Managing behavior of Students with Autism

[Norah Hooper]

See what you think of these tips from a person with autism herself:

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/04/14/behavior-questions-answer...

[Bill Wilson]

This was very interesting to read but I like the advice she gave to the mother of the 40-year-old. I hardly ever hear advice or stories about adults or even adults over the age of thirty that have autism, usually it is about small children or high school aged students. I wonder if this guy has any friends to talk with about his anger management and counseling. This seems like a very difficult situation for the mother who has raised this man since she was 22. I cannot imagine what she will have to endure in the next twenty years when she will need someone to help take care of her and plus who will be able to take care of him. I would like to know more about this family, especially him. I wonder if the mother could do a reward system (like the student who goes home after a temper tantrum) with her son to get him into the counseling sessions. She sounds like she is desperate to find help dealing with her son so I do not see why she couldn’t try this option. Maybe this is easier said than done.

[Dr. Myers]

I enjoyed reading your response Bill. It is amazing to think that our transition planning processes were practically non-existent at the time that this 40 year old was in school. I hope that we are doing a better job of informing parents and providing support to them now. One way we do this at the high school level is connecting parents to DRS and giving them options for group homes, casemanagers, etc. This individual should probably have been connected with an agency for years, providing the family with respite, job coaching and information on how families can get their children involved in day programs, group homes, or even independent living programs! You raise a very valid point about rewards. Yes, adult programs and group homes use reward systems to improve behavior, and these strategies can be very easily taught to families as well!

Bill Wilson said:

This was very interesting to read but I like the advice she gave to the mother of the 40-year-old. I hardly ever hear advice or stories about adults or even adults over the age of thirty that have autism, usually it is about small children or high school aged students. I wonder if this guy has any friends to talk with about his anger management and counseling. This seems like a very difficult situation for the mother who has raised this man since she was 22. I cannot imagine what she will have to endure in the next twenty years when she will need someone to help take care of her and plus who will be able to take care of him. I would like to know more about this family, especially him. I wonder if the mother could do a reward system (like the student who goes home after a temper tantrum) with her son to get him into the counseling sessions. She sounds like she is desperate to find help dealing with her son so I do not see why she couldn’t try this option. Maybe this is easier said than done.

[CS]

Hello,

sight was down, but I will check back later

[CS]

Hello again,

I felt the idea of a quiet room and the idea of getting the parents on track with the school in regards to how to handle a melt down were right on task. After working with different types of autism from mild to severe, the one thing they seem to have in common is anger management problems. Having a quiet, semi-private place to cool down would be ideal, hopefully it is possible to find such a place in the school that that was suggested to.

I was especially interested in the remark that people with autism tend to be disconnected from their feelings, resulting in their not wanting to talk about them. There is a student at my school who definately fits this profile, yet his parents will not let us assess him for autism ( he shows other signs too). He is in the special education system but his disability is listed as very high functioning MR (we have not updated to ID yet).

The suggestion that the student be provided with a list of words to describe the emotion or feelings that he can look over and decide which one best describes him at that moment seems like one that would work for this young man. I would like to find a way for him to let us know both what he is going through and be secure that we understand what he means. Having a list of key words, or with younger kids I have heard of using faces, that all people involved would be able to easily understand sounds like a good idea. Not only could the counselors and I use it, but his other general education teachers could use it too.

May I forward this article to my school?

[CS]

I could not tell by the article - was this gentleman living on his own or with his mother? If he is living on his own I would think this would make him fairly independent of his mother and unwilling to respond to a rewards system?

But if he is living with his mother, than I agree, an award system might work well.

Bill Wilson said:

This was very interesting to read but I like the advice she gave to the mother of the 40-year-old. I hardly ever hear advice or stories about adults or even adults over the age of thirty that have autism, usually it is about small children or high school aged students. I wonder if this guy has any friends to talk with about his anger management and counseling. This seems like a very difficult situation for the mother who has raised this man since she was 22. I cannot imagine what she will have to endure in the next twenty years when she will need someone to help take care of her and plus who will be able to take care of him. I would like to know more about this family, especially him. I wonder if the mother could do a reward system (like the student who goes home after a temper tantrum) with her son to get him into the counseling sessions. She sounds like she is desperate to find help dealing with her son so I do not see why she couldn’t try this option. Maybe this is easier said than done.

[Lydia]

The first question in the article about sending students with autism home after/during behaviors, is similar to the experiences that several of my students' parents have had in the past. When parents find out that students will not be able to avoid tasks by engaging in maladaptive behaviors by being sent home, they are relieved. While, with any bad habit that has been reinforced in the past, this behavior takes time to be replaced with adaptive behaviors, students with Autism eventually understand that having a "melt down" doesn't mean they get to leave and go home.

Another point that was interesting was being consistent with consequences. Just like having a consistent schedule with students with Autism is important, keeping consequences consistent is important to decreasing behaviors.

[Casey Nice]

I liked the tip about using a points system for helping deal with tantrums. By utilizing this technique, the tantrum is not the only behavior that is recognized; positive behaviors are also being rewarded. Without any positive behavioral supports, the tantrums are most probably going to continue.

[Kendra Bockenstedt]

I enjoyed this article because it doesn't only address dealing with students with autism. Many of the strategies that she discusses can be used on students with emotional disabilities as well students without disabilities. I specifically enjoyed her comment, "Hitting is never autism." I liked the variety of questions and age groups addressed. A lot of questions parents have is what to do after school for their children with autism. (Which of course is one of the reasons for the UMW brown bag dinner series!) On the surface this article seems to be very reliable to me because it's written by someone with autism... who better than to answer questions than someone with the disability? Again, a lot of her advice is useful for students without autism. I think so many times we think that we need to reinvent the wheel when dealing with students with disabilities instead of using what has worked in the past.

[Elizabeth F. Mark]

I agree with her tips, especially regarding how students will try their hardest to manipulate and get their way... by throwing tantrums, open defiance, or showing aggressive behaviors. Be consistent!! Let them know right away what is going to happen if they continue, and do not give in to what they are wanting. We have several students at our school that have autism... and manipulation is definitely part of the package! We had one student who refused to do work and cried for an entire day- he wanted his mom to come get him. In the end, we were able to get him to leave, and he made a good choice.

[Amanda Perdue]

I also enjoyed this article. I have one autistic student, and he can be a handful! His anger management is certainly a weakness. The other students in class often pick on him and giggle about his "eruptions" in class. I understand that it's good to send them to a quiet place to calm down, but I have few options for this. I could send him to the ISS room, but that is punishment. I could send him to Mrs. B, but that would be a reward. Where is the happy medium? Also, for a student with poor anger management due to autism, will the token system work? For a student who's very impulsive, it seems as though they cannot help themselves from reacting and then thinking, not the other way around. Any ideas/advice would be wonderful!