Hi,
I am a first-time user here, but I was hoping to get some advice. I am working with an 8-year-old student who darts from his classroom to other classrooms and we are afraid that he may attempt to dart out of the building since his classroom is only two doors away from the outside door. He has limited verbal abilities and this is his first year receiving autism-specific interventions. Our issue is that this is a very serious behavior and we have no known reinforcers that are strong enough to eliminate the behavior. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Call an IEP meeting IMMEDIATELY and get him a one-on-one aide. This is a safety issue and the school district will definitely find an aide cheaper than a lawsuit over losing a child (it has happened).He is currently in a class with 5 students, a teacher, and an aide. I don't think they are going to provide any more staff, unfortunately.
Then there has to be SOMEONE who is assigned only to him. If I were in your shoes, I would write a letter to the school district administration and tell them that you will hold them totally responsible for anything that happens to your son should he wander. Make it CLEAR that this is a safety issue. There doesn't need to be anymore staff assigned to the class, but because of the possibility of danger, ONE staff member needs to be no further from your son than arm's length at all times. At the same time, there needs to be a positive behavior plan put in place in the IEP and following EXACTLY by all staff that focuses on "elopment," which is the special ed word for running off.So, while you are pleading with your superiors who have no idea what it is like to do your job on a daily basis, and while you conduct your FBA because you have so much free time and free hands for observing, perhaps a safety door knob will help.
You will need to find out why he is darting. Is it because he wants to get somewhere, is it because he wants to get attention from the adult or is he trying to get something? Each of those reasons will provide you with a different response or strategy. Most often, however, the best response is to get him, but provide no verbal comments or verbal reinforcement for running way. Guide him back to the activity at hand and act as if nothing happened. Sometimes, after a child darts, he/she may lay down in the floor. When that happened, I tended to wait it out and hold their hand and kneel down on the floor next to them until they got up. I would be sure not to say anything to them or look at them or let others in the hall talk to them. That took the fun out of it for the students. howeverm be careful, if the running is because he/she wants to escape a task, then you can not wait them out, you will have to take them back to the activity to finish it.