Help With An Asd Child

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

 

I have 3 children in my Reception class with ASD (we keep being recommended by the Ed Psychs) and we've just had some training by the LEA which was fantastic. However, I'm really struggling with one child in particular.

 

A bit of background. This child attended nursery in another school and was very badly treated by them he was never allowed in the class or to mix with the other children. He couldn't use many of their resources and was placed in the corridor with an untrained dinner lady almost constantly. If there was an incident he was sent home, usually before 10.30am.

 

He's a lovely little boy and has very supportive parents, however, he now has several learnt behaviours in addition to his ASD and it's these I'm finding difficult.

 

I think he now believes that if his behaviour is bad enough, he will be sent home.

 

Basically this is what happened Friday, (sorry it's long)

 

After snack, C’s mood changed suddenly when I began the story and he began waving and making noises before eventually jumping up and down and laughing, looking as though he was trying the get the attention of me and the other children. I asked the other children to turn away from C and look at me when I was reading the story.

 

When continuing with the story became impossible over the noise he was making, I asked him to sit down and he began running around the carpet area and slapped three children across the back, causing two of them to cry.

 

I told C to sit down in the reading area (where he usually sits to calm down) and he lay on the floor kicking and screaming. I then kneeled down near to C and said, “C, come to me” holding out my arms to him. He initially complied and I was able to lead him towards the reading area. Just as he was about to sit down he scrammed my arms and attempted to bite my hand. I ignored this and returned the carpet area.

 

As soon as I sat down C picked up a chair and threw it towards the fire door. He immediately picked up another chair and lifted it up high, aiming it towards the carpet. I said loudly, something to the effect of “C, put the chair down. Chair down” and walked towards him. C smiled and laughed and it seemed to me he was going to throw the chair towards the children on the carpet. I then stepped between the children and C; he then lifted the chair high near his head and threw it at me. I then said “No C, sit down.” He did sit down at this point and began crying loudly and repeating, “C throw chair” and seemed distressed.

 

Most of the other children in the class were also quite distressed and I was really shaken by it. As much as I'm for inclusion, I am concerned for the safety of him, the other children and actually the staff.

 

I spoke to the headteacher about this and she said "that's the way it is" which to be honest wasn't very helpful!

 

Any advice would be great!

[finleysmaid]

oh dear this is very difficult for all concerned. What help is already in place for him? does he get 1to 1 assistance for any part of the day/week. Is he statemented?

Was he warned about the story time (is this a difficult time for him usually?) ...do you have things like visual timetables in place. You may need to reinforce the fact that this sort of behaviour is not allowed/makes you sad/makes others sad and will not result in him being sent home!! one of the things we often teach the other children is to stand up for themselves ...so to look at the child in question and shout loudly NO (we add the makaton sign to this too)...but this depends on the child and wether the word NO is acceptable...sorry rather a lot of questions there!

[Guest]

Thank finleysmaid for your response,

 

I used the technique of children shouting no last year with my last class, hadn't thought of it this year, will be doing that tomorrow.

 

He does have support for 15 hours, just the mornings and we have just applied for more.

 

We have a visual timetable and I think it does help.

 

Story time isn't usually any more difficult than any other time, we had PE for the first time that day though and he had found that really exciting so I don't know if he was overwhelmed after that.

[finleysmaid]

does he have a motivating factor? (like cars or trains) can you use this to negotiate doing a 'first this then that' type system? so first sit still for story then cars...so that he gets a reward for being 'good' /or a large sand timer for good waiting. ...why do you think he created such a fuss was it the story that he didnt like /the stopping what he was doing or the fact he had to sit with the others. ...so difficult to get to the bottom of things like this sometimes,if it happens again why not try and implement an ABC chart to try and work out what the starting point is.

[Guest]

He has a few, Peppa Pig and balls mainly, he also loves the home corner.

 

Haven't tried a timer - that's a great idea.

 

Can't work out what is was that triggered it, I think he finds snack time fairly stressful, we don't give him a choice now because he can't cope with it and we give him his own cup - that seems to help.

