Tristan’s Story
This is a fictitious story written from the perspective of a Canadian boy with behavioural issues. He benefited from an intervention program called SNAP (Stop Now And Plan). According to Public Health Canada, SNAP® is…
“…an evidence-based, gender specific, manualized, multi-component cognitive behavioral program for at-risk children age 6 to 11 with serious disruptive behaviour concerns (aggression, rule-breaking, and conduct problems) and their families. SNAP focuses on teaching children (and their parents/caregivers) emotion regulation, self-control, and problem solving skills with a special emphasis on challenging cognitive distortions , replacing with realistic thinking, and helping children make better choices in the moment. The goal is to improve social competencies, reducing disruptive behaviour, risk of police contact, and discipline issues while improving effective parent management skills.”
That’s a mouthful and not relevant to the children the program is designed to help. Writing in the first person, with the narrator taking the role of mentor, provides an interesting device to frame the experience from a child’s perspective.
Tristan’s Story
Hey. I'm Tristan and I’m 8 years old. I’m in grade 2. My mom said you’re in grade 1, so I’ve learned more things than you. My mom says I should tell you about what I learned this year. I like my mom. She helped me write this down.
I used to be what grown-ups call disruptive. That's a fancy word for when you can't sit still and kinda turn the classroom into a video game. Except there’s no bad guys, just running around and punching things. I was always getting in trouble. My teacher, Ms. Parmar, would never let me clean the hamster cage. She said I was too aggressive. That’s another grown up word. I think it means acting like I’m in a video game, but without the cool costume and just doing the punching part.
I didn’t get why Ms. Parmar wouldn’t let me clean the hamster cage. I just wanted to help. I would never punch the cage or hurt the hamster. It was so unfair. It felt like I was being left out. It felt like I was always being left out.
This one time I wanted to play soccer with Nathan and Carl. But they wouldn’t let me because I play too rough. I said it wasn’t fair. Nathan told me to go away. I got mad and then I hit him. I got sent to the principal’s office. You know Principal Sleno, right? She asks me questions that I don’t know the answers to. She says things like, “Why are you like a volcano, always ready to erupt?” or, "What are we going to do about your temper, Tristan?"
Then, my mom took me to a place called SNAP. It's kind of like school but not really. We played games. They say that I should stop before I act out, like pushing the pause button on a video game. I met other kids. Some of them were ok. We learned how to be less like volcanos.
I think my mom went to SNAP too. Now she doesn’t get as mad at me. She even learned how to push pause, even though I’ve never seen her play a video game. Back at school it was different. Ms. Parmar noticed I was trying hard. One day, she asked me to help with the hamster cage! I was super careful and quiet. It was awesome.
At recess, I get to play soccer with Nathan and Carl! Even the girls let me play tag with them too! Principal Sleno smiles when she sees me. I don't go to her office much these days. She hasn’t asked me why I was like a volcano for a long time.
I learned lots of things. Like, if you feel like a volcano about to erupt, just stop and then decide what to do. My mom says that you can benefit from the things I learned at SNAP. Benefit is another big word. It’s kind of like getting extra bonuses in a video game. Mom said you can use them when you get to grade 2. I don’t get it but my mom’s pretty smart so I guess she knows what she’s talking about.
