{"id":5338,"date":"2015-06-23T10:46:32","date_gmt":"2015-06-23T14:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=5338"},"modified":"2018-01-18T13:45:53","modified_gmt":"2018-01-18T17:45:53","slug":"taking-away-recess-as-punishment-find-a-better-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/taking-away-recess-as-punishment-find-a-better-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Away Recess as Punishment \u2013 Find A Better Way"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Taking%20Away%20Recess%20as%20Punishment%20%E2%80%93%20Find%20A%20Better%20Way\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" style=\"margin: 5px; border: 1px solid black; float: right;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/images\/istock\/boy.alone.outside.jpg\" alt=\"boy outside not taking part\" width=\"150\" height=\"224\" \/>My sixth grade son, 12, is diagnosed ADHD with anxiety. His current IEP does not include ADHD, only another disability. He has difficulty finishing his homework.\u00a0 The school takes away recess as punishment.\u00a0 This type of punishment never works for him, but it does cause undue stress and depression.<\/p>\n<p>Is there anything we can do to stop this missed recess?<\/p>\n<p>We had the same problem. My son has learning disabilities and ADHD. He had an IEP for several years while in grade school.<\/p>\n<p>My son became overly excited in school. He could not settle down after recess and got in trouble for \u201cbad behavior.\u201d He took meds every four hours. He took the second dose right after lunch and before recess. He was most likely to get in trouble when his morning meds wore off and his second dose had not kicked in.<\/p>\n<p>The school punished him with in-lunch suspensions and no recess.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Taking Away Recess \u2013 A Type of Torture for an ADHD Child<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>When the in-lunch suspensions started, we had several meetings with the IEP Team to discuss . . .. . . the type of punishment they were using. We also discussed his ADHD, his meds, and how these issues affected his behavior.<\/p>\n<p>I made copies of articles and other documents by professionals and handed them out to the team. I read in professional books that <em>keeping an ADHD child in from recess or not allowing him to take gym class was a type of torture for the ADHD child.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>A Creative Solution<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We wanted the school staff to come up with an alternative to taking away his recess. I suggested that he could stay after school to clean erasers, empty trash, or other work as &#8220;punishment.&#8221; \u00a0The school staff did not like any of those ideas. Finally, the Team came up with a plan that worked.<\/p>\n<p>As we discussed his problem, we realized that the worst time for trying to settle down came after recess (before the 2nd dose of medication kicked in). The Team came up with this strategy.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Every day, after recess, my son would have job to do.<\/li>\n<li>The teacher would give him a document in an envelope and he would take the envelope to the main office.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some days, the envelope would include a piece of paper from the teacher. Other days, the envelope may be empty but my son did not know this.<\/p>\n<p>He looked forward to doing this job. The fact that he was entrusted with the job made him feel important. The job gave him enough time to settle down so he was ready to get back to work when he returned to the classroom. .<\/p>\n<p>Once my son started <em>his job<\/em>, he never got in trouble and was never punished by taking away recess.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, it takes a simple change like this to get a child back in line. This particular solution will not work for every child. But<strong>\u00a0a creative team can help the child have a positive experience instead of a negative one.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Read the Research<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Update:<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>In 2013, The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a <span style=\"color: #000080;\"><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"http:\/\/pediatrics.aappublications.org\/content\/131\/1\/183.full\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Policy Statement on The Crucial Role of Recess in School<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>that says in part<em>: <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>&#8220;Recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child\u2019s development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This Policy Statement is also available <span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/pediatrics.aappublications.org\/content\/pediatrics\/131\/1\/183.full.pdf\">as an 8 page PDF<\/a><\/span>. If your child&#8217;s school is withholding recess or PE, provide copies of the PDF to members of your child&#8217;s Team as a starting point for discussions to find creative and effective alternatives.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/pediatrics.aappublications.org\/content\/131\/1\/183.full\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">The Crucial Role of Recess in School<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SIRRecess2.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">The Education Commission of the United States (2016)<\/span><\/a>. Find what states have passed legislation requiring recess or unspecified physical activity.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Read More<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bamradionetwork.com\/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=432:jackstreet54&amp;catid=35:jackstreet54&amp;Itemid=89\">Withdrawing Recess as Punishment \u2013 Does it Work?<\/a><\/span> This podcast answers the question \u201cIs withholding recess harmful?\u201d and discusses how recess activities can improve behavior for children with ADHD.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/play-deprivation-and-behavior-problems\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Play Deprivation and Behavior Problems<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/quiz-how-much-recess-does-your-child-get-each-day\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Quiz: How Much Recess Does Your Child Get Each Day?<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bamradionetwork.com\/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=641:recess&amp;catid=48:school-principals-radio&amp;Itemid=102\">Why Recess Matters, How to Defend It?<\/a><\/span> This podcast includes a brief discussion of research about the importance of recess for an child with ADHD.<\/p>\n<p>______________________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Sharon Lutz (Sharon L.) of Ohio is a parent of 3 sons with learning disabilities (ADHD and Dyslexia). Sharon is an advocate for her sons and has 25 years of experience working with school districts and the IEP process.<\/p>\n<p>Sharon enjoys\u00a0sharing information with other parents so they can benefit from her experiences and is the author of <span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">&#8220;<a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/If-Can-Do-Anyone-resource\/dp\/1517342066\/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&amp;redirect=true&amp;tag=thespecialedadvo\">If I Can Do It, Anyone Can: A Resource Book for Parents of Learning Disabled Children<\/a><\/span>&#8221;\u00a0and a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LDAAmerica\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Learning Disabilities Association of America<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sharon started a parent advocate group. Members shared ideas and strategies and provided information to parents and the community. For more information, please contact Sharon at<span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"> <a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"mailto:helpgrouponline@twc.com\">helpgrouponline@twc.com<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/profile\/view\/SharLutz\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/profile\/view\/SharLutz<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/575195\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/575195<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/helpgrouponline.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">http:\/\/helpgrouponline.com\/<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Visit HELPgrouponline.com at<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yellowpagesforkids.com\/help\/oh.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">http:\/\/www.yellowpagesforkids.com\/help\/oh.htm<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My sixth grade son, 12, is diagnosed ADHD with anxiety. His current IEP does not include ADHD, only another disability. He has difficulty finishing his homework.\u00a0 The school takes away <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/taking-away-recess-as-punishment-find-a-better-way\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1377,136],"tags":[1307,787,1326,785,786],"class_list":["post-5338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-add-adhd","category-strategies","tag-adhd","tag-creative-problem-solving","tag-discipline","tag-pe","tag-recess"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5338"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17399,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5338\/revisions\/17399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}