By Kate Boyer, Intensive Interaction Facilitator and Mentor
Settling in a new school can be a challenging time for any young person but moving into a new home at the same time can, understandably, be a very anxious time. When Molly and Amy* joined MacIntyre School, it was important to build a relationship and form those connections.
Building relationships
Intensive Interaction is embedded in our whole therapeutic approach at MacIntyre and fits well into our positive behaviour support framework. It became clear early on for both Molly and Amy that Intensive Interaction was an approach which supported and enabled trusting relationships to naturally evolve. Staff used every opportunity to use Intensive Interaction and with this approach, relationships began and interactions became meaningful and social in nature.
Gently does it
It was and still is important for staff to reflect, monitor and share practice and progress. Collecting video evidence of Intensive Interactions allowed us to chart Molly and Amy’s progress, it also enabled us to reflect on our practice – what was working and what wasn’t. It takes time to build trusting relationships and we feel strongly that Intensive Interaction gives opportunities for social engagement – opportunities for meaningful and valuable interactions. Trusting and meaningful relationships don’t just happen, we need to be respectful of the time needed and show empathy and compassion. We can do this is many ways but Intensive Interaction is an approach which is without complications, without demands and one which can give so much!
Keeping at it
Consistency has been key and by continuing with our reflections, monitoring and progress tracking we have been able to evidence how important Intensive Interaction is for both Molly and Amy. It is a key part of their positive placement plans which includes their communication profiles. Intensive Interaction is supporting their development of social communication. They have both become more competent and confident with their communication and are more equipped with their ability to attend to another person as well as themselves, they are able to self-regulate, but most importantly, they are able to enjoy being with another person. That wonderful idle chit-chat which doesn’t have to be through words – just being with rather than doing with, being able to share a topic of conversation, whatever that might be and however it is expressed.
A bittersweet time
When the people we support come to the time in their lives when they leave our school and children’s homes, it is always bittersweet. We become attached, of course we do – that is a natural part of our human emotions and the job we do. We do the best we can to equip the young people with the skills they need to live their lives, to live a life well led. Intensive Interaction is just one part of our therapeutic approach, but an integral part; using this approach develops confidence and competence as a communicator. Being able to build trusting, meaningful relationships and have opportunities to engage and communicate socially in a way which makes sense supports well-being, and in our opinion for both the people we support and for ourselves. Intensive Interaction is not demanding, it is not task based and it is not complicated!
Sharing good practice
Intensive Interaction had become an integral part of social communication and engagement for both Molly and Amy so it was important for us to convey that to the staff teams who would be supporting them as adults. The new staff were invited to come to an Intensive Interaction face to face training session with our Intensive Interaction Facilitators and Mentors, Anita Taylor and I. We shared videos of our interactions, we talked about how and why we use this approach and we did our best to encourage and motivate staff to want to give it a go! We shared video evidence of Molly and Amy engaging in Intensive Interaction with staff (videos are an integral part of monitoring progress) and it was heart-warming to see the staff teams faces light up as they watched the clips. We could see they were motivated and wanted to try it for themselves, exactly what we hoped would happen!
Anywhere anytime and at any age
So as Molly and Amy move on to the next chapter in their lives they take Intensive Interaction with them. These interactions are not just for babies and children, they are not just for the classroom and they are certainly not planned or timetabled. They are opportunities for communicating and engaging socially anywhere and at any time – waiting for the bus, waiting in the supermarket queue, during meal times, whilst listening to music, watching TV, in the car… anywhere! It is not age restricted, it is for anyone who benefits from this approach. It can be playful and animated, it can be gentle and quiet, it can be appropriate in times of anxiety and worry, and it can be used in times of celebration and great happiness! We tailor our skills to the individual we are supporting appropriate to that particular moment.
Championing Intensive Interaction
We continue to champion and promote Intensive Interaction – we must never stop doing that. Molly and Amy are just two of our young people who have benefited from this approach and we have done our level best to ensure that continues for them through their adult lives. We must keep pushing on, we are the champions and we want others to be too! Let us all celebrate this International Intensive Interaction Week but let us all continue to celebrate, continue to raise awareness and continue to continue!
*Not their real names