Slide 2 Moving on: from a focus on challenging behaviour to a
focus on maximising achievement for students with autism 1
[email protected] 2013 Slide 3
www.beatricebenne.com 2 [email protected] 2013
Slide 4 Bonjour et bienvenue J'espre que vous trouverez cette
prsentation intressante et que vous apprenez quelque chose d'utile
3 [email protected] 2013 Slide 5 The Paradigm
Shift Who is challenging who? On that prior slide the challenge for
many students with autism in the classroom is illustrated. When the
teacher is talking so fast (or illogically) that they are hard to
understand and the noise in the room compounds that difficulty. Did
you find my behaviour challenging or did you think it was great
that I could write a sentence in French? 4
[email protected] 2013 Slide 6 Present observed
paradigm Teacher instructs students to do a task Most students
start task Teacher repeats instructions All students except student
with autism now on task Teacher thinks the student with autism is
either work refusing or incapable of doing the work What is the
student with ASD thinking? 5 [email protected]
2013 Slide 7 What are they thinking? 6
[email protected] 2013 Slide 8 Is the child being
naughty? Yes, children on the spectrum, just like all other
children can be naughty.... However, when they are exhibiting
challenging behaviour it is important to work out if they are being
naughty or not without prejudice and to realise that their view and
the NT view may not be the same [email protected]
2013 7 Slide 9 Teacher ideas: challenging behaviour Work refusal
Inappropriate tone/use of language Inappropriate physical
interactions with peers Doing own things instead of class work The
more verbal the child the more challenging these things are viewed
as 8 [email protected] 2013 Slide 10 Teacher
ideas: Types of challenging behaviour Class work / activities
Student wont do the work Student wont ask for help when they cant
do the work Student wont join in group or class activities Student
will join in but only if they can control the group or class
Communication & Interaction Student is too loud/quiet Student
hurts others in class Student hurts others in playground Student is
impolite Student doesnt respond to adult questions 9
[email protected] 2013 Slide 11 Changing
expectations through building understanding Thinking differently
does not make anyone stupid (NT or autistic) Thinking differently
does lead to being different and understanding the world
differently Difference is valuable do you understand how to write a
computer programme to calculate safe doses of drugs? 10
[email protected] 2013 Slide 12 The teacher wasnt
being stupid...but was being completely illogical 11
[email protected] 2013 Slide 13 NT Teachers
understanding students with autism People with autism do think
differently, they are highly logical Being logical they usually
interpret the world logically, thus if you say something they think
you MEAN WHAT YOU SAY. Most NTs say this is a literal understanding
of language. Being logical they often only do things that are worth
doing. When you say they have to do something they know this is
rarely the case. 12 [email protected] 2013 Slide
14 Lack of shared meanings Does this indicate a lack of
intelligence? On whose part? I would say neither but I would say
that if a teacher knows a student is on the spectrum and chooses
not to modify their language it shows a lack of understanding of
what being on the spectrum means. 13
[email protected] 2013 Slide 15 14
[email protected] 2013 Slide 16 Examples of how to
develop shared meanings Explicitly explain phrases you commonly
use, e.g. When I say you should be ready to work, I mean you must
sit at your desk, have your pencil ready.... (use visuals to
support complex instructions like this) Mean what you say. If you
say the students have 5 minutes to do a task, mean that! Say what
you mean. If the work is not good enough, say so and say why. If
the work is a great effort, say that. Do not say both....
[email protected] 2013 15 Slide 17 (Natalia &
Gabriel, 2006) 16 [email protected] 2013 Slide 18
People with autism understand and interact with the world
differently than neurotypical people. Dont forget how they interact
with the world is normal for them. thinking, speaking, doing and
being differently 17 [email protected] 2013 Slide
19 Seeing potential and not potential problems Having autism does
not mean the student is disabled and/or violent & aggressive
The student may or may not be violent &/or aggressive at times,
and they may or may not have an intellectual disability/mental
health difficulty/learning difficulty etc However, having autism
does mean the student is a learner and has potential
[email protected] 2013 18 Slide 20 Examples of the
potential of people with autism [email protected]
2013 19 Temple Grandin, professor and cattle industry expert.
Temple did not speak as a young child being non-verbal when you
start school does not mean you will never be able to communicate
(whether orally or another way) Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of
Pokmon. As a child fixated by bugs and by computer games, Satoshi
linked these two ideas to create Pokemon and become a highly
successful part of the Nintendo corporation. Slide 21 Thats all
good but.... Tara hits people all the time... Tahu does no work in
class, but just sits there drawing cartoons for hours My answer is
why? Does Tara know any other way of interacting with people? Are
others being mean and provoking her? Can you use Tahus love of
cartoons to introduce new learning?
