Hockey as a guide to behavioral interventions

#1 and I made our first trip to the yearly USA Hockey Disabled Hockey Festival, special hockey division.Watching two of his hockey issues I realized they mapped well onto behavioral issues.He’s a strong player, but very weak at passing. He also over-responds to aggression or even accidents, rapidly escalating. (Sometimes, to his credit, the emotional response is so strong he removes himself from play. Which isn’t a great response, but not the worst. Fortunately this is special hockey, a more forgiving place.)I think both of these match onto more global issues.Passing is cognitively hard and, unless one has skilled teammates, often unrewarding. Instead of scoring a goal, the puck goes to the opposing team. The only reason a strong player passes to a weaker player is because of social pressure and social rewards. Turn-taking type behavior in other words. #1 is weak at this kind of interaction; he doesn’t “feel” the social pressure.Handling escalation is also tricky. #1’s sister can set him off with a look. (If she’s in a bad mood this works well to spread the feeling.) He is unable to respond with an equal or lesser action; in part because he mis-remembers the initial provocation. In his memory it is far bigger than it was; though in hockey the aggression is often flagrant*.Both of these issues will factor into our summer behavioral program goals. Special hockey will give us a concrete way to manage progress. If he passes the puck, and returns an elbow with no mor...
Source: Be the Best You can Be - Category: Disability Tags: ADHD adult athletics autism behavioral therapy Explosive Child Source Type: blogs