Aminah+Brooke+Paola+Group

Please paste your individual sections to the paper and EXPLICITLY list your personal contributions to the group.


 * Aminah:**
 * My personal contribution to the group:**

-Coming up with the 3 activities about team building -Making and bringing in the markers wrapped with pipe cleaners for the 1st activity -Making and bringing in the paper with a letter to be traced in the 2nd activity -Bringing half of the clothes for the relay race -Making and bringing out cut outs of balls from team sports ( also making the sign that said "TEAM" on it for a visual) -Bringing in all the prizes for the reinforcements for participating in activities -Running some of the intro, and most of the final activity


 * This is the part of the paper that I wrote:**

Needs Assessment and Background Information

In the United States, it is estimated that 4% to 6% of the population has ADHD

(www.add.org). According to the AOTA, about 3% of school aged children are diagnosed with

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For this population of children, the ability to

pay attention, control of their activity and restraining impulsive behaviors are major problems

that interfere with the hearing or reading instructions, completing school assignments,

participating in games and performing tasks at home (www.aota.org). Problematic social

interactions with peers, teachers, authority figures and during extracurricular activities also are

among some of the most common symptoms associated with ADHD (Cara and Macrae, 2005).

The causes are not completely known, while research shows that many biological factors may

influence individuals with ADHD (www.add.org). More research also indicates hereditary

factors play a role in the acquisition of the disorder.

Many medications exist in order to assist in treating or relieving some symptoms,

however there is no cure (Cara and Macrae, 2005). For children with this diagnosis,

occupational therapy can assist them in participating at school and at home by helping them

master everyday skills needed in both environments (www.aota.org). One crucial aspect for a

therapist to understand when working with this population is the appropriate learning style in

respect to the disorder (Cara & Macrae, 2005). For example, if a child has difficulty focusing

attention due to distractions in the environment a therapist may want to consider dimming lights

or taking away background noises (Cara and Macrae, 2005). Environmental modifications,

including cues, will be essential when working with this population.

In our design of the group, we planned to create a group for 4th and 5th graders in an

after school program, to work on some of the problems listed above. The 4th and 5th graders

GROUP PLANNING II know each other, and this is the first after school group of a series. In the first group our focus
 * (Brooke made contributions to this part)**

will be on social interactions with peers and authority figures. The reasons for focusing on the

social interaction aspect of the disorder stem both from the age group and developmental stage

of the population along with the problem with social interactions due to the disorder.

The services will take place in a school setting. The building may be at least two stories,

which includes a cafeteria, several classrooms, general offices, a library, a gymnasium,

restrooms, science labs, computer labs and possibly a locker room. We are specifically looking

at running group in a classroom. Therefore, we would imagine that is a teacher’s desk and

several student desks and chairs, or cabinets that occupy the physical space. We expect that here

will be an area where children store their coats and other belongings. There may be educational

and incentive charts on the walls and a birthday calendar as well. Depending on the school,

there may be different work stations in the classroom an there are usually trays set out in an area

in the classroom to turn in assignments.

Group Purpose

The overall purpose of the group is to address issues within the classroom (i.e. lack of

attentiveness, focus, listen skills) and home environment for 4th and 5th graders diagnosed with

ADHD, through an after school program.

Goal 1: Students will engage in goal directed social activities with each other, without
 * (Brooke and I collaborated on the goals)**

being rude by talking over a classmate during the activity.

Goal 2: Students will cooperate with one another, by sharing supplies to complete a task.

