UPSKILL EDUCATION
Notice and Respond
Children with autism may have difficulties in regulating their emotions. They may even find it hard to identify or articulate their feelings. This can lead to confusion and frustration when supporting them in the classroom. In our eagerness to help, we start breaking down instructions, chunking, giving sentence starters, until we eventually run out of tricks. We then start to consider that the task is beyond the child's ability and that we need to make adaptations to see results. What we failed to account for is the child's emotional state at that moment. Is the child unhappy? frustrated? tired?
The Cognitive Model describes how an individual’s thought processes can affect a child's behaviour. This variability in behaviour is explained as the individual’s response to and perception of events that are occurring around them. In children with autism, this is even more complex as they may be unable to explain what is going on in their minds. As teachers, we need to cultivate that sensitivity to notice subtle changes in emotions so that we can respond accordingly.
Proactive approaches (to be covered in another post), and the use of an emotion regulation framework like the Zones of Regulation (which we use at my school) are ideal and should be taught and utilised consistently, however, they do not give a 100% assurance that things will go smoothly all the time. There will always be ‘those days’. It takes a long time for children with autism to imbibe self-regulation practices. As they go on their learning journey, a positive support model can make all the difference and help us avoid frustrations and feelings of inadequacy when we face seemingly endless loops of work avoidance.
At the end of the day, we need to remind ourselves that there is reason for every behaviour. As their teachers, let's try and remain calm and steadfast in our support. Children with autism can recognise genuine concern and they sure can reciprocate when they are in the right zone!
Below is a flowchart I created to guide us in supporting our ASD students. This could also work for kids with SPCD or with those kids who are extremely quiet/shy.
The Cognitive Model describes how an individual’s thought processes can affect a child's behaviour. This variability in behaviour is explained as the individual’s response to and perception of events that are occurring around them. In children with autism, this is even more complex as they may be unable to explain what is going on in their minds. As teachers, we need to cultivate that sensitivity to notice subtle changes in emotions so that we can respond accordingly.
Proactive approaches (to be covered in another post), and the use of an emotion regulation framework like the Zones of Regulation (which we use at my school) are ideal and should be taught and utilised consistently, however, they do not give a 100% assurance that things will go smoothly all the time. There will always be ‘those days’. It takes a long time for children with autism to imbibe self-regulation practices. As they go on their learning journey, a positive support model can make all the difference and help us avoid frustrations and feelings of inadequacy when we face seemingly endless loops of work avoidance.
At the end of the day, we need to remind ourselves that there is reason for every behaviour. As their teachers, let's try and remain calm and steadfast in our support. Children with autism can recognise genuine concern and they sure can reciprocate when they are in the right zone!
Below is a flowchart I created to guide us in supporting our ASD students. This could also work for kids with SPCD or with those kids who are extremely quiet/shy.
References:DfE (Department for Education. (2011). Support and Aspiration: a new approach to special educational needs and disability. A Consultation. Farrell, P., Ainscow, M., Howes, A., Frankham, J., Fox, S., & Davis, P. (2004). Inclusive education for all: Dream or reality.Journal of International Special Needs Education, 7(7) Huang, A. X., & Wheeler, J. J. (2006). Effective Interventions for Individuals with High-Functional Autism. International Journal of Special Education, 21(3), 165-175. McLeod, S. (2015). Cognitive Psychology. Simply Psychology. retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive.html National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2015). Challenging behaviour and learning disabilities: prevention and interventions for people with learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges. National Institute for Clinical Excellence, London.[Google Scholar] Whitford, D. K., Liaupsin, C. J., Umbreit, J., & Ferro, J. B. (2013). Implementation of a single comprehensive function-based intervention across multiple classrooms for a high school student. Education and Treatment of Children, 36(4), 147-167. Whitford, D. K., Liaupsin, C. J., Umbreit, J., & Ferro, J. B. (2013). Implementation of a single comprehensive function-based intervention across multiple classrooms for a high school student. Education and Treatment of Children, 36(4), 147-167.