Teacher: It is terrible… Bobby is running out of class all the time!
Me: Okay, let me see the BIP.
Teacher: Oh, it’s totally not working. (Hands me the BIP.)
Me: This BIP is for verbal outbursts.
Teacher: Oh… is that why it’s not working?
Me: *sigh*
I’m getting the crap beat out of me. Help!
So, unfortunately, this is an actual conversation that I’ve had recently. It’s hard to get up every morning and go to work when you know you are going to get hurt.
So what should you do?
Where do you even start?
The good news is you can change Behavior. The bad news is it’s going to take a little while. So, first things first, here are the four steps to changing Behavior.
It seems like such a no brainer, but when you are sitting in a classroom getting the snot smacked out of you all day long it gets hard to think things through logically. The only thing running through your head is how to make it all stop.
So let’s break down these four steps a little more.
Every year when I sat down with one of my favorite students to get ready for her IEP meeting, we had nearly the same conversation…
Me: So Katie, what do you want to do when you graduate.
Katie: I want to deliver babies.
Me: That means being a doctor. You would have to go to college for a long time to do that.
Katie: That’s okay. I like school.
Me. Katie, you can’t read and don’t like to write. It may be hard to get into medical school and graduate.
Katie: I guess so.
Me: Is there another job might like?
Katie: Yes! I want to deliver babies!
Me: *Sigh*
Me: Hi Bobby!
Bobby: Hi Mrs. Noodle.
Me: How are you today?
Bobby: I’m not touching my balls!
Me: Um? Good Job!?!
So, needless to say, this really happened.
Functional Versus Academic SkillsWe work hard with our students on academics and learning… and we also work with them on building functional and vocational skills in hopes they will be able to get and keep a job someday.
Here is the truth of the matter.
Even if they are part of the less than 10% of students with low incidence disabilities that are gainfully employed, many of them will struggle to keep a job. And the two main reasons low-incidence disability students (like Autism) cannot keep a job is because they have poor hygiene or they have poor social skills.
“My autistic student has licking habits.
She licks everything.
Everything means books, paper, plastic, the ground… all.
How should I teach her?”
-M. Basel
It can be a real challenge when students present behaviors that are extreme or that really cross the divide of what is socially acceptable.
Licking everything is one of those…
And having a student who licks everything is actually just a version of stimming behavior that’s so typical in students with autism. There’s no way for you to just expect a student with this type of behavior to suddenly stop.
Instead what you will have to do is redirect the behavior into something more acceptable and also more hygienic.
I have seen the power struggle first hand. A teacher, thinking they are doing the right thing and wanting to be in charge of a classroom, tells a kid with Autism to take their hands off their ears and work on an assignment in front of them. They students doesn’t comply. The teacher tries to coax or plead or force compliance… and they don’t succeed.
I think if teachers really thought about the answer to that question, they would address students in the classroom differently and really pick their battles.
I used to work with a boy whose Autism presented pretty severely. He was nonverbal, had a lot of repetitive behavior, including rocking, and he nearly always had his hands over his ears. When a hand was needed to do something, he would press his shoulder to his ear and use that instead. I had a new paraeducator working with me over a summer session and the first day she really insisted he put his hands down. He would do it for just seconds and then his hands would return to his shoulders. I told her to let him leave his hands there and she asked Why? Why does he do that.
Do you wonder too?
Read on!
Read More »Why Do Kids with Autism Do That?
Meaningful Materials Perfect for Students with Autism and Early Elem! Over the last month, NoodleNook has added lots of new products to our TeachersPayTeachers store…… Read More »New Meaningful Materials from NoodleNook
Station Rotations in Autism Units and LIFE Skills Station Rotations are a must for anyone in a self-contained classroom. It’s overwhelming. Do you ever sit… Read More »Station Rotations in Autism Units
Autism Resources for Teachers Meaningful materials that have been leveled for students working on prerequisite skills, like those in Autism Units and LIFE Skills, are… Read More »Autism Resources for Teachers
Echolalia- Learn strategies for your Autism classroom. What echolalia is and how to reduce it with activities to decrease repetitive speech or non-authentic communication.
