Special ed teacher seeking parental inputI think everyone covered everything here but hormones. As the mom of a 13 yr old dd (NT) with the most raging set of hormones I just had to add that they could be a factor. Don't forget our spectrum kids develope just like other kids physically even when mentally and emotionally they are not ready. I post on another board where a mom of a dd had to deal wtih the monthly fact's of life with her dd. How to explain it. How to get her to use pads. When to change them. Not to stick them on the walls. As parents of boys we often forget they have these raging hormones too. We just don't have to deal with the physical each month. By the way never feel weard about posting as. As parents we love to be able to help or learn. We often feel isolated and out of touch. I try to stay involved in my son's education and therapy, but sometimes I'm an interfearence and a distraction and I had to learn when to stay in the waiting room and drink coffee when I would have really loved to sit in on my ds's, st, ot, and pt and learn more. Unfortunately he used me as a crutch to get out of doing things and I had to leave the room. Norwaymom? You are just magnificent! Great resources.Hi, Please look at www.autismhelp.info. it is truly an informative site, many benefits for both teachers and families- ( possibly pass this onto the mom) Let her know about this site and ANY other ones that may be of some assistance. www.cindysautisticsupport.com is another great site designed by a teacher. She has great info and easy to access additional info. Also, does your school have an Autism Consultant ? Or a Spec. Ed Co-op ? That may be of greater help in order to get a cont. positive program set up for the child. Is the calssroom you are in for children on the spectrum or a combined special needs classroom( various disabilities?). Maybe talk w/ a school in your area/state that is specifically a school for children w/ Autism and see what ideas they may have. ( a thought). I know as a parent who has all but no help or understanding w/in our school, it is more than refreshing to here of teachers like yourself taking the time and compassion to try to help! Let me know how it goes & if this helps you. Here are some checklists for identifying reinforcers that might work: http://www.pattan.net/files/Autism/Autism120905.pdf - 4 page reinforcer checklist. http://www.spannj.org/BehavioralPresentation/BehavioralPrese ntation/Student%20Involvement%20&%20behavior%20problems/ Forced%20Choice%20Reinforcement%20menu/Forced%20Choice%20Rei nforcement%20Menu.pdf - Reinforcer Inventory for older kids. Helps identify what is more motivating for them: Adult approval, competitive approval (eg only your paper is posted on the bulletin board), peer approval, independent rewards (freedom) or consumable rewards. http://www.monacoassociates.com/mas/MAS.html - Durand Motivation Assessment Scale. My 14 year old high functioning autistic daughter has these problems at school. I cant speak for this parent but sometimes I know myself that I feel like saying to the school that they have more resources than I do more training than I do and I have enough problems at home without trying to sort out the problems the school have as well. But I wouldnt say that to them. I have tried to help the school as much as I can but without being there to see what is setting her off I cant always be of much help. I think it is very important to be able to tell when the child is starting to get upset because once they get to the point of no return you will not be able to refocus them. Redirection at the right point sometimes helps to stop problems escalating and breaks maybe just a walk along the corridor and back can help to stop meltdown point coming on. You might find as I do that when my daughter is having massive problems at school my home life is less stressful so you might find the parent is finding it hard to cope and is having a bit of respite at home while her childs behaviour is escalating at school. I am assuming those who are developing the behavior plan are qualified to do so and understand what autism is all about. First, ask the student and the mother to come up with a lengthy "menu" of reinforcers. For kids with autism, sometimes reinforcers can be odd (to us). One example I remember from a long time ago was a boy who wanted to be called an odd name (I forget what that name was, but let's say it was MegaMan). The agreement was that if he earned a certain number of points, he would get callled MegaMan by everyone. If he failed to earn those point, he would get called his regular name until he DID earn the points. This worked for him. Some kids need to earn time in a private place to stim. Some kids work hard for a "free pass on homework." Sometimes even older kids need primary reinforcers like candy for some really tough or new targets. And EVERYONE needs variety in reinforcers. For older kids like this, earning points or money in order to choose the reinforcer (with differing "prices" on the array they get to choose from ) can be very effective. I think you need to give lots of input to whomever is coming up with the behavior plan. And that person also really needs to know that the aide is not working out so that the behavior plan cannot really depend on the aide. Also, negative consequences oftentime inadvertantly reinforce our kids, so making the plan entirely POSITIVE is probably a good idea. The negative comes from "not earning" something positive as opposed to having a negative consequence artificially imposed. For my own son, "not earning" is even too negative. His behavior plans are open ended in the sense that he keeps earning until he DOES earn the reward. If he behaves well, he simply earns the reward faster. If he doesn't, he doesn't earn enought points to get the reward yet and simply has to keep on trying until he DOES reach the magic number of points. This is a failure-less form of earning that works for him. cecp.air.org is a great site for FBAs and