Supporting the Behaviour of Individuals with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder

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Supporting the Behaviour of Individuals with an
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
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Overnight changes in your childrens behaviour
are not likely.After all it took a long time for
them to get where they are.

• 100 WAYS TO ENHANCE SELF CONCEPT IN
• THE CLASSROOM.
• Canfield, J. and Wells, H. 1976 Prentice Hall.

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Whos Problem?

• The problem is often seen to be the individual
  with autism
• Hes a runner,
• Hes a kicker
• Shes aggressive
• We can be part of the problem

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• We Are Part of The Problem
• People everywhere,
• Talking, wearing bright colours.
• The talking is like the pounding of horses
  hooves.
• The bright colours are blinding,
• The talking hurts my ears,
• The bright colours hurt my eyes.
• Oh why cant people be quiet and wear dull
  colours.
• (Dianne Mear 1994)

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Our Attitudes and Beliefs

• He knows what hes doing you know
• He only does it for attention
• Its his autism
• He does it for no reason
• Only people with autism have challenging
  behaviour
• Its all our fault we should have.
• If he was mine
• He does that all the time (Getting things out of
  proportion)

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Ways Forward attitudes and Beliefs

• Developing an understanding of the impact of
  autism upon behaviour
• Develop an Understanding of the function of the
  behaviour
• A commitment to involving the individual in
  decisions and choices concerning them
• Valuing them and their contribution to our shared
  lives
• Recognising the possibilities
• Escaping from the blame culture

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Taking Responsibility for Our Own Behaviour

• Try to stay calm
• Dont make things worse by your behaviour
• Assess and keep assessing
• Dont apportion blame during times of difficult
  behaviour.
• Be aware of what you are trying to achieve
• Keep the communication simple
• Be aware of your body language
• Try to be aware of your environment and your
  position in it.
• Monitor the individuals levels of arousal

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Behaviours that Cause Concern

• Hitting, kicking biting etc
• Throwing objects
• Not staying on task
• Swearing
• Running around the classroom
• Disrupting the learning of others
• Causes harm to the child

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Behaviours that Cause Concern

• Causes harm to the individual or others
• Impedes the individuals learning and development
• Contrary to social norms
• Challenges family
• Challenges service
• Restricts access to the community
• Behaviour inappropriate to persons age and
  development

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Understanding how Autism Can Impact upon
Behaviour Triad of Impairments
Communication impairments
Impairment of social interaction
Sensory processing
Flexibility of thought and behaviour
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Difficulties Understanding and Making Sense of
their World

• Sensory differences impacting upon behaviour
• Difficulties understanding and responding to
  other people
• Difficulties making sense of events and
  situations
• Difficulties understanding the rules that govern
  social interaction and public behaviour

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Ways Forward

• Developing Sensory Profiles and Sensory Support
  Programmes
• Addressing everyday sensory issues
• Social skills training and support
• Developing and using Social Stories and other
  narrative approaches
• Role play

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Individual Factors that Can Impact Upon Behaviour

• Medical issues not or inappropriately addressed
• A lack of opportunity for quality interaction and
  relationships
• Individual expression suppressed
• Strengths not recognised and built upon
• Not having the required or appropriate social
  skills
• High levels of stress and anxiety

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Individual Factors Ways Forward

• Enabling staff and others to develop
  relationships and interaction that are meaningful
  
• Teach the skills needed
• Building on strengths, interests and ability
• Enabling the individual to see themselves as
  successful
• Developing individual responses to behaviours
  that challenge

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Individual Factors Ways Forward

• Reducing demands
• Redirection
• Getting in there early to calm, meet need
• Setting limits
• First this and then
• Providing rewards for desired behaviours
• Provide safe places
• Teach relaxation
• Encourage incompatible activities
• Prioritise and dont try to solve every problem
  at once

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Individual Factors, Ways Forward Communication

• Try to identify the early indicators that all is
  not going well, or something is required
• Recognise the message in the behaviour
• Provide an effective means of communicating the
  message
• (word,sign,picture,card,gesture,recorded
  message)
• Make the more acceptable means of communicating
  more rewarding than the behaviour
• Prompt the communication

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Ways Forward (social interaction)

• Provide the child with rules around difficult
  social situations
• Provide the child with social stories
• Try cognitive picture rehearsal
• Rehearse possible difficult situations
• Provide a commentary / explanation

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Developing Interaction

• Challenging behaviour isolates, in order to
  support and change behaviour we need to establish
  relationships
• John Clements identifies three reasons
• Building tolerance for the presence of another
• Doing activities together
• Following directions

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Preventative Measures

• Support transitions
• Build in breaks in between activities
• Provide a safe place to retreat to
• Ensure that the individuals knows ,
• Where they are supposed to be
• What they should be doing
• Who they are with
• How they are supposed to do it
• When the activity is coming to an end
• What they are supposed to do next

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Programme Factors that can Support Children with
Their Behaviour

• Programmes that-
• - Have a balance of activities e.g. physical,
  educational, social and community
• - Are designed together with the individual
• - Are possible to implement and manage
• Activities that-
• - Are of interest to the individual and have
  meaning
• - Are of the right length/duration for the
  individual
• - Take into account, existing skills and
  emerging skills
• - Build on strengths while addressing needs
• - Have outcomes which are meaningful to the
  individual
• - Involve individuals in their own learning

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MANAGEMENT OF FEAR OR PANIC

• Reassurance should be given.
• Give opportunities to calm down.
• Dont criticise or threaten.
• Redirect away from the stimuli.
• Give them a task to do.
• Use ear plugs/headphones/Walkman/play music.
• Allow them to use their own means of blocking out
  unpleasant situations.
• Implement a programme to desensitise.

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The following quotation illustrates why there is
a determination to create order(Jolliffe et al
1992)

• Reality to an autistic person is a confusing,
• interacting mass of events, people, places,
  sounds
• and sights. There seem to be no clear
• boundaries, order or meaning to anything.
• A large part of my life is spent just trying to
• work out the pattern behind everything. Set
• routines, times, particular routes and rituals
  all
• help to get order into an unbearable chaotic
  life.
• (p.16)

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My Greatest Fear is Myself

• My greatest fear is myself.
• Control is not absolute a constant struggle to
  maintain it drains my
• strength.
• I am always tired I never get enough sleep.
• Events beyond my control happen around me I do
  things that scare me.
• If Im confused or angry or tired, I slip up and
  my body takes over.
• Watching your life like a void is scary. It
  takes an effort of will to take
• control again and not just let it happen.
• Im afraid of what I feel. Emotion weakens my
  control, making its grip
• easier to break.
• When I think I sometimes think of letting go,
  just letting it all slip away.
• It hurts fighting it all the time. I just want
  peace and rest.
• (Daniel Woodhouse)

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• One foot in and one foot out
• is what Aspergers all about.
• Sometimes I think why me
• other times I think its the best way to be.
• A little different from the rest
• makes you think your second best.
• Nobody quite understanding
• a hard life which is very demanding.
• I look like any other child
• but things just make me wild.
• (Vanessa Royal)

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