Managing the Meltdowns

Managing the Meltdowns

In Episode 53 of Teach Task Box Inspire, host Lisa Hollady addresses a common challenge faced by special educators: managing meltdowns in the classroom. Lisa shares five practical tips for helping students through escalated moments while ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone involved.

The episode emphasizes the importance of creating a safe space, maintaining personal composure, modeling calm behavior, offering choices to students, and providing support without accusations. By implementing these strategies, educators can effectively navigate meltdowns, fostering a more supportive classroom environment.

Episode Highlights:

Safety and Space: Prioritize the safety of all students by creating a secure environment during a meltdown, removing any potential hazards, and providing soft surfaces to prevent injury.

Check Yourself: Educators must remain calm and composed, as their emotional reactions can escalate the situation further. Responding thoughtfully rather than reacting emotionally is crucial.

Model Calmness: Approach the student calmly, using a low and slow voice while maintaining neutral body language. This modeling helps students mirror the desired calm behavior.

Offer Choices: Provide students with simple choices during a meltdown to give them a sense of control, using visual aids to help them select calming activities.

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More About Teach, Task Box, Inspire: The Podcast:

Teach, Task Box, Inspire: The Podcast is your go-to educational podcast dedicated to making your job as a special education teacher easier and more enjoyable. Your host, Lisa Hollady, is a veteran special education teacher with a passion for helping teachers like you make a real difference in the lives of your students.

In your demanding roles, you’re constantly juggling various responsibilities, from differentiated instruction and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to data collection, and, of course, teaching. That’s where task boxes come in.

Task boxes aren’t just teaching tools. They’re the key to unlocking student independence, student engagement, and personalized learning. Through this podcast, you’ll uncover the incredible task box benefits for your special needs students and practical implementation tips that you can take to your classroom.

Tune in each Monday for a new episode that will equip you with essential strategies and motivation to approach your week with confidence and enthusiasm. Topics will include task box activities, social and emotional development, adaptive teaching, inclusive teaching, supporting diverse learners, classroom management, scheduling, visual aids, and more.