The New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline describes behaviour problems as ‘the most challenging and stressful issue facing parents and educators of children and young people with ASD’ (page 119).
The problem, however, is two-way:
From a child’s perspective, parents and teachers demonstrate problem behaviours by putting the child in situations which they find difficult, by:
- making demands they are unable to comprehend
- communicating and expecting communication in ways that are difficult to understand
- expecting them to engage in social interaction and tasks in which they have little or no interest or skill
- limiting engagement in their interests.
Page 119
Emphasise the positive
The Guideline (pages 119–124) includes suggestions for behavioural interventions to increase positive behaviour, decrease problem behaviour, and improve the quality of life for all concerned.
Exactly what works will be different for each student, but the key for all students is that those who care for them do their best to understand and address the triggers for problem behaviour. Those triggers may lie in the physical, learning, or social environment.
An ecological assessment and/or sensory profiling will identify these triggers and suggest solutions. For example:
- a student who is bothered by a bright overhead light may simply need to be moved to another part of the room
- a student whose behaviour deteriorates when the teacher is away may need more support to prepare for the change
- a student who disrupts a special assembly may need to have been told in advance about the change in routine
- a student who spoils other children’s play may need help to understand rule changes
- a student who gets loudly upset when expected to switch from a favourite activity may need to be gently prepared for the change and be given a visual reminder that there will be an opportunity to return to it
- a student who never seems to complete tasks may need the task to be broken down into parts.
Empathy
The common factor in each of the scenarios listed above is anxiety. School can be a bewildering place for learners with ASD. When their needs are not met, the constant stress is heightened. They need those around them to help them make sense of their environment and be sensitive to their needs.
Empathy is a fundamental requirement for effective relationships. One of the reviewers of this resource described a teacher professional development session led by clinical psychologist Olive Webb. Olive’s approach helped the teachers to understand the perspectives of their students with ASD. It could be adapted to other groups in your school:
Olive asked if any of the teachers suffered vertigo. Several said they did. She asked them to imagine standing on the glass floor in the Sky Tower viewing platform. Faces paled, palms became became sweaty. “How do you feel?” she asked. Trembling, breathless responses. “Now, can you ‘snap out’ of it?”
The point was made.
Mark Potter, Principal, Berhampore School
Functional behavioural assessments
The Guideline strongly advocates the functional assessment of problem behaviours. Functional assessment is based on the premise that a student’s behaviour has a purpose – there is something they want to communicate or achieve. It is also another way of identifying elements in the environment that may be supporting the behaviour.
The Guideline suggests that:
Some common functions of behaviours are:
- the communication of needs and wants
- social attention
- social avoidance
- escape from difficult or boring tasks or other aversive situations
- access to tangible items and preferred activities
- generation of sensory reinforcement or stimulation.
Page 122
The steps for conducting a functional assessment are:
- Describe the problem behaviour in detail.
- Identify the times and circumstances (contexts and triggers) that are regularly associated with the occurrence (or non-occurrence) of the behaviour.
- Identify the consequences that maintain the behaviour.
- Develop hypotheses about the function or purpose of the behaviour and collect observational data to support or reject each hypothesis.
- On the basis of the assessment, design an intervention to bring about an alternative behaviour.
For some students, it may be helpful to draw up a Behaviour Intervention Plan (see below).
Examples of the functional behavioural approach
New Zealand educators discuss how to implement a functional approach to behaviour management in the DVD
Autism at School: A Video Resource for Teachers and Parents in New Zealand. In line with the approach recommended in the Guideline, they say the key is to understand and address the cause of the behaviour. As the following examples show, unwanted behaviour is diminished when the cause of the stress is addressed.
Speech therapist Sheryl Wills explains that if a student wants time out and is showing that by throwing things, she teaches them to use a visual support such as a card saying ‘Time out’. When they feel stressed, they can show her the card. More verbal students may just need to be taught to say the words ‘I need a break’. This approach is likely to require a lot of individual attention at first, but this can be reduced over time.
