When I used to hear the word ‘Elopement’ I thought of two lovers running off to get hitched… but having been in Autism Units and LIFE Skills classrooms for so long ‘Elopement’ means something different. It means something that’s downright scary.
And it is downright scary when you look up and realize one of your students has wandered away or “eloped” the sense of panic that engulfs you is petrifying. Just downright scary.
It is also exhausting when you have to constantly stand in front of a door or always block a student from running (like out the door and into traffic). Just downright exhausting.
So what do you do? How do you get some control back when studies suggest nearly half of student with Autism wander or elope? Well, here are a few helpful tips and strategies…
Teacher: It is terrible… Bobby is running out of class all the time! Me: Okay, let me see the BIP. Teacher: Oh, it’s totally not working. (Hands me the BIP.) Me: This BIP is for verbal outbursts. Teacher: Oh… is that why it’s not working? Me: *sigh*
So, unfortunately, this is an actual conversation that I’ve had recently. It’s hard to get up every morning and go to work when you know you are going to get hurt.
So what should you do?
Where do you even start?
4 Steps to Replace Hitting Behavior
The good news is you can change Behavior. The bad news is it’s going to take a little while. So, first things first, here are the four steps to changing Behavior.
Defining the Behavior
Collecting Data
Determining the Function
Designing the Behavior Plan
It seems like such a no brainer, but when you are sitting in a classroom getting the snot smacked out of you all day long it gets hard to think things through logically. The only thing running through your head is how to make it all stop.
So let’s break down these four steps a little more.
Everything means books, paper, plastic, the ground… all.
How should I teach her?”
-M. Basel
It can be a real challenge when students present behaviors that are extreme or that really cross the divide of what is socially acceptable.
Licking everything is one of those…
And having a student who licks everything is actually just a version of stimming behavior that’s so typical in students with autism. There’s no way for you to just expect a student with this type of behavior to suddenly stop.
Instead what you will have to do is redirect the behavior into something more acceptable and also more hygienic.
I have seen the power struggle first hand. A teacher, thinking they are doing the right thing and wanting to be in charge of a classroom, tells a kid with Autism to take their hands off their ears and work on an assignment in front of them. They students doesn’t comply. The teacher tries to coax or plead or force compliance… and they don’t succeed.
The question is, why do kids with Autism do that?
I think if teachers really thought about the answer to that question, they would address students in the classroom differently and really pick their battles.
I used to work with a boy whose Autism presented pretty severely. He was nonverbal, had a lot of repetitive behavior, including rocking, and he nearly always had his hands over his ears. When a hand was needed to do something, he would press his shoulder to his ear and use that instead. I had a new paraeducator working with me over a summer session and the first day she really insisted he put his hands down. He would do it for just seconds and then his hands would return to his shoulders. I told her to let him leave his hands there and she asked Why? Why does he do that.
Echolalia- Learn strategies for your Autism classroom. What echolalia is and how to reduce it with activities to decrease repetitive speech or non-authentic communication.
I don’t know about you, but I am a visual person. I have post-its and doodles and things all over to remind me of what I need to get done. And the truth is visuals help most people… ever sit through a training where the slides were nothing but words? Torture. So why wouldn’t we have visual schedules for our students?
Tips on Visual Schedules
“Where do I go?” Let’s check your schedule!
Having a visual schedule helps students a lot. It helps students figure out where to go and also helps figure out what to do when they get there! There are a few perks to having personal schedules for students (beyond what is generally posted in the classroom).
Visual Structure is a pillar of structured classrooms… and I have walked into Autism classrooms where teachers have told me that they didn’t have visuals because their students didn’t need it.
I don’t know about you guys, but I need visual structure to be successful, why wouldn’t our students?
Structured Learning Classroom Must Haves Working with students with Low-Incidence Disabilities can be a challenge. You are dealing with behaviors, idiosyncrasies, and different academic… Read More »Structured Learning Classroom Must Haves
