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Autism
Friendly
Practice
Summary
Jay Hobbs
Education Officer,
Inclusive Education ASD
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KEY
ELEMENTS
Understand
autism
Adjust
environment
Support
curriculum
access
Support
management
of anxiety
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Autism in Australia

1 in 160, Australian children
aged between 6 and 12 years
have Autism (Australian
Advisory Board on Autism
Spectrum Disorders, 2007)

Which constitutes more than
the number of children with
cerebral palsy, diabetes, who
are deaf, or blind and have
leukaemia combined.
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Research Indicates

In a prospective study of 1,012 children in the United States of
America. Suicide ideation or attempts was found to be 28 times
greater in autistic children than that of non autistic children (14% as
opposed to 0.5%).

Rates of suicide ideation or attempts increased from 6% to 46% in
autistic children with one to three of these comorbidity risk factors
(teasing, depression, or behaviour problems).

(Gorman, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2013)
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… but, people with autism
succeed when they:
• understand and manage their
strengths and weaknesses
• achieve academically at school
• are accepted by their peers
The term autism
is often used
synonymously
with ASD
The diagnosis
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Low Functioning
(with II)
High Functioning
(Asperger’s Syndrome)
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Characteristics of Autism
Triad of Impairments (Wing, 1979)
Communication
Social
Rigid &
Repetitive
Behaviour
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Educational Impacts
Difficulties include
Understanding
Fitting In
Coping
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Summary
Coping – differences in the brain cause extreme
sensory overload or a need for high stimulation
coupled with difficulty generating new ideas for what
to do in a new situation.
Understanding – differences in processing
information (detail focus) causes students to misread
or not understand social cues. Students desperately
want to have friends but don’t know how to do it.
Fitting in- differences in the brain causes students to
feel like they are in a foreign country negotiating a
foreign language and culture.
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Understanding
Autism at School
Video
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yA
AOI6JUsM
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Evidence Based Key Strategies
Chill Zone (Break Space)
Where in the school it happens
How do you staff it?
How does it work?
Lunch Clubs (structured social interaction)
Where in the school they happen
How do you staff it?
How does it work?
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Understanding
Autism
In the classroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veQKD
DE9C_w
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Key Strategies
Strategy
Examples
Priming
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Study guides
Adjustments
Visual Supports
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•
•
•
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Class schedule for the lesson
Self management tools e.g. Task Steps and Tick’ clock and timing
prompt
Assessment Schedule
Graphic organisers
Social script
Break Space
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Option to take a break to avoid anxiety
Take a note to the school secretary
Reinforcement
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Verbal acknowledgement
Previously discussed reinforcement of choice
Link to self monitoring
Transitions
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Plan protocols: to class, between classes, from one topic to
another
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Eng
Arts
HPE
Design
Tech
RE
Sc’s
Math
Language
Language
Prac subjects
Coping
Computing
Understand
Prac
Theory
Fitting in
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Curriculum Access Plan
Process:
1.
Teacher and STIE discuss the impact of
the student’s ASD on learning and
together adjustments are chosen.
2.
Parents and the student (where possible)
are consulted.
3.
Adjustments are recorded on a
Curriculum Access Plan
4.
Adjustments are actioned.
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High
Anxiety
Sensory
Sensitivity
Communication
Behaviour
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The Rage Cycle
RAGE
RUMBLING
Trigger
RECOVERY
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Understanding Anxiety
It is important for school staff to understand that a student
‘meltdown’ is an expression of being overwhelmed by the
Meltdowns
anxiety Understanding
that comes with the disability.
The student is not choosing poor behaviour, rather, s/he is
not managing anxiety well enough.
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If our student does not know how to:
 Recognize
 Match
 Self
emotions
emotions to events
calm
Whose issue is a meltdown at
school?
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Autism & Behaviour
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L
K5Pr9h10BY
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When the the rage cycle starts all
opportunities for student learning
are gone for some time.
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Triggers
 The
trigger refers to the context
(“circumstances” or “situation” ) in which a
person behaves.
 The
trigger is not only the specific stimulus (or
event) that immediately precedes the behaviour.
 It
is just as important to look for triggers that
support a student’s appropriate behaviours as it
is to look for those that support problem
behaviour.
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Adult Curve
Remain supportive and manage your own curve
 Use
a quiet calm voice
 Prevent
a power struggle
 Re-evaluate
 Be
student goals
flexible (the student cannot)
 Offer
an alternative or clear choice
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Rumbling
Most important stage, student has some thinking
ability intact, build up to rage
Behaviours
 Fidgeting

Antiseptic bouncing
 Making
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Proximity control
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Support from routine
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Chill zone (in / out class)
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Acknowledge student
difficulties
noises
 Refusing
to cooperate
 Increasing
volume
 Swearing
voice
Strategies
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Rage
shouting, swearing, hitting, out of control
neurotransmitters are not working correctly,
Behaviours
 Explosive
 Protect
the student,
other students
 Screaming
 Self
 Don’t
discipline during
this stage
injury
 Hitting
kicking
 Emotional
 Destroying
Strategies
 Remove
 Follow
property
 Call
the audience
a plan
for assistance
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Recovery
The beginning of returning to baseline,
Behaviours
 Sleeping
Strategies
 Allow rest, relaxation
 Potential
 Do
to return to
rage
 Fragile
 May
deny rage
behaviours
 Apologizing
not re escalate the
situation (not time to
learn yet)
 Do
not make excessive
demands
 Support
with structure
+ Anxiety Management
Teachers need to support student
management of their anxiety because:
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Each meltdown adds to the student’s already poor self
esteem, self concept and sense of control. This combination
leads to poor mental health.
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Meltdowns disrupt the student’s efforts to be accepted and fit
in with peers.
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Meltdowns disrupt the learning of other students.
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Meltdowns interrupt the student’s own learning
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Meeting the needs of all parties
Student
To be understood
To experience compassion
To understand what is, and was, happening
To learn better ways of coping with anxiety
Teacher
To keep all students safe
To be able to teach
To be supported with a student with ASD
To be successful in managing the student
Other students
To be safe
To be able to learn
To feel that the school manages ASD well
To know what to do during and after a rage
School leaders
To ensure the safety of all students
To ensure quality teaching and learning for all
To maintain a supportive environment for all
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What reduces anxiety?
Predictability, so the student knows;
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who they are working with
•
what the activities and motivators
are for that day
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Strategies to overcome sensory
sensitivity
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Blutac or fabric ( e.g. felt, fur)
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Self-regulation
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Teaching Social Skills
What to do story
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Social Autopsy
10 min
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Debriefing with a student after a
meltdown is a very sensitive process.
This is the time for learning to occur
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A useful tool to use at this time is the
(Social Autopsy in the resources part of
your folder)
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This is a positive way of identifying the
social error and teaching the student
what s/he might do next time
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Comments?
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Rewarding appropriate behaviours
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Must be:
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Positive (not based on negative consequences)
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Motivating to student (NOT I will be happy if you)
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Immediate reward, token, sticker, star, puzzle piece
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Successful the first few times
Reward idea
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Reward idea
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Teaching Social Skills
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Video Modeling with the iPad
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Video Self Modeling