Challenging behaviour - SEN Teachers asking for advice

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.

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. 

NAS80219 said:

she didn't get the space and quiet she needed from other students making her abscond from school

But this sounds like the problem. It's valuable for everyone to learn to respect one another. Perhaps you have stickers or a laminate available for students who don't have it in them to be social that day. This teaches them how to express their Limit and how to be Respectful of others Limits. Something like this in school available for each student might solve a great deal of problems. 

Education doesn't need to be social but focused on learning. In fact, the more young children learn to respect and express limits, the more socially capable they will be as adults. 

NAS80219 said:

she didn't get the space and quiet she needed from other students making her abscond from school

But this sounds like the problem. It's valuable for everyone to learn to respect one another. Perhaps you have stickers or a laminate available for students who don't have it in them to be social that day. This teaches them how to express their Limit and how to be Respectful of others Limits. Something like this in school available for each student might solve a great deal of problems. 

Education doesn't need to be social but focused on learning. In fact, the more young children learn to respect and express limits, the more socially capable they will be as adults. 

I'm a bit lost here with this:

Interrupting Student: Needs to understand others do not owe them a relationship nor a response. How many different ways have you tried to explain this? It's clear you'll not be able to keep saying the same thing. This is a big one for young autistic kids, as they feel intensely toward another, and just hearing what another needs or is doing is too vague and nonsensical. In fact, it can accidentally teach this other student their needs aren't as important. When someone needs space, it could mean for any length of time - 2 minutes? 2 Hours? It could mean we might or might not be friends, and it might cause this student to interrupt even more out of anxiety and dread and a whole new load of unresolved matters. 

This student needs to understand practical tools to create and afford boundaries, which could be difficult depending on what going on at home. They need to understand it's selfish to demand others engage and can use good Rules for Exchange and Rules to create and invest in friendship. These are not usually allotted by a school, as NeuroTypical children usually don't need them. But Autistic children thrive when given Rules of etiquette to keep in the conscious level of their mind. We make conscious decisions to afford kindness, afford dignity and afford space. Theatre classes will also help with these. The fact that I undergo mental work to be a friend toward and with you, is effort and valuable.

We teach students on a daily basis about personal space and when students need quiet time. Riley shares a classroom with 2 other students, and she gets on with them both but one of the student's wants to be best friends with Riley and will constantly be interrupting her lesson trying to talk to Riley but we have always said 'Riley is in a lesson' or 'Riley needs space'. Because we have said this all the time, Riley is now starting to communicate what she needs with the student. She will say she needs space or she's in a lesson, then will ignore her and carry on. 

We are working with Riley to help her understand the issues she's facing and now she's doing really well and is interested in what to do. 

Today's little incident we had a chat about and she said that she was confused and overwhelming and needed the space from students. She then said she started locking staff out and walking away from them and wanted to change her staff, even though she was happy with them, to control her environment. But then she absconded because things got too much.

We didn't know this, we knew about the students and needing space but because she locked her staff out, we thought she didn't want them so offered to change them, so she said yes to be in control. It is always easier to lock staff out because then she knows that we know something is bothering her.