Quirky Kid Clinic » Behaviour

Positive Parent–Child Relationships

Leonardo Rocker — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 01:07:17 +0000

We are proud to announce the publication of Kimberley O’Brien and Jane Mosco’s book chapter on Positive Parent-Child Relationships by Springer press. The book, Positive Relationships, was compiled by Dr. Sue Roffey.

Kimberley is our Principal Child Psychologist.

This highly accessible book takes a positive psychology approach to explore why healthy relationships are important for resilience, mental health and peaceful communities, how people learn relationships and what helps in developing the positive.

The abstract is as follow:

Practitioners working in child and family psychology typically hear about the challenges of problematic parent–child relationships. A positive psychology approach, however, identifies what is effective in fostering family resilience and facilitating optimal parent–child relationships (Suldo SM, Parent-Child Relationships. In Gilman R, Huebner ES, and Furlong MJ (eds) Handbook of positive psychology in schools. Routledge, New York, 2009).

Drawing on this perspective, this chapter summarises the literature, exploring different parenting styles and effective parenting strategies. We also outline changes in the parent–child relationship from birth through infancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. We also consider the impact of alternative carers and cultural diversity with reference to mutually rewarding parent–child connections and increased child well-being.

The publication of this title coincides with launch of the Quirky Kid Tickets – a Tool to tame Behaviour – a resource that aims to improve parent-child relationship

Parent-Child Relationships @ Triple J Kimberley O’Brien, our principal child psychologist, discussed Parent-Child Relationships with...
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Tickets – a tool to tame behaviour

Leonardo Rocker — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:17:08 +0000

We are proud to introduce our newest innovation – The Quirky Kid Tickets! Parents have been asking for and we are proud to introduce our effective behaviour management tool as recommended by Kimberley O’Brien, Child Psychologist.

Tickets are a complete reward system encouraging you and your child to work together to manage behaviour.

You start by setting clear, achievable goals together. Follow this up with lots of direct praise when you see your child achieve the goal. Finally, watch the surprise reward appear before your eyes as they scratch their Tickets to reveal fun and creative activities you can all share in.

‘Tickets’ is the latest resource to come from the creatives minds at the Quirky Kid Clinic. An inventive and cooperative tool for managing your child’s behaviour.

It is simple:

- Set a goal
- Give your child a ticket to acknowledge when the goal is achieved
- When your child collects enough tickets, he/she gets to scratch and win!
- Lastly, enjoy the fun and interactive reward activities together!

The Sunday Telegraph completed an article about our resource. You can read about it on The Telegraph online.

Visit the Quirky Kid Shoppe for more information on the Tickets and other unique Therapeutic and developmental resources for children and families.

We love therapeutic resources and go to great lengths to personally develop and produce our hand-packed kits. We are committed to providing parents and professionals around the world with creative and effective therapeutic tools that are tried, tested and loved in classrooms, clinics and lounge rooms around the globe.

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ASD and Repetitive Behaviour

Leonardo Rocker — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:30:48 +0000

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are lifelong developmental disabilities characterised by marked difficulties in social interaction, impaired communication, restricted and repetitive interests/behaviours, and sensory sensitivities.

It is called a spectrum disorder as each child may be affected in a different way. The severity of the disorder can range from mild to severe, and includes Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not otherwise Specified.

Repetitive behaviours are a core component of the diagnosis of autism, and they form an important part of early identification.

Typical Development of Repetitive Behaviours

Infants – often demonstrate repetitive behaviours including kicking, waving, banging, twirling, bouncing and rocking. These behaviours however, reduce after 12 months.
24 – 36 months – compulsive like behaviours including preference for sameness begin to emerge.
4 years – decrease in all repetitive behaviours. By the time a child reaches school age there are usually relatively few repetitive behaviours to be seen.

Repetitive Behaviours in a child diagnosed with an ASD

The amount and frequency of repetitive behaviours seen in a child diagnosed with an ASD is significantly higher than that seen in children without an ASD diagnosis. There are also differences in the types of repetitive behaviour demonstrated in autism and typical development.
Young children with autism are more likely to engage in

body rocking,
finger flicking,
hand flapping,
mouthing,
unusual posturing.

Recent studies have shown that a combination of therapies that aim to increase receptive language and improve social skills, can reduce the occurrence of repetitive behaviours.

Need more information?

Please contact the Quirky Kid Clinic for further information on ASD’s and Repetitive Behaviours.
You can also view our early intervention services or
Discuss ASD’s with other parents at the Quirky Kid Huddle – our parenting forums.

Quirky Kid is registered to provide services under the Helping Children with Austins – FaCHSIA.

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Information for this fact sheet was taken from an interview with Child Psychologist Kimberley O’Brien, the Repetitive Behaviours in Autism Spectrum Disorder Workshop attended by Corina Vogler, Provisional Psychologist and the following articles:

Honey, E., McConachie, H., Randle, Val., Shearer, H., & Le Couteur, A. S. (2008). One-year Change in Repetitive Behaviours in Young Children with Communication Disorders Including Autism. Journal Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 1439–1450.

Honey, E., Leekham, S., & McConachie, H.. (2007). Repetitive Behaviours and Play in Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1107–1115.