Introduction

Aminah: Hi everyone, and welcome to our after school group today. My name is

Aminah, this is Brooke and this is Paola. Today we will be working on team building through a

GROUP PLANNING II

couple of activities. Paola is going to start, and then Brooke is going lead an activity and then I

lead the last one. We have cool prizes for the winners so I hope you guys participate and have

fun. Before we begin, Brooke is going to go over a couple of important rules that we have on the

Brooke: Today we have a few rules that are very important to having a fun and safe
 * (Brooke wrote her script)**

group and we expect you to remember them and follow them EACH time we meet:

“Okay number one is listen to the leaders”, “now you repeat it with me”

Brooke and group members: “listen to the leaders”

Brooke: “And number two is stay with your group”, “say it with me again”

Brooke and group members: “stay with your group”

Brooke” “Now number three is be nice and courteous to your friends”, “repeat it”

Brooke and group members: “be nice and courteous to your friends”

Brooke: “So, does that mean we hit our friends?”

Group members: (hope for the response to be “no!”)

Brooke: “And does that mean we talk when our friends are talking?”

Group members: (hope for the response to be “no!”)

Brooke: “And the last one is raise your hand to ask a question”, “okay one last time repeat after

Brooke and group member: “raise your hand to ask a question”

Brooke: (smile and say) “Thank you very much guys! So now you know the rules and we

expected you to follow them throughout the group today, but if you forget we will remind you!”

“Now Paola will do a warm up to getting you guys thinking about team work.”

Paola: “So now that we know our rules we are ready to begin.” “So who has heard of the

GROUP PLANNING II

phrase that goes “there’s no I in TEAM?” (hope to see a few hand go up and then ask) “Who

knows what that means?” (after the students get a chance to respond Paola continues) “Overall,

the phrase is talking about teamwork. When you’re working in a team, it’s never about one

person, and everyone needs to contribute to accomplish the goal. We are going to play a couple

games today and we hope you guys can all work together to win. Remember, we have prizes for

Description of the activities

The group will be comprised of 3 activities, each one run by each one of us. The first

activity will be in the warm-up, in which Paola will address the idea of teamwork through the

catch phrase “there’s no I in TEAM.” After telling the students about the phrase, she will open

up a short discussion of what that means to them. After hearing their responses, she will sum up

the main point of working together, as a group. After this, Brooke will put the idea to test with

her activity or writing the word team, as a team. In this activity, the students will each have a

piece of paper one in which they will have to trace the word “TEAM” holding onto a pipe

cleaner that is wrapped around a marker. Each student will get to hold one piece of the pipe

cleaner, forcing them to work together in order to complete the tracing. After they are done,

Brooke will allow a short sharing of the papers by allowing students to hold them up in the air.

She will then tell the winning team, who completed it first, to go pick a prize from the prize bag.

Finally, Aminah will facilitate the group relay race. This is the last activity and it will require

the students to work in a much bigger group. In this activity, there will be a pile of clothes at the

end of the classroom, and each team will have one member run to the clothes, put on one top and

one bottom and run back to tag their next teammate to take off running. The first team to

complete the race will also get prizes out of the prize bag. Then, we will come together in a

GROUP PLANNING II

circle at the end for a short summary of the group. Each student will get a prize for participating

Difficulties

One major issue we expect to encounter is with our classmates overacting the disorder of

ADHD. For one, there are a lot of stereotypes associated with ADHD and we believe for sure

our classmates will overact. In order to address this issue, we plan to redirect our classmates/

member in hopes that that they will calm down. If this does not work the instructor of the class

will tell the person that he/she is overacting. One other problem we expect is with one of our

classmates not fitting in any of our clothes. He is actually biggest member in the group, and our

clothes might be too small for him. In order to address this issue we have included tie on skirts,

as well as large shorts and dresses that he may be able to grab to put on during the relay race.

We do not know his size, so we do not know exactly what will and will not fit him.

Safety risks **(Brooke made contributions to this section)**

Our biggest risk concerning safety is with the relay race at the end. We plan to move the

tables to the sides of the room so that we have enough space to run around, however, the floor is

can be slippery, especially depending on the type of shoes worn. This may cause a physical risk

and possible injury. For this, we will limit the length of the room that students need to run, to

prevent it from getting too out of control. A psychosocial risk would be in regards to one

member not wanting to play with another member or members teaming up against another

member, which is something common children do at this age. To avoid this issue we have the

activities set up to where the group leaders will choose the group the members work in.

