, have better attention to the task at hand and respond better to the needs of other students. The application has a seven-page instruction manual on how to implement this practice in a school setting as well.

This website has a few options for access, one is limited access which is free to all users.  The second option is that an individual can pay for an annual membership of $59.99 or a lifetime membership for $399.99.  However, there are two options for school social workers, you can sign up through calm health and get a free yearlong subscription for being a social worker or you can sign up through calm schools and get a lifetime membership for free, you just have to get approved.  It can be accessed through your computer, android, or iPhone.  

You can access this website by downloading the app on your iPhone or Android, or by going to: www.calm.com 

Simple Thought Record

Item of interest

Simple Thought Record

 A simple thought record is one of the main tools used in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. This Tool Can be used for individual or group sessions. It is used to help break down a problem or situation into smaller parts. First it is important for the client/student to understand the connection between thoughts and feelings: “How the way we think can affect our actions and mood”. Students often need help and practice at identifying the link between thoughts and emotions before they move on to challenging these negative thoughts and replacing them with more helpful/positive thoughts. Some clients might find it helpful to practice identifying Negative Automatics Thoughts using a Simple Thought Record before introducing the process of evidence-gathering and thought challenging. The simple thought record will ideally help identify triggers for anxiety, depression, stress, etc. and help connect thoughts with these feelings. The next steps for a more complex thought record would include alternative and positive ways of thinking and ways you can include them in your life.

Simple thought record

Situation Who, what, when, where?	Thoughts What was going through your mind as you started to feel this way? (thoughts or images)	Feelings What did you feel? Rate your emotions 0-100%