Autism Friendly Classrooms

Takiwātanga or Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects a person’s ability to communicate, socialise, form relationships, and affects their developmental trajectory (Signs & Symptoms | Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) | NCBDDD | CDC, 2023). As classroom practitioners we must be prepared to make our learning spaces as inclusive and welcoming as possible

It is not uncommon for students with Autism to have challenges. Whilst challenging behaviours. are common in Autistic tāmariki, it is not an innate part of autism. Challenging behaviour. is more likely to be rooted in the child feeling frustrated, out of control and anxious (Challenging Behaviour: Autistic Children and Teenagers, 2020). Due to the neurological difference in the way the brain is wired Autistic children are more likely to have heightened arousal centres of the brain which means that feelings/emotions are experienced at higher frequency and higher intensity than non-Autistic individuals. (Autism New Zealand, 2020a)

Often their challenging behaviour is the first sign that something is going awry for them in your classroom setting (Challenging Behaviour: Autistic Children and Teenagers, 2020).

These challenging behaviours could include:

• refusal or ignoring requests
• behaving in socially inappropriate ways
• hurting themself or others e.g. head banging or biting
• being aggressive
• seeming withdrawn
• selective mutism (not being able to speak)
• melting down
• seeming to be extremely anxious
• parents saying their child is exploding or is exhausted when they return from school
• disrupting

All of these behaviours communicate that this tamariki is struggling with something (Autism New Zealand, 2020a). It is essential that we identify the root cause of the behaviour in order to support our takiwātanga students to succeed at school (Challenging Behaviour: Autistic Children and Teenagers, 2020). When these behaviours occur, our students are not in their rational brains and are likely in their survival brain. When they are in their survival brain they cannot learn (Autism New Zealand, 2020a).

Some common root causes of challenging behaviours in Takaiwātanga students

(Challenging Behaviour: Autistic Children and Teenagers, 2020):

• anxiety
• trouble understanding what. is going on
• misunderstanding social nuances like humour or sarcasm
• feeling stressed out
• feeling overwhelmed
• being expected to transition between activities too quickly
• sensory sensitivity – touch or feel
• when routines are disrupted
• tiredness – sleep problems are common
• discomfort, pain, or illness
• having unreasonable expectations placed on them
• having co-occurring conditions such as ADHD, mood disorders, dyslexia, dysgraphia

Helping children overcome some of these:

• be ahead of the game – always warn about changes to routines, or unusual events e.g. fire drills
• Create social stories to help the tamariki understand unwritten rules or social niceties/expectations
• calmly ignore protests and praise when they do something right
• plan for situations you know they will find challenging
• make whole school events like athletics days, assemblies, discos, and productions Autism friendly by lowering sensory stimulation, ensuring that there are multiple options for participation, providing noise-cancelling headphones and safe quiet spaces to retreat to
• communicate clearly what is expected of them and how to ask for help

Schools can use a behaviour support plan, comic strip incident reviews, five point scales and the zones of regulation to support takiwātanga tāmariki.

Strategies you can try:

Ways to minimise classroom stress:

• provide instructions in multiple modalities e.g. visually in words, verbally and try to make rewindable instructions available
• have predictable work and routines – over teach activities so that the student can be successful without the support
• use positive reinforcement to enable the student to have something to work towards
• use the rule of five – give no more than 5 word instructions, and wait 5 seconds and then check that the student has understood
• clear away the clutter – make your classroom fairly minimal visually
• colour code or use visual symbols to organise the space
• have a retreat space available
• ensure students know where the bathroom is
• have social stories available and use these frequently to help support positive behaviour in all students
• set up social clubs at lunchtime to support students who find unstructured playtimes difficult
• have clearly set up group working expectations, rules and roles for each student
• provide sensory supports – fidget toys, bounce cushions or swiss balls, noise-cancelling headphones, weighted toys, blankets or knee pads, stretchy lycra

Please use this link to download a support information sheet for classroom teachers with takiwātanga students.

References:

Autism New Zealand. (2020a). Self-regulation. In Tiliting the Seesaw Handbook (pp. 27–33).

Autism New Zealand. (2020b). Understanding the Seesaw. In Autism NZ – Tilting the Seesaw Handbook (pp. 6–8). Autism NZ.

Challenging behaviour: autistic children and teenagers. (2020, November 18). Raising Children Network. https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/behaviour/understanding-behaviour/challenging-behaviour-asd

Signs & Symptoms | Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) | NCBDDD | CDC. (2023, January 11). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/signs.html

Speech Dude & Jessie Ginsburg. (2020, June 2). Sensory Processing Seesaw for SLPs: Top autism Tips [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPY5mSnqJhY