BIPs. I'd also ask the IEP Team to approve an outside psychiatric eval for possible medication if the mom approves. At puberty, sometimes medication is necessary because hormones have such a powerful negative effect that behavior plans cannot always overcome. Thanks for asking about this. We all need teachers like you who actually care. First, thank you for caring enough about your student to be here! Welcome! My son is considerably younger and is not aggressive, so I'm not much help in helpful tactics. I would, however, make sure you let the mom know that sending him home was not your idea or decision to make. She needs to know that the two of you are on the same side and are looking for ways to educate her son in a positive way. Sometimes, when the student is removed from the setting that they are loathe to be in, the negative behaviors are being reinforced. My son has horrible attention span and really has to focus in order to follow lengthy instructions or lectures. He also does not enjoy desk work, as his fine motor skills are poor. He was starting to act up in first grade during this exact instructional time (knocking his stuff off the desk, for example). They started taking him back to the special ed classroom which is full of folks who don't mind if he sits on their laps while doing his school work or giving him small breaks. It was nirvana! I had to make them STOP removing him, as he just continued to act up more and more. The same week they stopped removing him, and started offering incentives, he turned around 180 degrees and became his old self. I guess where I'm going is this. If your student wants out of the tasks at hand, and you LET HIM out of the tasks at hand when he acts up, then he has found a way to manipulate you and the system. If there is a way to say, okay James, I see you're having some trouble focusing. Let's do 3 more problems and then how about a sensory break? You see the storm a-brewing, so instead of asking him to complete all 10 math problems, you compromise on 3 with an incentive. When he's done with the sensory break, you have him complete the remaining 7. I realize this is simplistic, but not knowing the details, its the best I can offer. The parents of older kids I'm sure will be glad to chime in. First of all, I wanted to say welcome! I'm also a teacher, and have felt very welcome to post here. Let us know what the new behavior plan is and how it goes. Nicole Free Autism Resources and Printable Activities for Parents and Teachers! ~ http://www.PositivelyAutism.com/ I gotta say we LOVE IT when teachers come here. We all wish our kids' teachers would be so interested and involved, and we appreciate hearing the other perspective -- inside information on how schools (in general) do things, and how they think. My oldest son is only 9-1/2 and not aggressive, so I can't really give you a "been-there done that" perspective. But I do have a couple thoughts to share: You say that he reacts if you get in his space. This sounds like sensory-avoidance -- touch might be too intense for him and he avoids it at all costs. If you need to get closer, warn him first. You can also try tools like a laser pointer so you can point while still keeping your distance. During homework, my son used to get agitated by my pointing with my finger, but was okay with a laser pointer. Here's a checklist for sensory issues, if there isn't or has never been an occupational therapist on his team: http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-processin g-disorder-checklist.html You say he's in high school now, and he might want more say in his life. You might want to check out this collection of online self-determination resources. There are student checklists for learning styles, tips for various levels of student participation in meetings, etc. http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24584&am p;KW=self%2Ddetermination On a separate post below I'm going to provide a link about dealing with outbursts and aggression. Good luck with everything! Here are some helpful videos clips about preventing and handling meltdown in a developmentally disabled adult: http://www.attainmentcompany.com/xcart/product.php?productid =16205&cat=302&page=1 I thought their chart was really helpful, showing escalating behavior and the appropriate response: Appropriate behavior - You should reinforce it. Signs of tension - You need to respond, or escalation will continue. The video mentioned the following common signs: Changed expression, less eye contact, tense voice, muttering. Emotional outburst - You should help diffuse it. Physical outburst - Your main focus is to protect. The video lists these steps you can take: decrease/stop talk, request help, maintain a safe position (distance), be a neutral presence, safeguard others, remove hazards, and talk to contain. Recovery - You should talk it out. Very well said, LeAnne. Are you sure you don't have a BCBA? I too have a younger child and don't have much aggressive behavior, but we do a home VB/ABA program and what LeAnne said is pretty much the standard for how a behavioral person (BCBA) would tackle the issus. I'm sure this is much more difficult since the student is older and there is aggressive behavior involved. You do have to keep yourself, the student and other students safe. I agree that taking him out of the environment and not following through with the demands is not the right answer in most cases. I really hope the behavior analyst does a good job for you. If the BIP doesn't work, what are other placement options for him? Thanks for coming here and asking your questions. I do hope someone with an older child will chime in for you. Good luck. It may be somewhat bold for me to post here-- as I am not a parent of a child on the spectrum. I teach high school special education-- self-contained. I have one student who is autistic. I am having SO many problems with the situation surrounding this student. The student learns quickly and can complete tasks correctly (with