TAND Tips from Families

“Like I mentioned, devices are an issue for us. My son can be engaged, focused, happy, pleasant if he does not have any device time. If he does have some device time (either gaming or TV, 20min or 2hrs), he is irritable, does not focus, can disengage himself from us, seems to pretend play in his mind. I’d like to get an understanding of what is happening in his brain. To identify what is being triggered to cause such a different personality? And then how can we help him self-regulate. I have some tricks to try to help him and we strongly limit his device time… Devices are the only thing that trigger this negative mood and it’s a drastic difference from his normal sweet manner.”

“Since my children were old enough to talk, I have tried to include them in doctor appointments with their neurologist or the pediatrician. To engage them and guide them to self-advocate. I would not want them to zone out through the years while adults are talking and then one day tune in and have to be part of the conversation. I imagine this toolkit could be an easy source to help him self-advocate and to learn or digest more of TAND clusters that he may identify with.”

“Track ABC data (A = antecedents; B = behaviour; C = consequences). Many families are still using that data as it helps to try to identify “root” problems to behaviours. This data should be shared with the team as you work to find a balance of behavioural services and medication.”