-Formaulated the group rules -Encrouraged the team to consider developmental expectations of the population and expected behaviors -Responsible for the final edit of paper
 * Brooke's contribution**

Here are the portions of my paper I wrote:

Inclusion Yalom’s curative factors

We have designed our group so that the children will experience the four following curative factors: Universality, Development of socializing techniques, interpersonal learning, and Imitative behaviors. Besides the fact that that the children are in a group with other people that have the same diagnosis and behavioral issues as them, we set the group up for them to experience **universality** by introducing the rules of the group. This will let the children know that we expect everyone to follow the rules and that no one will be treated different based on the specific symptoms of their diagnosis. This also will let them know that they all have commonalities or issues with the same problems, such as staying focused and with the group. The main way aimed to have the children experience the **development** **of** **socializing techniques** was also through the rules as well. A big part of communication is listening. By having them raise their hands to speak, it will let them know that in order to work with their partner in with a group that they will have to listen to the other person or persons ideas and concerns to complete the task. Furthermore, it is important to be nice and courteous when socializing with others, which including waiting your turn to speak and not speaking over others. This determines how others will receive the information that you give and if the group will properly function to complete the goal at hand. At this age, it is also especially important for them to learn to raise their hand to speak because this is a key element to the classroom setting. By reinforcing this behavior, they will understand the expectations of their teachers as well as the group leaders, which allows for better communication in group settings. All of these rules will teach the children better ways to communicate with others in the classroom setting, at home, in community center or anywhere they go. Another big way we learn social behaviors is through the feedback we get from others. Therefore, through the question “what did the others in the team think about your help or participation of the group?” we want the members to understand how others think about their performance and how the way they communicate with others aids or hinders the team working process. This also ties into how we incorporating a ways for the children to experience interpersonal learning. By understanding and following the rules of the group, the children will understand the expected behaviors of society as a whole. Anywhere you go, it is expected that you listen to what others say and be courteous. Through, redirection from the group leaders and from remarks of their peer the children will understand how their behaviors affected others and the type of response they warrant, which is part of the here and now learning process. The last curative factor we want the members to experience is **imitative behaviors.** First, we planned to address this by demonstrating each activity we will have the students do so they will understand how to complete the task and stay focused. We realized that it is important and more beneficial if children learn from each other’s behaviors, so we plan to this by reinforcement. It is our hopes that through reinforcing another student good behavior that the other members will imitate their behavior so they can get praise from the leaders as well. For instance, if one member is following the rules, we may say, “good job Aldo for raising your hand to ask your question.” We may even follow-up by asking the rest of the member “do the rest of you think you thin k you can remember to do the same if you have a question?” Strengths =The setting we are working with the children in is a strength that we plan to use. Being in an actual classroom will facilitate their performance in the group. They are already aware of the expected behaviors associated with the classroom from the rules set by their teachers in the classroom environment. Therefore, we will enforce rules that may be very similar to their normal classroom rules and run group in the classroom opposed to the playground or the gymnasium in the beginning so that they can understand our expectations of them while in the group. In addition, according to helpguide.org, children with ADHD respond well to positive reinforcement, rewards, and visual cues to learn targeted behaviors, which is something we plan to utilize throughout the group session. As mentioned before, we plan to give positive reinforcement by use of verbal praise and give rewards to the winning group, which requires them to work as team by following the rules to win a prize. By listing the rules on the board, we also have given them a visual cue and plan to redirect them back to it when needed. =

