Autism Spectrum Disorders Interviews
File Name: Lia_teacher_working ASD MP4
Duration: 05:36
Video Transcript
Video: Lia talking to interviewer
Graphic on screen:
Lia, Teacher
Working with children with autism
Audio:
Start:
00.01
What were your initial thoughts the first time you began teaching a child with autism?
When I was made aware that I was teaching a child with autism this year I felt really positive. The
thing I’ve been lucky enough to have over the last few years, I’ve only been teaching for a few years,
is that I have been in an ongoing way been trained to teach children with autism. Had I have not had
that training I would have felt as overwhelmed as I did in my very first year which was exactly my
experience. I had a child, I had two children, with autism and a number of other children with other
special needs and I didn’t have a lot to bring to the table. I didn’t have a lot to bring to the table at
all then! There was a lot of learning on the job and I was offered a collegiate program that I engaged
in straightaway at a special school in the region near to the school I was working at. Every year I
have been able to continue with that so that feeling of, I don’t know, of stress of not having the
knowledge to bring to the behavior management strategies that I would have like to, I don’t have
anymore and I’m lucky and the only reason is that I have been able to have the training.
What I needed to know?
The areas I felt I needed true knowledge in to do my best to manage them and allow them to mange
themselves well was to understand the neurological processes of how an autistic child or adults
brain works and my learning of that has helped me hugely, which has been a part of my training
every year. Every year I learn a little bit more and each child gives me more information because as
you know each child is different and not every autistic child has similar behaviours or similar thought
processes as we know.
So my understanding of the motivations for behaviour in autistic children has been something I’ve
sought out to understand better. I’ve also been supported by a behavior management specialist who
has given me visual resources and hands on things that I can use. So I’ve got a three-pronged
approach going as well as the ongoing support of school as well.
Assessing specific information about the student?
I was able to get really specific information about the child with autism I was teaching this year,
more specifically through the handover from the teacher of the previous year. As we know,
behaviours in children change all the time and what is working one day may not work the next and
so it was important for me to understand that those strategies and where that child was at then may
not be where he was going to be for me this year. It was really helpful information as far as trial and
error that had been used previously and where I could start from and understanding from positive
special structures what would work, whether the child required frequent sensory breaks, things like
that.
Also from the parents, good ongoing open communication with the parents which I’m fortunate to
have which makes a big impact as far as how behaviours are continuing at home and if school
behaviours are having an impact at home and vice versa and what we can be doing together to
decrease anxiety in the child.
Key strategies for helping a child with autism?
The key strategy that I have learned to refine since my very first year of teaching which has made
the biggest impact on teaching children with autism for me has been to keep a very strong structure.
As far as the roles in the classroom, asserting myself as an authority in a positive way, keeping a
consistent tone in my voice and making sure my mode of responses don’t get the better of me,
keeping the consistent structure all the time; also making sure that there is spontaneous change. I
have learnt to make sure that I as the authoritative figure in the room can change things so that we
can practise spontaneous change because that is such a big part of life, and as we know it is a
challenge for autistic children to deal with change so that is something I’ve learned through my
training to practise.
Biggest challenge as a result of teaching children with autism?
The biggest challenge for me when teaching children with autism initially is that I didn’t understand.
It’s not taught comprehensively at university. Even though the skills of teaching children with autism
were actually in my family, when I came to a classroom to teach a child with autism I really felt
overwhelmed. I didn’t have the knowledge and it has taken me a while to gain it. But there is so
much out there and so many opportunities and so many different resources and different ways to
gather the knowledge; I’ve been able to do it consistently and my confidence has grown. I’ve got
effective strategies. I’ve got knowledge and skills I can use. I’ve got people to talk to who know more
than me, which is so important to have around and I can draw on that all the time.
Finish: 5:36