RTLB Peggy Waite describes how a teacher implemented a similar strategy called ‘Stop, Think, Do’ with a boy who needs to leave the classroom when pressures build. Rather than calling out, he now has a card to hold up and a specific place to go when he needs help. He can leave, and the teacher can request someone to take the class so that she can work with him until he is ready to come back. This used to happen several times a day, but has since dropped to just once per week.
Peggy Waite emphasises that results are best when teachers and principals work with parents and families to notice what the issues are for students and plan for their success. In another example, Andrew (one of the boys featured in the DVD) was getting into conflict when returning to school after the holidays. His care community realised that the cause was anxiety about the transitions in and out of holidays. In response, they now plan for transition. This includes allowing him to attend for shorter days over the first week or two and to take a day off if needed, and devising strategies to prepare Andrew and his new teacher to work together.
Teacher Laetitia de Vries has used an approach called the ‘Scales of Justice’. When conflict arises between Andrew and one of his peers, she sits them together and uses actual scales. The students take turns explaining what the other did wrong and each time she puts a wooden block on the scales. She usually finds at the end that the person who was most in the wrong has the most blocks. The students can see that they both did something wrong, but who did the most:
That is a visual technique for them to understand where it all went wrong. It’s a fantastic tool for dealing with conflict in a really visual way that helps them to understand.
Laetitia de Vries in Smith, 2009
Paula Kluth (2010) has a list of useful suggestions:
Ideas to use in the prevention of behavior problems
- Look for competence in students and see the best in them.
- Be respectful. Speak about students using positive language and never speak about students in front of them.
- Look for sensory offenders. This might be something that those without autism do not even notice, such as a flickering light or a sound in the distance.
- Make sure the person experiences joy, novelty, and fun at school. Lessons should be appropriately varied, favorite topics and activities should be included in the curriculum, and students should have plenty of opportunities to shine.
- Make sure the person has opportunities for social connection and relationship building (e.g., games, free time to talk) throughout the day.
- Always be sure the learner has a way (or many ways) to communicate. If the person is nonverbal or does not have reliable speech, he or she will need augmentative and alternative communication for socializing with peers, responding to the teacher, and engaging in lessons.
- Provide plenty of opportunities for movement during the day. Build walking or sensory breaks into the day for the purpose of regulating and releasing tension. When an individual seems especially frustrated or “off”, look for opportunities for vigorous exercise (e.g., taking laps with a friend on the playground).
- Teach by the numbers. Help the student to recognise and interpret feelings that lead to a breakdown. Use a number scale or similar tool to have the student describe and visualize his emotional state. Then teach about different scenarios. For example, if the teacher starts class 5 minutes late, he might put himself at 2/10 on the scale; if his piano teacher is sick and misses a lesson, it might rate a 6/10. Teaching and discussing this process during calm moments makes it more likely the student will be able to draw on the language and descriptions when he needs it.
- Be explicit about rules, norms, procedures, and expectations. Students’ behaviors may be their response to a confusing world. Provide a list of school and classroom rules in a student’s notebook or desk as well as a list of ideas he or she can use to relax and deal with difficult moments.
- Think beyond smiles and frowns. Avoid categorizing each hour or segment of the day as “good” or “bad”, as in, “How did you do in math?” and, “Were you good during first period?” Many behavioral programs put students in a position of being evaluated and assessed day in and out (e.g., a smiley face for a segment of good behavior and a frown for a segment of bad behavior). This constant scrutiny can be very stressful.
- Break it down. Chunking big tasks into more manageable parts can prevent some difficulties. A child will probably respond better to a request to “pick up ten blocks” than to “clean up the play area”.
- Adapt if possible. Assess the student’s environment to see which tasks or activities cause problems and whether these can be avoided or adapted in some way. For instance, if the child gets into trouble on the bus when he sits near older students, assign him a seat mate, allow him to play a video game during the trip, or offer him extra credit for observations he makes during the ride (e.g., how long the bus takes to get to his house on average).
Kluth, 2010, page 208
The
Do2learn website has resources you can use to assess behaviour, determine its function, and implement behaviour management strategies.
The information sheets on the
Altogether Autism website include classroom strategies for optimising learning and managing behaviour.