10 Strategies to Rock Distance Learning so You and Your Child Will Both Keep Your Sanity

1. Understand that this is not homeschooling—Homeschooling is a conscious decision made by parents in certain situations to create an alternative education environment for their child.  That is not currently what is happening with school closures, despite many people referring to these closures as homeschooling.  Instead, what is more accurate is that children who are typically served in a different format are being served through online and other distance formats due to a crisis situation.  For this large group of children, this was not pre-planned and children, parents, teachers and administrators have all been working to quickly meet the needs of a vast number of children with different needs and abilities through a new format.  True homeschool programs have also had to adjust due to sheltering in place, though for many the adjustment has been different since distance learning and set up systems to learn at home during the day were already in place.  For parents who can understand that this is distance learning during a crisis I believe it is possible to have different expectations and a positive mindset regarding how to make the most of this educational experience for your child.  Also, I think a lot of parents have found it helpful to keep in perspective that this is a global crisis that is impacting others as well, so it is not just their child having an altered education plan.

2. Your child needs to be emotionally ready to learn or it is NOT happening—This has been a hard lesson for me, but one my Quest campers have taught me again and again over the years.  I can’t tell you how many times I have had the absolute perfect camp activity (I mean perfect activity packed with so many valuable learning lessons) and the kids have been in no emotional space to participate in the amazing activity that I have prepared.  In the past, I used to feel a lot of pressure on these days to push through to teach this lesson that I may have spent days designing for them or changing my typical facilitation style to try and push the issue—this doesn’t work!  What I have found is in these moments what my kids are telling me is that they are not ready at that moment and I am best when I listen.  This sometimes is because my kids are tired, I have overscheduled them, they haven’t eaten, etc.  Right now in your current distance learning environment this might be for a whole bunch of different reasons such as your children are anxious about the changes that they have experienced, they are used to having more support when at school for a lesson, they are missing a game played at recess, they are tired, underscheduled, hungry, etc.  Regardless of the reason, sometimes it is best, to not push the agenda and take a break and regroup.  We also sometimes have to scrap the lesson and instead focus on the needed lesson at that time.  For example: sometimes when my campers struggle it will because deep down, they don’t at that moment need a great social skills lesson or teamwork lesson, but instead need support to use coping skills or recognize what they are feeling.  My campers also sometimes need a whole different lesson that wasn’t planned for that day such as a lesson on how to follow directions first time or engage in active listening.  When I am able to be flexible and meet my kids where they are at, they ultimately have more success when we come back later, whether it is to the same activity after a break or just to a whole new activity all together.

3. Understand where your child is at emotionally and their unique needs as well as the needs of others in your house—Each day everyone in your house may experience a myriad of emotions.  It can be important to pay attention to this.  This goes along with what was addressed in tip number 2.  I recommend that you check in to see where you and your children are at emotionally at different time periods as this can determine what happens next.  At Quest, we go over the number scale to rate current feelings and then have it set that a person should engage in a coping skill behavior if they are indicating a certain level of distress on the scale (anywhere above a 1 or 2 on the 5 point scale).  This is our recommendation based on research regarding how people will literally drop about 15 IQ points when they are upset.  There is also great research regarding how parents’ stress levels impact children’s stress levels.  All of this being said, the more that can be done to understand how people in your home are feeling and to what level and then engaging in appropriate coping strategies will enhance many aspects of home life including a child’s behavior and educational performance.

4. Create a workspace ready for success—Having a workspace free from distractions has always been a favorite topic of mine since this is a key component for homework time success as well.  Removing distractions means exactly that—get rid of anything that might be distracting or get in the way a child’s ability to get work done or stay on task.  This can include a wide variety of things including other devices, papers, activities, clutter, games, electronics, media, snacks, etc.  This might also include siblings.  If you need for family members to work in the same area you might want to create dividers in between people to create a separation.

5. Create a clear structure—All people need some structure to thrive, but this is especially true for children with learning, attention difficulties and children on the Autism Spectrum.  Right now, it can be important to remember how many things have changed for our kids including going to school, seeing peers, if and how their parents are working, going to their favorite restaurant, typical daily and weekly activities, etc.  Many of my kids are reacting more to all of these changes because many struggle more with changes in general.  I have a select few kids who are really flourishing.  I think this is because much of the social pressure is off which is really hard for them plus now it is more focusing on classwork expectations, without added daily homework on top of finishing the classwork that was missed at school.  Despite this small group, a large number of my kids are struggling with all the changes.  Creating a clear structure is one of the best ways that you can bring some structure and certainty to a day that may still have more uncertainty than it did a month ago.  Build in structure with things like a visual calendar.  Include a set time to engage in multiple activities including waking up, engage in hygiene behaviors, have you and your children get dressed for the day, school/work times, mealtimes, etc.  It also may be helpful to have a set time to go for a walk or sit outside if you feel comfortable with this.  Visual calendars can really help for kids to understand what to expect for the day and week, but also often decreases fears for kids as they see more of what is planned. 