Repetitive Behaviours in Autism Spectrum Disorder Corina Vogler, Provisional Psychologist at the Quirky Kid Clinic attended...
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Repetitive Behaviours in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Leonardo Rocker — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:14:50 +0000

Corina Vogler, Provisional Psychologist at the Quirky Kid Clinic attended a workshop on Repetitive Behaviours in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at The Melbourne University, Victoria.

This workshop was presented by Professor Margot Prior, University of Melbourne and Ms Josephine Barbaro, La Trobe University. The workshop explored the nature, type and triggers of repetitive behaviours common to children with an ASD. This was followed by a discussion on how these behaviours can be managed, for the better development of the child and to reduce the impact on families.

Corina has since then presented the workshop to the Quirky Kid team as part of our knowledge management and knowledge sharing program.

If you feel that your child may be displaying repetitive behaviours or if you would like any further information about Autism Spectrum Disorder, please contact us, or visit our resources pages.

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Sensory Seeking

Leonardo Rocker — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:41:32 +0000

Jacqui Olsson attended a workshop on Sensory Processing and its links with behaviour on Wednesday, 25^th November 2009. This workshop examined the link between children’s behaviour, their ability to process sensory information and to understand their world and communicate, and provided loads of helpful strategies to assist children in play activities, staying calm and independently managing their own behaviour.

If you feel your child may have some sensory processing difficulties, you may consider the Sensory Profile to identify their sensory strengths and weaknesses. Please contact us if you would like more information on managing your child’s behaviour.

Sensory Profile The Quirky Kid Clinic now offers the Sensory Profile to...
Repetitive Behaviours in Autism Spectrum Disorder Corina Vogler, Provisional Psychologist at the Quirky Kid Clinic attended...

Smacking and Children

Leonardo Rocker — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:26:19 +0000

The issue surrounding parents, children, and the use of corporal punishment is one that is currently of extreme importance.

Is Smacking Children ever OK?

Smacking children is never ok for a number of reasons. Firstly, smacking children is a form of abuse that is punishable by law. Children have the right to feel safe and protected, and therefore should not be subjected to violent treatment. In addition, children tend to mimic the actions and behavior of adults. Children who are subjected to violence often lash out in violent ways themselves.

Consequences associated with smacking children:

can result in trauma and extensive harm to the child;
can lead to the destruction of trusted relationships;
poor self-esteem;
learning difficulties;
behavioral problems;

Where parents can go to get help:

By seeking support and attempting to learn new methods to better discipline children, parents are taking a critically important step. They can seek various forms of support including:

practical and personal suppor, information based support
enroll in classes- i.e. anger management, parent training classes

Alternative methods of discipline:

Parents can discipline their children in a number of ways without ever resorting to hitting or smacking. When parents are upset they should:

take time to cool down before disciplining a child
explain the reasons behind their actions to the child
focus on encouraging verbal communication and interaction
explain how to prevent future occurrences to the child
be sure to remain both empathetic and patient when disciplining the child

The Quirky Kid clinic offers consultation, parenting training and our popular workshop, Raised on Praise.

References:
Raising Children Network , and Kimberley O’Brien, Child Psychologist

Children Smacking @ Daily Telegraph Kimberley discussed smacking and the new anti-smacking campaing with the...
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Smacking @ NewFm Kimberley O’Brien, our principal child psychologist, discussed smacking and corporal...

Video Games and Children @ 10 News

Leonardo Rocker — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:30:03 +0000

Kimberley discussed the Impact of Video Games have on children and adolescents with Tim Potter from Channel 10 News. You can find out more information about Video games and children by visiting our resources page .

The full interview is available here and on Channel 10 website.

If you have a story and would like to discuss it with us, please schedule a time. Kimberley O’Brien enjoys sharing the best of her therapeutic moments with the media.

Video Games and Active Toys @ SMH Kimberley discussed the topic of video games and active toys...
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Dealing with Spoilt Children @ Crikey

Leonardo Rocker — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:04:37 +0000

Kimberley discussed spoilt children with reporter Thomas Hunter at Crikey. You can find out more about how to prevent spoiling your child and how to deal with spoilt children, by visiting our resources page or discussing it on our forum.

The full article is available on the Crikey website.

If you have a story and would like to discuss it with us, please schedule a time. Kimberley O’Brien enjoys sharing the best of her therapeutic moments with the media.

Crime, trauma and Children @ Daily Telegraph Kimberley discussed the details about an abandoned child, know by...
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Children Smacking @ Daily Telegraph Kimberley discussed smacking and the new anti-smacking campaing with the...

Facts about Tweens @ Sydney Child

Leonardo Rocker — Tue, 01 May 2007 12:00:15 +0000

Kimberley discussed the topic of Tweens with the reporter from Sydney’s Child Magazine. You can find out more information about tweens, their behaviors and parenting tips by visiting our resources page or discussing it on our forum.

The full interview is available on the Sydney’s Child Magazine website.

If you have a story and would like to discuss it with us, please schedule a time. Kimberley O’Brien enjoys sharing the best of her therapeutic moments with the media.

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