 

I think he wants to be involved with the other children and just doesn't really know how.

[finleysmaid]

i have had a few little chaps who need a 'fiddle' item for quiet times ...can you give him a small peppa pig item to keep him quiet during story time...dont worry about him not listening ....but if you can get him to behave in a more acceptable way within the group this helps. Also if possible perhaps try to do some ball games 1-1 then 1-2 then small group to try and get him working with others. he will want to make friends but need support before he drives them all away!

[Upsy Daisy]

There are a few things which come to mind when reading your description.

 

Firstly, in addition to a visual timetable, you may need to tell him before an activity what will be happening and what will be expected of him. You could show him the book beforehand, use one which is familiar to him if possible for a while and let him know how long it will take.

 

This is also the time to give him an opportunity to tell you if there is something which he might find difficult. Once his anxiety levels have gone up he may very well not know himself what the problem is or he may not be able to put it into words. If you want to talk an incident like this through with him to find out what triggered it you need to wait for at least an hour. Then it must be at a time when he is feeling the most calm and relaxed he can in school. Talking to him when he's kicking off is probably pointless because he won't be able to process thought or language properly when he's anxious.

 

Have you done a sensory audit of the space you use for story time? There may be a sound or smell which is distressing him or perhaps it could be other children being close enough to touch him. Could you try giving him a hoop to sit in or a beanbag to sit on to give him some better defined personal space? Could it be the texture or colour of the carpet?

 

Fiddles could help as suggested above. If he doesn't put things in his mouth you could allow him to hold a piece of white-tack, a string of small paper clips, a few pieces of Tangle or you can buy sensory fiddles and chewy toys online which might help him.

 

When you're speaking to him try to make your language very clear and direct without niceties ("Chair down" was perfect) and use his name at the beginning of every sentence so he knows you are speaking to him. If you use this all the time it may help him to be less anxious generally.

 

If he is sensitive to noise, teaching other children to shout at him may be counter-productive. I use the word STOP clearly and calmly while putting out the flat of my hand to reinforce the instruction. Perhaps the other children could be taught to do this?

 

Maybe you change the time of storytime so it doesn't immediately follow snack time. If he finds them both stressful perhaps he needs something lass demanding in between to reduce his anxiety.

 

It may also help to meet his parent and get a really good picture of what he finds difficult or stressful at home and what they do to make life easier. They may not realise how many small adjustments they make until they really think about it with you. Working with them is probably the best way to figure out how to help him.

 

He needs to learn that he won't be sent home and that may take a while. Like finleysmaid I wonder if perhaps you and his parents should tell him that clearly too. He also needs to learn that actions have consequences so make sure he understands the impact of his actions on the other children, is asked to make amends/tidy up later when he is feeling calm. This should be done in a constructive way and not as a punishment. If he's been distressed and communicated the only way he knew how at the time then punishing him won't help.

 

Don't place too much importance on his facial expressions. He may not be aware that smiling is inappropriate or he may be unaware that he is doing it.

 

Hopefully your calm, consistent approach will eventually help him to feel safe in your classroom and this behaviour will decrease.

[klc106]

Great advice given already. I just wanted to add that we had a child with ASD last year who sometimes found it difficult to sit for story/circle time. We gave him his own square carpet mat and allowed him to sit on that each time we sat down as a group e.g. assembly, register, story time. It really seemed to work, he actually became very possesive over it and others were not allowed to sit on it.

[Guest]

Do you have visual aids to show what you expect of the children's behaviour at storytime (ie: legs crossed, eyes looking, ears listening, hands still etc)? Then you can refer to them to show what your expectations are.

 

You could set up his own reward system. I once had a little boy with autism who loved Thomas the tank engine, so we made him his own chart to collect little Thomas's on and when he had received the right amount (this started small and increased over the year) he was able to access his 'Thomas treat' box which we had Thomas books and puzzles and games in. You could base yours on Peppa pig, his parents may have Peppa pig themed things at home that you could use for the 'treat'.