[email protected] 2013 20 Slide 22 Writing
Potential NT teachers think: NT teachers think young students need
to write news every day to develop their writing skills NT teachers
think handwriting practice is useful Writing skills indicate
intelligence (not all teachers think this) Problematic People with
ASDs think: There is rarely news about which to write or talk about
so what exactly are they meant to write or talk about? If I can
write why do I need to do it over and over? If I cant why do I need
to be shown that I cant over and over? Teachers are very unclear
about what they want. [email protected] 2013 21
Slide 23 [email protected] 2013 22
www.toothpastefordinner.com Slide 24 Teacher responses to my
question; why should students with autism write news? Because they
have to. Really?! Because thats what our school does every morning.
And that makes it a good idea?! So that they learn to write more
and develop more skills. And no other task would do this?! That is
one of the ways we teach lots of concepts time, past events,
sequencing etc. Cool could we vary the task so you use other ways
too? [email protected] 2013 23 Slide 25 Removing
the problem and finding the potential Teacher Be clear about why
the students need to develop their writing or other communication
skills Provide a visual checklist for the student with autism for
their writing or communication Ensure the writing (or presentation)
tasks reflect these reasons and are working towards the students
goals Student with autism Understand that improving writing (or
presentation) will help meet personal long term or short term goals
Use the checklist to ensure you complete your writing (or
presentation) tasks so that you benefit and your teacher is happy
with you Communicate with your teacher
[email protected] 2013 24 Slide 26
[email protected] 2013 25 so that mum will buy
food you like! To study geology at university Slide 27 Why students
with autism do write: Because it makes my teacher happy. Because I
like seeing the words on the paper Because I know what I am
supposed to write about and how to do it. Because I get computer
time if I write a page. Because I can write about what I am
interested in, so I write lots about Rugby stadiums when everyone
else writes about other stuff. [email protected]
2013 26 Slide 28 And why they dont: I dont like using a pen, if I
can write in pencil then I dont mind. The teacher says my writing
is wrong but I like capital letters. I dont know what I am supposed
to do. I am not interested in sea creatures. Nothing new happened.
I cant be bothered, Id rather draw.
[email protected] 2013 27 Slide 29 Going from
compliance to non- compliance In my experience this is usually
caused by a sentinel event... After my teacher refused to mark my
five page story because he said my handwriting was too small, I
never made my writing look nice again When my teacher said my story
wasnt an appropriate subject to write about I stopped writing
stories. When my teacher made me cry I refused to go to his class
ever again [email protected] 2013 28 Slide 30
Fixations of thought All these previous sentinel events caused
fixations of thought, which can present as challenging behaviour
but much more seriously these negative thoughts/reactions can often
hinder childrens achievement and success However, fixations can
also present great opportunities and be really useful to foster
achievement [email protected] 2013 29 Slide 31
Using fixations to promote achievement Introduce new concepts via
special interests Introduce new skills to interact with fixations
Facilitate leadership and teaching others to celebrate existing
knowledge [email protected] 2013 30 Slide 32
Examples Rugby stadiums art, design/technology, maths (volume,
capacity, ticket sales etc) Animals labelling pictures orally,
matching words and drawings, art, practical skills to care for
animals (brushing, feeding etc), measuring food, colours, patterns,
classifications Computers programming, art, music,
design/technology, presentations, hand-eye co-ordination, sensory
integration [email protected] 2013 31 Slide 33
IEPs to promote achievement Timely reviews of SMART goals
demonstrates the success of students with autism This ensures
teachers see these students as learners with potential This
promotes planning for achievement
[email protected] 2013 32 Slide 34 Example 3
goals; 1 from family/whanau, 1 from student, and 1 from school team
Reviewed termly Strategies to achieve goals include; differentiated
topics, resources, methods of doing and presenting tasks What goal
looks like when achieved is clearly explained and referenced back
to regularly [email protected] 2013 33 Slide 35 If
someone with autism doesnt do something they are asked is it
generally because; They are in sensory overload &/or They dont
understand what you want them to do &/or They dont know how to
do what you want them to do &/Or what you have asked them to do
is illogical and so they wont do it because it is silly Make sure
you are clear and explicit about what you want and that it is
meaningful and the purpose is easily explainable. Ensure the
learner has the tools to comply. If you think you can make them
comply think about how you can do this!
[email protected] 2013 34 Slide 36 Achievement is
fostered by: An environment that meets the sensory needs of the
student with autism A teacher who communicates clearly and
logically, explaining not just what to do, but why to do it with
high expectations for behaviour and learning (and an understanding
that meltdowns are not bad behaviour) Being able to learn new
things using interests and then being encouraged to share new
knowledge and skills and celebrate these Facilitating the making
and sustaining of friendships [email protected]
2013 35 Slide 37 For this teachers need: To understand how people
with autism think, interpret and interact with the world To use
this understanding to influence the way they communicate and teach
their students with autism To see their students with autism as
learners with huge potential (to go to university, to have jobs, to
have families etc) To have positive and constructive interactions
with their students with autism [email protected]
2013 36 Slide 38 EVERY CHILD ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM CAN ACHIEVE
[email protected] 2013 37 Daryl Hannah famous
actress Liane Holliday Wiley, author & professor TONY DeBLOIS
Professional pianist Tito Mukhopadhyay Author (non-verbal writer
who has provided insights into his world) Slide 39
[email protected] 2013 38
