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National politics State technology

Orrin Hatch’s Insurmountable Obstacle


photo credit: Gage Skidmore

Two years into his bid for re-election (yes, he has already been in obvious campaign mode for two years), in a recent tweet Orrin Hatch invited people to let him know if he was on the right track. My tweet length response was that he could not get on the right track unless he were to publicly admit to the errors in his past voting record. Upon further reflection I have a very non-tweet-length reply as I realized that, at least for me personally, that may not be enough.

Anyone who has been in office for 34 years will have votes in that time which should have been different. Anyone who has been alive for 34 years will have grown and changed within the last 34 years of their life. In other words, I would not expect a pristine record from anyone in Hatch’s position. I don’t consider seniority to be an insurmountable obstacle any more than I consider it sufficient reason to grant him another six years. To mitigate such a long tenure, I will only consider Hatch’s last two terms and pretend that his first 24 years in office were impeccable.

Categories
life

Session notes on CDI

I thought I’d share the notes I took during an early therapy session where we started learning about Child-Directed Interaction.

Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

Helping the non-compliant child – (reference book)

(“parenting the strong-willed child” is the subtitle I believe)

Child-Directed interaction is similar to play therapy and is the first step of PCIT.

Things to do during CDI:

  • Behavioral description (sportscaster play-by-play, start with “you”, connect to present activity)
  • Reflection (reinforce and rephrase)
  • Labeled praise (praise specifics)
  • Imitate (do the things they do which are appropriate)

Avoid:

  • Commands (direct or indirect)
  • Questions (these take the initiative from the child – you are along for the ride)
  • Critical statements (this includes sarcasm)

Dealing with misbehavior during CDI:

  • Ignore anything that is not dangerous or destructive (don’t smile, frown, or react in other ways).
  • Stop your do’s.
  • Praise as soon as they act appropriately.
  • Stop the play for destructive or aggressive behavior.

Tips & Tricks:

  • Have specific toys that are for CDI
  • Have a specific place (like the kitchen table)
  • Have a regular time

Transfer to Parent-Directed Interaction (PDI) once 5 minutes of CDI produces 10 behavioral descriptions, 10 reflections, and 10 labeled praises and no more than a total of 3 questions, criticisms, and critical statements.

Look for the book 1-2-3 Magic

Categories
life

Child-Directed Interaction

There are two primary elements of Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). The  initial element is Child Directed Interaction (CDI). This interaction is intended to strengthen the fundamental relationship between parent and child. The parents have the opportunity to see their child in a situation where the child feels safe and in control where they can pay uninterrupted attention to their child and practice some skills of interaction that help the child to feel that they are valued and appreciated. This should set the stage for the second element called Parent Directed Interaction (PDI).

CDI is meant to be a fairly free time for the child to express themselves it is surprisingly structured. Our therapist has recommended that we get a box filled with toys and activities that can be used for this interaction time. The child is then allowed to choose which toy or activity during each session. Sessions are short enough that the child should only be playing with one type of toy or activity during a given session.