 Last week I left off my day with setting up the paperwork for report writing. The photo above is of my home office which is where I typically write my reports. You may be able to see that I’m fueled by cups of tea - on this particular day I had two on the go, my reference books are on the shelf next to me and all the paraphernalia of office work is at hand. My son’s laugh at my temporary laptop stand which is a couple of huge psychology textbooks. I have a lovely view out the window to my garden and sometimes if I’m lucky a Tui sits in the trees opposite and keeps me entertained. If I’m not meeting with a student or my intern I often start my day with report writing. To do this I reread the results from the assessments and the reports from teachers and parents and then think about how this all helps to make sense of what is happening for this particular student. I often get a blank piece of paper and hand write my thoughts and try to group insights on paper first before I start writing the report. My intention is to deliver a report that is easy to understand for parents and educators and that the recommendations I make are the right ones which can help make education work for this student. On this blog I’m going to try to provide the more general ideas and recommendations for supporting students so what you see in your individual report is very much targeted for the individual I’ve been working with. It usually takes me at least 3 hours to write a report although it can take longer if the situation is complex. Once I’ve spent time writing I may head out to an appointment at a school to observe a student.
If we’ve agreed that I need to observe at school the following is what will happen. I usually like to visit school on different days and at different times of the day for about 20-30 minutes each. If I do come to observe your child, please be assured that I usually tuck myself into an out of the way corner of the room and I ask teachers not to identify me as a particular child’s psychologist. Usually if a teacher wants to introduce me I ask them to tell the class that I’m a teacher (true) who is there to see some great learning happening (also true). If the child knows me it’s OK to say hi but I won’t initiate the contact. I certainly don’t want to embarrass anyone. Quite often I’m asked about what to do if a child knows I’m there to observe them. This is a tricky question. If we were working in a laboratory situation it would be possible to control all the variables but we are working in the real world. Whenever a different person shows up in a classroom the situation changes and the children may behave differently. I assume that when I walk into the room and sometimes the school that I’m only going to see what is going on when I’m in the room. I can’t predict or know what impact my being there is having. This is why I gather all the other information about the situation. I like to listen to the teacher, parents and child describe what happens. I add in all the formal assessment I’ve done and when I combine all this information I get a clearer picture of what is happening. When I’m observing, I am looking for how your child is responding to the teaching that is going on in the room. I look at how they interact with their peers. I also look at the general environment. I consider where your child sits, how the classroom is organised and what kind of furniture is being used. I look at whether there are clear expectations of behaviour posted around the room and confirm if teachers and children refer to the expectations. I look to see if there are clear guidelines about how to behave in this class and observe teachers reinforce the positive behaviour of the students. After observing, if I’m lucky, I may have a chance to chat about what I’ve seen with a class teacher, principal or SENCo (Special Needs Coordinator at the school). After all this I’ll return to home base and read through my notes to organise thoughts and insights.
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 My office, located on the grounds of Auckland Normal Intermediate. The following is an idealised day which has omitted the boring and mundane stuff. My day might start with a meeting with my intern who is studying at Victoria University to become a registered psychologist. We might discuss his case work and the requirements of his university course. Once he’s headed off for a full day of work, I might call some parents to set up appointments. At that time, I clarify why they might have asked for the support of an educational psychologist. Usually during this phone call we make the outline of a plan for my support. We agree about what I will focus on and what work I will carry out. Sometimes as we work through the assessments we need to make changes so I try to remain flexible and will always be in touch to discuss any additional work that may need to be done. Immediately after this first phone call I will send out an appointment confirmation and information gathering sheets for both parents and teachers. These help me to get a better understanding of the situation. If I’m seeing students I will then head off to my office at wonderful Auckland Normal Intermediate. Parents and children come to the office where we have a brief chat about what’s going on and we talk about what the assessment will be like for them. After about 15 minutes of chatting parents leave us to get to work. Often I might start with a Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Fifth edition, Australian and New Zealand). This test involves the child or young person working through a number of different activities which help me develop a thorough understanding of their thinking abilities. The activities while related to learning are very different from what is done in school. Typically students enjoy this assessment and have fun with the activities. When this is done, we both usually need a break for a drink and something to eat. Since we are at a school we usually go outside for a bit of fresh air and a play on some of the equipment for the student, if they wish. After our break we head back to look at what has been learned at school. I usually use the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (Third edition, Australian and New Zealand). This test helps me to understand what a student has learned. I often add other tests such as a handwriting test or a reading test, I make my selection based on what the student, parents and teachers have told me and what I am observing as I’m working with the student. If there are concerns about behaviour I might ask the student, teachers and parents to complete a standardised assessment to help me understand more about their behaviour. I might also pop in to your child’s school to observe or watch what is happening at school. After all this assessment has finished everyone will be ready for a break. Parents come to pick their child up and I’ll give you a brief rundown on how things have gone and might have a couple of follow up questions. I usually go back to my office, organise my findings and set up my paperwork for writing the report. By the time I’ve done this I’m usually ready for the end of my day so head home for the mundane stuff. Look out for part 2 next week.  The idea comes from the British pediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald W. Winnicott who was born in 1896. In his book Playing and Reality, (London: Tavistock, 1971) Winnicott proposed the idea of the good enough mother. As might be expected for a man of his time, he saw active parenting, particularly of infants, as the domain of mothers. If we shift the concept into current times, and consider that the idea of good enough applies to the people/person who is actively parenting rather than gender, it is a useful way of thinking for all of us involved in parenting or working with children and young people.
In essence, Winnicott is suggesting that initially parents provide everything an infant needs. At times parents even anticipate what they might need. For example, mums and dads swaddle their babies and lie them down soon after a feed knowing that their baby often needs to sleep after eating. As parents settle into the routines of the new baby they may momentarily delay providing what is needed. A baby may be left to cry for a moment before mum or dad comes to get them up from a sleep because the caregiver may be playing with a sibling or completing a household or work task. As children grow and develop this becomes a familiar pattern in that the early total devotion to an infant isn’t possible to sustain in the real world of siblings, work and household commitments. Often parents feel guilty about this split of roles and responsibilities. The good enough parenting concept helps us to make sense of the realities of parenting. The delays in delivering what an infant and child want are actually a good thing. They help our infant begin to develop their idea of self-concept, that they are separate from their caregivers and helps them to feel secure in their relationships with their caregivers. They learn that when their needs are not satisfied immediately there is no cause for concern. So next time your child demands your attention for entertainment or food or other and you have to say ‘in a minute’ or ‘not right now’ instead of feeling guilty pat yourself on the back and tell yourself that you are being a good enough parent and that is in fact being an excellent parent! |
AuthorRobyn Stead, Child Psychologist and Educator, lives and works in central Auckland. Archives
November 2018
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