1. Educational Assistants: Self Advocacy and Personal Wellness
Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW

2. Here by Accident…. It started February 2, 2016

3. Institutionalization and De-Institutionalization

4. The Changing Face of Childhood Disorders and Special Education Needs Seen at School

5. Impact in the Classroom
Dressing for school – 1970’s

6. Impact in the Classroom
Dressing for school – 2017

7. Self Protection is Required
PPE (personal protection equipement) for support workers in education has included, but is certainly not limited to, gloves, arm guards, and shin guards—all to protect from pinching, scratches, punches, kicks and biting. Chest protectors of different materials are used to protect workers from kicks, bites, punches, and scratches to the trunk of the body. Smocks protect from bodily fluids, and helmets are sometimes used to protect from punches, head butting and hair pulls. There are also facial masks to protect workers from being spat upon, punched in the face, scratched or bitten. The use of PPE is covered in the Ontario Health and Safety Act under the Health Care and Residential Facilities and Industries section, but not specifically for education workers.
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8. Self Protection is Required
The EAs are trained in a variety of proactive prevention techniques. These include: BMS (Behaviour Management Systems), NVCI (Non-Violent Crisis Intervention), CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute) and UMAB (Understanding and Managing Aggressive Behaviour). EAs are expected to use these techniques in the midst of extremely stressful situations.
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9. Workplace Violence
LTI = Lost Time Injury

10. Worker Issues:
Limited to no prior background information about the assigned students;
Limited to no collaborative work with fellow EAs or other teaching staff assigned to the same students, but working in other classrooms;

11. Worker Issues:
Students who have extra funding for added support where the funding is being stretched to provide support to other students;
Report writing or administrative duties without the infrastructure to carry out those duties;

12. Standing Up for Me

13. Standing Up for Me Believe in Yourself Get the Facts Know Your Rights
Decide What You Want
Gather Support
Develop Strategic Plan
Express/Assert Yourself Clearly
Assert Yourself Clearly
Be Firm and Persistent
Adapted from:

14. Managing Oneself in Self Advocacy
All or None Thinking
Unmanaged Emotions
Extreme Behavior
Flexible Thinking
Managed Emotions
Moderate Behavior

15. Specific Strategies…
Opening more channels of communication to those in administration;
Requesting administrative meetings;
Requesting to attend meetings where a student’s educational plan is discussed;
Documenting requests for information / resisting requests to rewrite or minimize events when documenting;
Advancing the profile of the profession by working with the mainstream media to inform others about their role and interests in the education system;
Utilizing social media to go directly to the public through their own existing pipelines with stories and information about their roles, trials and tribulations;
If/when informing the public or administration, to offer not only concerns, but to add to the dialogue by proposing solutions.
Attend continuing education opportunities.

16. Why? Improves mental health by lowering depression and anxiety;
Brings attention to needs;
Facilitates meeting needs (personal, professional and those of our clients);
Improves one’s life and the lives of others.

17. Educational Assistants: Self Advocacy and Personal Wellness
Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW