Elizabeth Ives Field, CCC-SLP Autism Spectrum Consultant

250 Main St #405Hudson, MA, 01749

207-852-1835betseyfield@gmail.com

Autism Spectrum Disorders And Classroom Discipline

Students with autism spectrum disorders have a greater than average need for structure, rules and education about what behavior is acceptable in school. They are not biologically equipped to “figure out” social expectations. This social deficit is a major condition required for the diagnosis. These students are far less likely to watch and copy the appropriate, but subtle, behaviors of peers although they may readily imitate the less desirable but more visually obvious actions of classmates.

The child with autism is not always responsive to the authority given to teachers and principals, or to the group pressure exerted by peers, ("Be good so we can earn the marbles and have pizza"). Although group rewards may be effective for some, for other children they may increase anxiety and confusion, leading to additional behavioral problems. If fairly compliant, or concerned about having playmates, he or she may be easily directed by classmates to do silly or otherwise inappropriate acts.

Because children with autism have great difficulty seeing the emotional perspective of others (or even understanding and expressing their own), they are rarely deterred by avoiding embarrassment, may not value compromise, and often have an innate “need” to have their own desires met immediately. This tendency toward self-centeredness is not the result of being “spoiled”, but is an integral part of the disorder. It does, however, need to be shaped and modified if the child is going to have success in society.

If the child also has significant sensory issues such as avoiding and/or seeking sounds, smells, touch and tastes, has a high level of inattentiveness and physical activity, has no previous experience with being structured, or has learned to fight against being controlled, classroom behavior concerns will probably be greater.

Children with autism spectrum disorders usually need individualized programs for education, behavior management and social development, ideally developed by teams of people who know them well. These suggestions are based on some general, common issues and will hopefully serve as a guideline to development of plans for individual children.

Maybe this child will be able to follow the typical classroom discipline procedures so, until experience dictates otherwise, try first the methods you use with other children. These will have the best chance of success if they are clear, simple, applied calmly and based on facts and actions rather than on more abstract behaviors such

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as “being on task” and “paying attention”. Some examples of classroom consequences that might be effective with autistic students might be that " Children who:

Wriggle and talk at circle time, go sit at their desks Don’t finish a paper, stay in and do it at recessMisuse materials, must put them awayPush on the playground, go stand by the wall Show specific, listed, positive behaviors, earn stickers or tokens toward a rewardBreak set rules, lose a token or get a demeritGet three warnings, must take a note home, stay after school," etc.

When the student with autism can follow the classroom plan and conform, everyone benefits. He learns to comply with the expectations of society, other children see him as being like them, and teachers have fewer plans to juggle and more time to teach. However, there are a number of reasons why classroom plans often don’t work for students on the autism spectrum, including:

He doesn’t really understand the system so he accepts the consequence but continues to repeat the behavior or fails to recognize that very similar behaviors are equally unacceptable. This is true even for children who can easily recite the rules on request.

He becomes anxious and won’t ever use the removed items again, or talks, fusses and argues incessantly about the warning or consequence or initiates frequent conversations about “What will happen if I…

Sometimes the consequence may actually be rewarding. She may prefer to stay in from recess or to sit away from the group.

She may accept the rule and apply it literally to control situations to her advantage, such as dropping unwanted food on the floor because “You can’t eat food that has been on the floor” or putting her mittens under the faucet because “You can’t go out to recess if your mittens are wet”. Although these may be seen as “manipulative” because the child is trying to accomplish a specific purpose, it is quite likely that she doesn’t see it as “wrong”. Likewise, she may not see that her echoing the teacher during group lessons, blurting out answers or talking about her current interest in the midst of a class discussion on another topic is different from the conversation of her more socially aware classmates. Or her egocentric intensity may lead her to believe that she should be able to speak whenever she wants.

Another child may become so upset about the idea of being scolded, punished, (“wrong”; losing; things not going according to plan) that his increased anxiety leads to emotional meltdowns, development of more rituals and compulsions or school refusal (Too “sick” or “tired” to work or even to come to/stay at school). These behaviors are also common among children on the autism spectrum who are overwhelmed by the academic expectations and have become unable to keep up in one or more subjects. The

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child who does well in a science class with many hands-on projects, or in math because it is a strength for him, or in French because it is starting with vocabulary that can be memorized, may appear not to be trying or may become disruptive in English because he can’t organize ideas to write, has poor motor skills for writing or can’t readily comprehend the novel he’s supposed to read.

At best, even the child who accepts and follows classroom rules will probably have difficulty generalizing them to similar situations or may rigidly over generalize rules like “Never speak without raising your hand” to doing so even in a brainstorming session or small group discussion.

Discipline is teaching. The goal is for the child to learn appropriate behaviors so he can function more effectively and harmoniously in society. For these children with severe deficits in social understanding, an individual plan will be needed, even in those occasional cases where the plan is simply, “We have considered the issues and have decided that the regular classroom discipline plans will work for this child.”

More often however, the child with an autism spectrum disorder will need aids and accommodations to fit smoothly into a classroom situation. Some of the aids and accommodations and individualized techniques that I’ve found to be helpful include:

Visual schedules to provide predictability and reassurance( I know what is coming next, what has been changed just for today, and if I get anxious I can look at my schedule and check what’s coming next), accountability (we need to do it because it is on the schedule) and evidence of progress through the day (I’ve accomplished the things that are removed or crossed off and have five more things to do before the bus comes).

Clearly stated, literally worded, specific rules of behavior (Walk in the halls; Never hit, push kick or bite another person; Look at the teacher when the lights blink;) These students often are baffled by rules like “Pay attention when the teacher is talking”,(Paying is something you do with money) “Respect others”(What does respect mean?) and “Keep your hands to yourself”(I always keep them to myself; they’re attached to my arms).

Individualized educational plans that are appropriate to the child’s developmental level, not chronological age, and that are based on educational progress and individual productivity not on how long he can stay with the group or a subjective assessment of his time on task.

Extrinsic motivation to do things that he doesn’t understand, can’t agree with or is uninterested in. This means reward systems are often needed as these children tend to have small exclusive and obsessive areas of interest, may not be organized enough to have clear goals and often are not motivated by social approval or avoidance of embarrassment. Praise is often reinforcing but it needs to be frequent, specific and genuine. Occasional students are distressed by praise, perhaps from mixed messages that have confused them (sarcasm; startlingly excited praise; implications that surely they can

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do more if they could do this) or because praise has often followed something that they found difficult and stressful.

Sensory accommodations such as a small room in which to do some of her work, an air cushion to sit on or a cloth tunnel to retreat into, swings, scooter boards and trampolines, walks, errands carrying heavy objects, small items to fidget with in circle time, chewing gum, water bottles, lotion, headphones to block out noise, etc.

Social stories to explain situations that come up frequently such as fire drills, lining up without having to be first, dealing with substitutes and schedule changes.Contracts for working on specific behaviors in which the student is rewarded for inhibiting a particular undesirable action or developing a positive one. Example: No pushing at recess = a token and 5 tokens = 15 minutes of free computer time. Ten minutes sitting upright in circle time (or starting a paper without prompting) = a token and 3 tokens = a brief swinging break.

Lots of other things may need to happen too, around crisis intervention and routine issues. These are just a few that come up often.

The main things to remember are that you are trying to decrease anxiety and confusion, increase productive work and appropriate social behavior, increase sustained independence and decrease prompt dependency and help this child eventually become a safe, healthy, happy and productive member of a society that is very confusing to him.

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