Building Rapport

Building rapport is essentially establishing a connection with someone which lays the foundations for a good and trusting relationship. Building rapport is generally a naturally occurring event between adults but it tends to be more challenging when it comes to building rapport with a child. When you build good rapport with a child you find common ground with them and this creates a mutual understanding between you and the child that you have their best interest at heart and they tend to be more open and trusting towards you. Once good rapport is built, a child tends to open up easier and this makes it easier for you to get to know them. Having established a good relationship makes working with a child easier since you are not seen as an intimidating authority figure but as an equal who is willing engage with them on their level. When you build rapport with a child it makes them feel heard and understood and it eliminates the notion that children are meant to be heard and not seen, which facilitates mutual respect and understanding. This creates an environment where the child feels free to express themselves, and can learn and grow.

When you build rapport with a child, you focus on what they are interested in and you use that as a starting point for discussions or play. You have to be able to identify what their likes and dislikes are, what they gravitate towards and the pace at which they engage. Once you have established this, you enthusiastically interact with them based on what they want to do, at the pace they want to do it.
A simple example of this would be if you first meet a child and you see they gravitate towards the trampoline then you go jump on the trampoline with them. If they speak to you, you reciprocate by staying on the topic they choose and showing genuine interest.

Having built rapport also works in your favour when you need to deal with challenging behaviour. Children are more responsive to consequences given by people whose positive attention is important to them, and they learn pro-social behaviours to replace challenging behaviours more quickly from these people.

At Applied Behaviour Solutions we believe that building rapport with our kids is essential in giving them the help and support that they need and deserve. We have found that having a good relationship with our kids is vital when it comes to teaching them the skills they need to reach their full potential.