Are you looking for hacks to help students who suffer from anxiety? If so, keep reading.
1. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Repeated failure and frustration may cause the student to take part in nervous habits.
2. Urge the student to practice self-control learning activities designed to let them gain composure before continuing a learning experience (e.g., placing hands on desk, sitting with feet on the floor, making eye contact with the instructor, etc.).
3. Move materials used for tactile stimulation (e.g., pens, paper clips, loose change, etc.) away from the student’s reach.
4. Draft an agreement with the student stipulating what behavior is required (e.g., not engaging in nervous habits) and which reinforcement will be implemented when the agreement has been met.
5. Assess the appropriateness of the task to ascertain (a) if the task is too easy, (b) if the task is too complicated, and (c) if the duration of time scheduled to finish the task is sufficient.
6. Teach the student to use techniques such as crossing their arms and legs, clinching their fists, and webbing their hands when they are engaging in nervous habits.
7. Organize their surroundings so the student does not have time to take part in nervous habits.
8. Minimize stimuli that may cause the student to take part in nervous habits (e.g., noise, movement, etc.).
9. Make the appropriate adjustments in their surroundings to prevent the student from experiencing stress, frustration, nervousness, etc.
10. Find the situations in which the student is likely to take part in nervous habits. After you have identified these situations, think of ways to minimize their occurrences.
11. Teach the student to pay attention to the source of information by keeping eye contact, keeping hands free from other learning materials, and reducing other nervous habits.
12. Talk regularly with the student to lessen nervous behavior.
13. Select a peer tutor to work directly with the student to prevent stress, frustration, anxiety, etc.
14. Minimize situations that may contribute to nervous behavior (e.g., testing situations, timed learning activities, competition, etc.).
15. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
15. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.
16. Consider using a socio-emotional learning app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
17. Consider using an emotional intelligence app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
18. Consider using a school counseling app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
