Perspectives
Welcome to Perspectives.
This is a corner where I share occasional, short reflections on how Behavioural Psychology applies to situations in every day life. I hope you find something helpful or thought-provoking.
Beyond the Screen: Guiding Your Child from Digital to Real Life
Joint attention is about connecting with what they care about. It's that moment when you both look at a hilarious meme and share a laugh, or when you lean over their shoulder to see the amazing graphic design they’re creating. It’s a shared moment of focus that says, "I see you, and I see what you're passionate about."
Supporting children out of COVID restrictions
For nearly two years we've been teaching our children about social distancing. But from 6am today that all changes. Where does this leave our kids? How do we support them to re-engage comfortably? How do we help them 'unlearn' things that have been established over the last few years?
Flexible Learning Options - Let's get Technical!
If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that we no longer need to leave the house - let alone our sofa - to upskill. And so Soiléir have been using this enforced ‘desk time’ working hard to provide a variety of online learning opportunities.
Setting Limits
Ever found yourself trying to regain control by yelling things like “If you don’t stop fighting over it, I’ll throw that Nintendo Switch out the car window”?
Stop for a moment - that’s just not true, is it? You probably rely on that Switch for a bit of peace and quiet even more than your child does. Besides, it’s you who will foot the bill when the games console does smash off the tarmac. On top of which, your ‘empty’ threats are now just background noise to your kids.
Easing the Return To School in the age of COVID
Schools are due to open next week (as with everything, we’re cautiously saying ‘due’ cause goodness knows what can happen in a week in the current environment……). But this year, it’s a back to school like no other year. Families have had a lot to contend with in relation to the interruption to schooling this year:
How Mindfulness can help us during COVID-19
With social distancing, we’re being asked to radically change a lot of our habitual patterns and responses. This can be difficulty to do, as now we need to really concentrate on things we previously did on autopilot. This is where mindfulness can help.
Motivational Interviewing coming to BILD PBS Conference 2020
Soiéir are delighted to announce that we’re teaming up once again with Matthew Spicer of Positive Behaviour Change Solutions in Tasmania. We are bringing two workshops to the British Institute of Learning Disability (BILD) Positive Behaviour Support Conference in Scotland in Spring this year.
Four Steps to Listening
Stephen Covey says 'Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply'. And he's right - when we're all wrapped up in how we're going to reply to somebody, be it a child; an employee; a patient; a loved one or a disgruntled customer; our listening skills go out the window. So what are the four steps to listening well?
Soiléir - An Approved CE Provider with the BACB
To enhance Soiléir's training capabilities, Soiléir is registered as an Approved Continuing Education (ACE) Provider with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board in the USA which has international recognition.
How Motivational Interviewing can help make lasting change
People are the undisputed experts in themselves, so in order for them to change, we need to support them to explore and discover their own motivation to change, and the ways of doing so that will work for them. Motivational Interviewing gives us a framework to do just that.
Developing a sense of consent
I want my kids to know that they have my full permission to get angry, shout and scream blue murder if the person persists, even if it is a grown-up (quite frankly, especially if it’s a grown-up)
Soiléir's First Roadtrip - Galway
I'm just back from stunning Salthill on Galway Bay where I was at the Conference of the Psychological Society of Ireland's Division of Behaviour Analysis. It's the annual meet up for those who want to geek out, discuss the finer points of 'reinforcement schedules', and get excited over graphs and pie charts. I suppose it’s not everyone’s idea of a good weekend, but it certainly was mine.