 

We also had a specific piece of carpet (different to the one we used for sitting on the carpet) that was brought out for him to sit on when he needed space to calm down, instead of using an area of the classroom. That way there were no negative feelings attached to any area of the room. We didn't keep it out all the time, we just brought it out when it was needed and placed it somewhere where he couldn't hurt himself if he rolled around.

[Guest]

Thanks all some great advice.

 

Already doing the very simple commands without the niceties and always address him by his full name. He does also have a "spot" for sitting on, placed a short distance away from the other children and we do also encourage him to use the reading area carpet (which is well away from everyone else) when he is stressed out because this does usually calm him down.

 

He does have a bit of a fascination with the carpet and likes to take his shoes and socks off sometimes and feels it with his bare feet.

 

We do have visual aids for behaviour on the carpet an display as someone mentioned. To be honest I'm not in the least bit bothered at the moment about him listening, just learning to sit down somewhere relatively quietly is what we're working on at the moment.

 

Will definitely have a chat to the parents and see if they can shed some light on the situation, it's the first time where it has not been clear what caused him to become stressed.

 

He has been a bit better today. The Senco seems to think there is a lot more going on here and is concerned about his aggression in particular.

[Upsy Daisy]

Just another thought.

 

A small tent/den/beanbag and blanket to hide in or under could help him to calm down and cope. That physical barrier between him and the wider environment could give him a low-sensory input place to calm himself and reset his mood.

[Guest]

He does have a blackout tent but it only fits in the corridor he uses it sometimes.

 

It's been a terrible day today, he's just spent all day running around hitting, kicking children etc. he tipped a whole water bottle filled with water over another child's head.

 

The other ASD child can't cope with it either everytime C acts up T just rocks on the spot, with his hands over his ears making noises, devastating because he had improved so much in his nursery year.

 

Most of the children are frightened of C now, neither me the other staff, his 1-to-1, the SENCO or now even his support ASD specialist teacher can do a thing with him and he's being assessed again because we fear there's a lot more going on with him, he seems really disturbed. Haven't ever met a child like him. I've completely run out of ideas to try to help him.

[Guest]

Hi, you've had lots of good advice and it sounds like you're already doing a lot of the recommended things. My class are all autistic and we use lots of the strategies already mentioned. I just have a few questions before I suggest anything else...

Does he have his own individual visual timetable or does the whole class share one?

How is his communication? Does he speak/ sign?

Do you know about workstations? and have you tried one?

Do you have a specialist support school nearby? The school where I work in manchester is one and we have a cluster of about 50 mainstream schools in the area that we support. The most common things we do are to go into the school and observe the child, then have a chat with the teacher, giving tips and ideas about strategies and resources. Next the teacher often comes to visit our school in order to see the strategies and resources in action and then has a meeting with our outreach coordinator who will help them to make the resources they want to take back with them. We sometimes do follow up visits but this isn't usually needed. your SENCO should know if there is a support school near you.

[suebear]

Hi a few years back I had a class with three similar children. PE was always a stress point and one child used to hide under my chair at story afterwards. We used a social story book that had photos and talked through the different stages of PE getting changed etc and that helped. He never came to assembly as it was felt the time wasn't of benefit to him so this time was used to read the book, go through routines and timetables of the day etc.

 

One boy also would throw things and hurt others when upset and it was hard making sure you put the safety of others first. At times I used to ask another teacher for the loan of their TA and I even took them outside for an extra playtime just to diffuse the situation. Short term solutions I know but it gave me time to ensure the others were safe and I could focus on calming the child down without adding to the distress of the class as a whole.

 

It's hard but keep a good relationship with parents and you'll look back at the year be surprised by how much progress you do make.

Good luck and remember to come back to the forum if you need us x

[Guest]

He has a few, Peppa Pig and balls mainly, he also loves the home corner.

 

Haven't tried a timer - that's a great idea.

 

Can't work out what is was that triggered it, I think he finds snack time fairly stressful, we don't give him a choice now because he can't cope with it and we give him his own cup - that seems to help.

