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Challenging behaviour - SEN Teachers asking for advice

NAS80219

I have just posted on the forum letting you know I'm new here and a bit about our school background and why we have joined. I hope you can read it. If you have I would like, (and I have permission by the appropriate people), to share a bit about a student who we have been struggling with for a while now. I will call them Riley (not their real name for privacy and safe guarding reasons). 

Riley is a teenager who joined us last year. Riley is diagnosed with autism and displays very challenging behaviour at times which we struggle to manage at times. Rileys challenging behaviour includes, but not limited to:

  • S.I.B (Self Injurious Behaviour)
  • Aggression towards staff (verbal and physical) 
  • Absconding and running off 
  • Disruptive behaviour (creating a difficult working environment for others) 
  • Refusal to do work and listen to instructions 

We do our best to help Riley when things get difficult. We use PECS and visuals, schedules, sensory toys, weighted blankets, side hugs, change of face if Riley doesn't want a particular teacher, and space if they want to be left alone. 

Today was a bit tricky for everyone, expecially Riley. Riley was very tired, overwhelmed and confused, emotions you don't want to deal with, especially at the same time. Riley didn't want any teachers today and locked them out the room and was doing laps round the school. Riley started swearing at staff, telling them to 'f!ck off', then started throwing things about in a way to communicate. We said 'Riley, you look upset. Do you want to have a chat with anyone?', incase they wanted to chat about what's bothering them but Riley refused this. 

Honestly, that was a little part of the day, and that's just a usual day. We don't like seeing students struggling and we try our best to figure out the issue behind the behaviour and what we can do and put in place to help but over the past few months of working close to Riley, nothing has changed or is getting worse and we just aren't sure what to do or suggest next. We contact the parents everyday so we know how she is before school and we update them after school about the day. If anyone has any ideas, we are very grateful. We are open to everything. Thanks for reading this. Sorry its very long, didn't know how to shorten it. 

Parents

  • Schools need a collective of Autistic/ADHD Adults and Autistic/ADHD Therapists within the community who can help. These individuals will be able to help work out innately what is causing injury and throwing these children into self-defence mode. From my experience, ADHD individuals seem to be able to understand both NeuroTypical and Autistic  individuals and then can also keep at the pace of an ADHD child.

    Short of this, a designated 'sensory' room might help, but there's always the issue of lighting, which maybe someone like LightAware could help with. A child running laps around a building is actually engaging in a safe response to trauma or adrenaline. Exhausting oneself with physical activity is the best way to avoid taking it out on others. This shouldn't be discouraged. ADHD children typically need far more activity then they are allowed and it's quite harmful to their biology if they don't get this. 

    Chatting with someone might not help. NeuroTypical individuals seem to calm down with a bit of cheering on and positive affirmation. For an Autistic child, this cheering on will sound cruel, demeaning and cold hearted. Autists are looking for help analysing a function and problem-solving. They rarely need positive affirmation when under stress, but practical solutions. Further, they'll have difficulty with language and interception, so find 'chatting' over a thing only compounds the frustration unless they are with someone who's clever enough to out-think them, help them find the language they're missing and explore all kinds of possibilities assaulting their senses. NeuroTypical individuals might avoid exploring nuances of possible complexities, as they can find certain associations might make them feel guilty. It can be good to help encourage staff to be more Observant, scientific-like and engage with their analytical self. It could honestly be best to see if there isn't an autistic parent in the community who can assess the school and help find the issues creating further complications for these children.

  • in reply to JuniperFromGallifrey

    We are a school specialising in autism so we do have a good understanding of it. We have training every few weeks to help us aswell. There is a sensory room where the children can go to have alone time, sleep, and quiet time. We also have an O.T which can be used at times, if there isn't a lesson, to de escalate. 

    We don't stop the students from walking round the school. We made this mistake with Riley. When Riley is walking round the school, we can tell whether she wants staff with her or not. Is she does, then we let her be. If she doesn't, then her staff wait on either side, so we have an eye on her but also so she has the space needs. 

    Today was another tricky day for Riley and she didn't get the space and quiet she needed from other students making her abscond from school. She then came back with staff and we did some problem solving. Sometimes she doesn't know what is bothering her which is confusing and makes it worse so we do our best to pin point what has gone on and why. 

  • in reply to NAS80219
    NAS80219 said:
    Sometimes she doesn't know what is bothering her which is confusing and makes it worse

    This is a really crucial issue. Helping her with the tools for critical reasoning are key. Autistics can be excellent at analysis and Logic. I wonder if they can help https://www.sapere.org.uk

    We can sense seemingly invisible exchanges from human interaction to bio-chemical. We might miss the theatrics of social cues, but we can sense what's happening 'back stage'. So, for me, a feelings wheel is useless. It's absolutely pointless. It doesn't help in the least, because any thing in a given day can make me 'feel' the exact same thing. And just 'feeling' sad doesn't actually fix a problem. I need to work out the psychology or the physics of a function. For instance, just catching a few different uncomfortable smells is not helpful. Getting a lab test and working out that one of them is formaldehyde and another is from paint IS useful. From there, I can buy an air purifier. Same with chemically made candles. A flatmate wouldn't stop using them years ago just because I was having a negative reaction. I had to find the Chemical breakdown of the ingredients and the damage they could do. We are often dismissed. That's an added bonus. And when I couldn't identify that I was being dismissed it caused far more stress than when I could and also had the grounding understanding of who that other was in relation to me.

    These things are not simple, they are a different way of maturing into adulthood. I honestly believe if autistic children are taught principles of being, of relating, of psychology and wisdom - expectations and rules of relationships, they may not be able to drive a car by 18, but they will have the correct orientation to become more grounded adults within the world and when ready, will be far more successful in their fields. 

Reply
  • in reply to NAS80219
    NAS80219 said:
    Sometimes she doesn't know what is bothering her which is confusing and makes it worse

    This is a really crucial issue. Helping her with the tools for critical reasoning are key. Autistics can be excellent at analysis and Logic. I wonder if they can help https://www.sapere.org.uk

    We can sense seemingly invisible exchanges from human interaction to bio-chemical. We might miss the theatrics of social cues, but we can sense what's happening 'back stage'. So, for me, a feelings wheel is useless. It's absolutely pointless. It doesn't help in the least, because any thing in a given day can make me 'feel' the exact same thing. And just 'feeling' sad doesn't actually fix a problem. I need to work out the psychology or the physics of a function. For instance, just catching a few different uncomfortable smells is not helpful. Getting a lab test and working out that one of them is formaldehyde and another is from paint IS useful. From there, I can buy an air purifier. Same with chemically made candles. A flatmate wouldn't stop using them years ago just because I was having a negative reaction. I had to find the Chemical breakdown of the ingredients and the damage they could do. We are often dismissed. That's an added bonus. And when I couldn't identify that I was being dismissed it caused far more stress than when I could and also had the grounding understanding of who that other was in relation to me.

    These things are not simple, they are a different way of maturing into adulthood. I honestly believe if autistic children are taught principles of being, of relating, of psychology and wisdom - expectations and rules of relationships, they may not be able to drive a car by 18, but they will have the correct orientation to become more grounded adults within the world and when ready, will be far more successful in their fields. 

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