Use of an OT practice model To guide intervention we have chosen to use the Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) model by Law, Cooper, Strong, Stewart, Rigby, and Letts (1996). This model points the environment brings about behaviors, which can vary based on expectations (Law et al., 1996). It also looks at the congruent fit of all factor, person, environment, and occupation as key to optimizing occupational performance in an activity. It explains that to maximize the fit, the person environment or occupation can be changed, however the environment is more amendable to change that the other factors (Law et al., 1996). With these things in mind, we have developed rules for the group setting that were put in place by the children’s social environment or group leaders, which give them directions on the behaviors they should exemplify in the classroom (physical environment) during the group session. We plan to optimize their occupational performance or increase the congruent fit of PEO by making their physical environment less distracting. We plan to keep all material used for the activities out of their sight until we use them, as well as the prizes given out during the group. We have put the prizes in a bag and when a student picks a prize after winning in an activity, we are going to ask that they put it way in their bag until we move to the next part of the group. Use of two frames of reference (FOR) In addition to the PEO model, we have chosen the developmental and the behavioral frame of reference to guide intervention. The developmental FOR believes that development occurs in a hierarchical and progressive manner (Cole, 2005). This FOR also points out that in order for an individual to move to the next stage in development they must master skills or resolve a crisis before they move to the next stage (Cole, 2005). For that reason, we have decided to start the children off working in small groups or in pairs first during the session and then transition into larger groups once they have learned to work well with members in a small group, then they can apply those techniques to a larger group. The behavioral frame of reference is based on the assumption that behavior is learned (Bruce & Borg, 2002). This FOR was very appropriate to facilitate change in the common behavioral problems that this populations has. This approach has the belief that through techniques such as reinforcement, shaping and repetition behavior is learned. Which is the foundation to why chose to use reinforcement to target the behavior we want to change in the children, such as talking out of turn, not using their listening skills, being inattentive, and wondering off away from the group. In addition, through reminding the members of the rules periodically, this repetition will help them remember the rules and assist them in utilizing them throughout the session. The use of three group leadership skills There are three specific group leadership skills or principles we plan to use in the group, which are being direct, establishing expectations or norms and using enthusiasm. Due to the problem behaviors children with ADHD exhibit, it is very important that we are as direct as possible when explaining things or redirecting their actions and reinforcing their behaviors. This is where the behavioral FOR will really help. We anticipate that there will be times we when we will have to redirect a group member more than once, in which we plan to be direct by calling the child’s name and using tactile cues, by placing a hand on the child’s shoulder to maintain their attention. Next, we plan to set the expectations or the norms by introducing the rules very early in the group session. The rules tell the children how we expect them to act toward us as the leaders and towards their peers, which all ties back to eliciting ac change in their problematic behaviors. Lastly, we plan to use enthusiasm to increase the likeliness of their participation. Through experience, we have learned that when the leader is enthused it will cause children to become more enthused and involve in the task. This is because children often feed off the leaders’ energy and expression. For instance, when going over the rules Brooke will be sure to smile when speaking to the children, use a gentle but firm tone of voice and use arm gestures to keep them engaged.

I also did re-wording in the following sections:

**Questions to generate a discussion** **Questions to identify barriers to application**

References Block, J. & Smith, M. (2010). ADD/ADHD and School: //Helping Children with ADHD Succeed at School.// Retrieved from: Bruce, G. & Borg, B. (2002). //Psychosocial frames of reference: Core for occupation-based practice// (3rd ed.). Thorofare, NJ: Slack. Cara, E. & MacRae, A. (2005). //Psychosocial occupational therapy: A clinical// //practice.// (2nd ed//.//). Clifton Park, NY: Thomson-Delmar Learning. Cole, M. B. (2005) //Group Dynamics in Occupational Therapy: The Theoretical Basis and Practical Application of Group Interventions//, 3rd ed. Thorofare, NJ: Slack.  Cooper, B., Law, M., Letts, L., Rigby, P., Stewart, D., Strong, S., (1996) The person-environment-occupation model: A transactive approach to occupational performance. //Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy,63, 9-21// The American Occupational Therapy Association (2011). ADHD. Retrieved from: http://www.aota.org/Consumers/consumers/Youth/ADHD.aspx