prompting) when motivated. His curriculum is vocationally and life skills centered. He has a 1:1 aide who is one step out of the door-- very little help. Student is aggressive and it is hard to instruct him because of this behavior (when I am in arms length, he is aggressive). He is noncompliant to directives and often does whatever he wants because he will not comply and if we enter his "zone", he is aggressive. He is from a single parent home and mom is not happy with his aggressive state and the fact that he was sent home on a few occasions. She states that he has had problems before but says it is not persistent. His record states otherwise. I show he has been aggressive since preschool. She had been very happy with how things were going until his aggression has peaked recently. Student is not on any medication. A new behavior plan is being developed for him at this time. I wrote one (case manager and teacher) and a behavior analyst is currently revising it (probably revamping entirely). I hope the plan is based on immediate reinforcers-- as I think this is what it will take (NOT stickers). I really want to help this student but I feel in a bad situation. I feel mom is SO angry-- but I can't understand why she went from supportive to combative. I know he was sent home a few times... but I didn't make that decision. We are meeting in an effort to help the student. I don't know what to suggest honestly-- I don't know how to work around this behavior. Any input, advice or research is greatly appreciated. [QUOTE=SpEdTeach28] It may be somewhat bold for me to post here-- as I am not a parent of a child on the spectrum. I teach high school special education-- self-contained. I have one student who is autistic. I am having SO many problems with the situation surrounding this student. The student learns quickly and can complete tasks correctly (with prompting) when motivated. His curriculum is vocationally and life skills centered. He has a 1:1 aide who is one step out of the door-- very little help. Student is aggressive and it is hard to instruct him because of this behavior (when I am in arms length, he is aggressive). He is noncompliant to directives and often does whatever he wants because he will not comply and if we enter his "zone", he is aggressive. He is from a single parent home and mom is not happy with his aggressive state and the fact that he was sent home on a few occasions. She states that he has had problems before but says it is not persistent. His record states otherwise. I show he has been aggressive since preschool. She had been very happy with how things were going until his aggression has peaked recently. Student is not on any medication. A new behavior plan is being developed for him at this time. I wrote one (case manager and teacher) and a behavior analyst is currently revising it (probably revamping entirely). I hope the plan is based on immediate reinforcers-- as I think this is what it will take (NOT stickers). I really want to help this student but I feel in a bad situation. I feel mom is SO angry-- but I can't understand why she went from supportive to combative. I know he was sent home a few times... but I didn't make that decision. We are meeting in an effort to help the student. I don't know what to suggest honestly-- I don't know how to work around this behavior. Any input, advice or research is greatly appreciated. [/QUOTE] Thank you all for your responses. I apologize that I am so late in responding... I had an IEP meeting on Wednesday for this student. It went much better than I anticipated. The revised BIP (I wrote, BCBA revised) was presented and was very similar to what I had written. The reason that I was so happy about that was because the plan was workable and seemed to fit the student (which was not the case in his previous plan). Parent was happy, I was happy-- especially because BCBA will be providing training and follow-up. With this training, I hope that the aide will become more involved and faithful to the BIP. A couple of questions were raised in the responses-- -- student is not on medication and mom is totally against; -- I loved the reinforcer ideas-- I will be utilizing as I have a short list of current reinforcers; -- my classroom is a multi-categorical room. This particular student is my only student with autism. The other students in there are MR or LD. There are a few other students on the spectrum in the school but they are in regular classes with support. -- I can't remember how much detail I gave about this student in the original post... but he is verbal, but I would say not functionally verbal. He does not verbalize other than "sing-song" language (I want this, etc). He resists conversation. So-- he isn't HFA. But then again... he is able to nonverbally communicate higher-order thinking (can point to picture answers after reading him a paragraph, able to add and subtract money, demonstrates reasoning, etc). If he was able to overcome expressive language obstacles, I think he would prove to be much more capable than what others have given him credit for. I really do appreciate the input-- this forum is great for resources and to understand the parental aspect (which is all too often forgot on the educational side, IMO). I look forward to continued learning from you all. I will update you on how the BIP implementation is going. Training is Wed of next week. I'm glad to hear the meeting went well. Helping this kid find an effective way of communicating could be the most important contribution you make to his future. Each state has a contact person to consult about assistive technology, and some of them even have technology you can borrow and test out (lending libraries). I don't know if it's appropriate for you to contact them directly, but if nothing else you could inform the boy's parents. Here's a link to a topic on our forum about this: http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13966&am p;am p;KW=lending
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