6. Rewards, rewards, rewards (did I say rewards, yet?!)—I can’t say this more clearly.  If your child struggles to complete schoolwork, to sit in front of their digital forum, to work for 15 minutes on their packet, (fill in the blank here _________), you NEED more clear expectations and then clear rewards.  Rewards are your magic bullet.  The truth is that all kids need clear expectations and clear rewards.  Ultimately though, the research shows that kids with attention and learning difficulties need at least 4X more rewards than other kids due to their brain chemistry.  Prior to being licensed I helped out in a school program for children to earn some extra hours toward my license.  This program was one of the most challenging things I did because I was just thrown in with a whole bunch of kids I didn’t know with basically no support, no additional staff, no lesson plans, and minimal resources.  By the second or third class I started bringing stickers as rewards.  This is where I really learned the power of having good rewards.  In this program despite all the things I listed that made it where it likely wouldn’t have worked, just by having an exciting reward you can transform a situation.  While I no longer walk around with stickers bursting out of my pocket, I would never dream of walking into Quest Camp without multiple reinforcers available at any moment.  Not only does this help my kids reach huge goals, it keeps me sane. 

     -What rewards do you currently have set for your child regarding school struggles or goals? 

     -Do you have daily rewards?

     -Weekly rewards?  

     -Do you have clear expectations?  

     -How consistent are you being in reviewing your child’s progress and giving out rewards? (You will have the best success if you have daily goals, your review these and reward daily) 

 7. Build in exercise and movement—You and your kids need to move.  Exercise helps with sleep, mood, attention and learning.  There is even research that to have kids exercise right before engaging in the school subject that is most difficult for them can dramatically increase their learning.[1]  The way you and your children exercise may look different right now due to sheltering in, but there are lots of great ways to stay active and this is really important.  As previously mentioned, this could include going for a walk or hike or playing a game outdoors as a family if you feel comfortable with this and this fits with your ideas of social distancing.  Regardless, there are many great fitness apps and free programs right now of gyms streaming their programs including options for kids.

8. Engage in hands-on, experiential learning—Active learning strategies are potentially powerful, as some research suggests that people only retain 25% of what they see and hear, while retaining 80% of what they experience and practice.[2]  Even as children have moved to a virtual learning platform it stays just as important as always to engage our children in creative, hands-on ways to teach lessons.  This is even more true for children with attention and learning difficulties who may struggle more when a lesson isn’t multisensory in nature.  Going back to point number one, schools are currently just transitioning to distance learning during a crisis and dedicated teachers are working each day to make lessons that fit this.  There are many ways that this can be done to impact your child’s learning.  You can speak with your teacher or look online to explore ways to talk or teach children areas like math, history, English that are hands on that may not coincide with their classwork but may help your child greatly (let alone be really fun).  For example, right now I know a lot of families are cooking or baking together right now to have a positive activity.  If you break down just some of the experiential lessons of baking if you are trying a new recipe that needs to be read that has multiple ingredients and steps you are creating engaging real world lessons regarding nutrition, safety, independence, math (fractions, additions and telling time), reading, teamwork. 

9. Create social alternatives—I know for a lot of my families missing the social practice as well as social connection has been one of the largest concerns for my kids.  For many of the kids I see with attention, learning and social difficulties building friendships tends to be more challenging as well as maintaining those friendships.  That adds an extra layer of complexity to staying away from peers in a school setting for multiple months.  Right now, might be a time when you reflect on what your child’s social goals are.  Does you child have goals to go back and forth in a conversation? Discuss what other people want to talk about instead of a favorite topic? Be flexible to let others lead or pick things? Control impulses? Be kind in words or actions? Some of your child’s goals will still be very possible to work on in this time, though it might be in a very different format than how it was being worked on during recess or through an IEP goal.  This to me, creates the opportunity to work on the goal in a variety of environments, which ultimately can be positive for your child.  The goal may just take some problem solving.  For example: a goal related to having reciprocal conversations or switching topics could still be worked on through conversations with family members in the house or setting up structured virtual social experiences that might be initiated and supervised by the parent or trusted adult.  Controlling impulses could be practiced through playing family games both in the house and through virtual setups in private games with known adults or family friends.  Watching movies and pointing out social events or having your child earn bonuses for answering quick questions about frozen social scenes could also be beneficial and be a different way to work on goals.

10. Making lemonade out of lemons—Now is a great time to stay focused on the big picture and have a new perspective.  This time period is unique in our history and create a different mindset and positive perspective.  There are so many things I am grateful for and value in my life that I took for granted.  This time period will come to an end.  How can you be positively changed by this experience and take the best of it with you to move into the future? Then, how can you teach these kinds of lessons to your child?  We know that kids who can look for positives and find ways to be grateful tend to be happier and healthier.

 

I hope that this list is helpful to you and your family.  We wish you success in this time of educational change and growth.  

 

 [1] Ratey, J.J. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, 2008 

[2] (Brady, 1989; as cited in Luckner, J. L., & Nadler, R. S. (1997).  Processing the experience:  Strategies to enhance and generalize learning (2nd ed.).  United States:  Kendall/Hunt Publishing.

School Year Programming

We are running an eight-week evening therapeutic groups are designed to provide therapy by specifically targeting individualized goals for our campers. Group will be 75 minutes through telesession and include time for campers to have conversations, interact in positive prosocial ways through game play, and build skills through structured lessons.  Group and home goals will be part of the group, with bonuses being awarded through Target gift cards.

Spring Group Starts March 30!

Summer Programming

Quest Therapeutic Camps of Southern California will continue to provide summer day camp services for 8 weeks. There will be a minimum of 4 virtual weeks consisting of half days followed by 4 weeks of in person day camp. We will be working on individual goals, building conversations and social skills through virtual fun and games including legos, board games and interactive activities. All components of camp will have many reward programs built in and continue to follow the Quest Therapeutic Model. 

More information will be provided in the weeks to come.