**Paola:**
 * My personal contribution to the group:**

- Searching and submitting information to my group about interventions for children with ADHD and suggestions of strategies and accommodations for expected behaviors - Bringing half of the clothes for the relay race - Running the first activity - Running the summary of the group **This is the part of the paper that I wrote:** ** Question to generate a discussion ** ** Questions to identify barriers to application ** First, these questions will make the children realize that they work in teams more than they realize, which is why it is important to incorporate the rules mentioned previously when working in groups, especially at school. With that, they have to be aware of how their performance affects the group. Te last few questions are associated with self-perception and perception of others. They can help the group members to identify barriers to participating in a team or what makes it hard for them to work in groups, what others think of their performance and what would make them a better team player. ** Summary ** Paola: Hey everyone, now let's sit down in a circle to talk about what we did in our group today and what we have learned from it. In every activity, we plan to do want to work on team building. We said that a team does not work with one person; it needs everyone's participation to succeed, to have the work done. We saw it when we worked together in teams to trace the word "team" in the piece of paper. You guys had to count on the people of your team to hold the pipe cleaner together and to coordinate the hands and arms' movements to complete the tracing. We also saw that everyone's participation is important when we work in teams when we had to run one by one as fast as we could to the pile of clothes and put two of them on, come back fast, so the next teammate could go. You all were counting on each other to win the race**. ** Brooke: We can use teamwork in the classroom, when we are learning and doing activities with our peers. We can use it when we are playing with our friends and siblings. We can use teamwork at every moment that we are doing an activity with others at school, at home, at a playground, at a park, and many other places that we go. Aminah: We would like to thank everybody for your participation today and for following the rules on the board during the activities of the group. You guys did a great job on listening to the leaders, raising your hands when you had questions, being nice to your friends, and staying with your group. Following these rules increased your participation in group and, as you worked in a team, it helped everyone to work better! We have a prize for you all, since you all did a good in your groups! Have a good week everyone, we are looking forward to seeing you next week!  ** Follow-up **  We plan to talk to their teachers about what we have addressed in our group and distribute wall charts with messages and icons of the rules that we worked on in the group and the importance of teamwork for them to put in their classroom. We will ask the teachers to talk about them and/or include them in activities with the children during class to reinforce the messages and the behaviors that we are teaching them to demonstrate in social activities, and to encourage group members to work towards their goals. We plan to talk to their teachers about what we have addressed in our group and distribute wall charts with the rules that we worked on in the group and the importance of teamwork for them to put in their classroom. We will ask the teachers to talk about them and/or include them in activities with the children during class to reinforce the rules and the behaviors that we encourage them to demonstrate in social activities. We will also construct a form for each children to take home that includes the goals of the group, the rules and the behavior we want to reinforce and ask that their parents help reinforce the points at home. We will give these papers to the teachers and ask them to give one to each child after incorporating the expectations, rules or main points of our group session in class. In the 1-2 weeks following our group, we will give the teachers an evaluation of goals survey to report how the children are engaging in social activities and their interaction with each other during these activities, including respecting one another and sharing materials during activities.
 * What made the activity easy or hard to do?
 * What happened if any of you looked away or became distracted during the activity?
 * How did your classmates' participation in the activities influence or make you want to participate?
 * What was it about the activities that made you want to participate or do them?
 * What would you have made the activity better to make you want to do them or participate more?
 * <span style="0in line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none;">From doing the activities, what do you now think it takes for a team to work well together?
 * <span style="0in line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none;">Can you think of a time in school when you had to work as a team? (Will prompt kids of they need it, i.e. I will ask have you had to work on a craft or art project together?)
 * <span style="0in line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none;">When have you had to work as a team at home with your, parents, siblings or neighborhood friends?
 * <span style="0in line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none;">What did you have to do to work in the team?
 * <span style="0in line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none;">What made it hard to work in any of these teams?
 * <span style="0in line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none;">What could you have done to make the team better or work better?
 * <span style="0in line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none;">What did the others in the team think about your help or participation of the group?