 

I think he wants to be involved with the other children and just doesn't really know how.

 

You can get autism timers which countdown visually as soon as th red has gone time is up

[Guest]

Poor you, I had 3 with ASD last year in reception and very often had experiences like yours. All 3 of our children had 1-1 support and one particular child who was our most severe only came to school for the mornings when he was supported, the other 2 managed without support in the afternoons. One thing I would say is that we never expected J to come to the carpet for story time it was far beyond him to be able to sit on the carpet for longer than 1 minute and he found the whole experience of sitting with the other children far too traumatic. One of the traits of ASD is that they often simply do not see why they have to do what is asked of them and often have little or no desire to please anyoneif it takes them away from their own interests and agendas. We put into place for J a personal visual timetable and a tray system for learning as advised by our local special school whereby he had to do 5 minutes of activity for us in exchange for 5 minutes of his choice (usually gazing at lightbulbs in catalogues or on the internet) His target of coming to the carpet for register and sitting quietly for 2 minutes was only achieved in the summer term (I am in reception) We are lucky in that we have a large classroom space so J could be otherwise engaged while the rest of the class had story and he would be listening and talking to his TA about it but he was not able to sit quietly and listen like the others were- the closeness of the other children was too much for him. The other thing about ASD this that they are often overstimulated by noise and colour and movement which is at odds with how we are meant to have our classrooms-full of colour!, busy and often noisy. It could be that the business of the children getting their drinks/snacks and then story is just too much stimulation. As others have said you need to find him a space to block everything out.

From what you have said about his aggressiveness to other children at times you need to have a risk assessment in place and you and your school need to think carefully about the needs of the rest of the class after all you have a duty to keep them safe from harm and injury so you need strategies in place to remove him from the situation if he is going to hit others.

We had tremendous support from our local special school who put on training for us and also did an outreach programme where the 3 children could go with their TAs one morning a week (very interesting to see a special school compared to a mainstream as the displays are very muted and the decorations around the school very bland which has a really calming effect) which gave the rest of the class a much needed break (these 3 had such an impact on the class both positive (they had to learn to ignore a lot which is hard for 4 year olds and they became a very caring bunch) and negative (they had knocks and kicks from J) J is at the special school full time now.

We also had the communication and interaction team in and the behaviour support team as well as the Ed Psych.

Things will get better, children with ASD thrive on routine and once they have got that they feel more secure. Get Widget on the computer so that you can write social stories with pictures for him to read through at home for times of the day where there are trigger points. Find ways to avoid him being in the noisy melee of the class, so send him to get himself ready for lunch or hometime 5 minutes before the rest of the class. You will find out what works for him. We also had one of these for J to count down the time that he had to do something and it really helped him as it was something visual for him to focus on

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Learning-Resources...3063&sr=8-1

Good luck

Deb

[Guest]

I haven't seen anyone comment on the child's previous nursery. For a start, if the allegations are true and can be proved, then shouldn't they be reported to Ofsted? As much as I dislike Ofsted, that is what they are there for. A child should never be excluded and certainly shouldn't be left on his own with one untrained adult in a corridor!! Whoever allowed that to happen? There should be at least two adults present as the child on his own could be subjec to abuse and no-one would ever know. And there are certainly strategies to help an ASD child, so no reason why he should be taken out or sent home. The nursery failed him, and how many other children there are also being let down or subjected to such treatment? As a professional, it should be your duty to report this type of treatment and if you don't do it. the parents certainly should, if they haven't done so already. I am appalled to read that this is going on.

[Guest]

I can't report him to Ofsted as I am in Wales. I don't feel that I can speak to Estyn (our inspection body) because I have never been to the other school and all of my information is second hand. It's very difficult because I too think their treatment of him was absolutely disgusting. I have reported it to Social Services and I know that his specialist teacher who was with him at the other school did this also. I have been told by Social Services that they cannot let me know what will happen in relation to my complaint. This is also very frustrating because as you rightly point out DebbieP, this could be happening to other children.