Help with a possibly Autistic/Apsergers Child...?

Question

I have a 6 year old who terrorizes the class. He is in the process of being assessed but in rural areas this process is slow. He has recently changed quite a lot. He was always a fighter and defiant and has attacked me in the past. Recently he attacks me on a daily basis, throws furniture, tears up displays...he can access part of the curriculum with support, and he works on a very modified programme. (His aims are to sit and listen at carpet time and not hurt anyone!) Anything above this is a bonus! He is in mainstream and we are all suffering. He can write his name, he is great with construction, he knows some sounds and can write a simple sentence with support. He is just so violent!! There is nowhere for him to go apart from my class in our school - we dont have a special school in the area. I need some strategies. Ive done all I can think of. I need to make the other kids feel safe too. He has a quiet place with construction toys set up for him. He trashes it.

Yes I am his teacher. He has seen a psych twice but he is reluctant to 'label' him until he is 8. I believe he he has ADHS and/or ODD (oppositional defiance dis) - i am just surviving & so are the other kids. The principal is well aware as she needs to remove him from class most days. Sadly it has become necessary to remove him as early as 9:15!

Whoops- I meant ADHD

Shari, you seem to have great empathy. Id love to yell to you for help when I need to. How do I let you know my email address without publically posting it?

We have a support worker too. She is meant to work with all the kids but as I have this little man, she devotes her time to him. That is why he has learnt a little bit. I have bought him a mechano set and a special box to keep all the bits in (a fishing box!) - all he needs in his 'peaceful place' is a laptop! I dont want to give him one as he will undoubtably throw it! But he does love computers and I was hoping he could access the curriculum via a keyboard.

Thank you to all of you for your ideas and support!! I appreciate it - Im floundering with this little man. I want to do the best by him and the rest of the class (and by me too :))

God I could sit all night. All of you have helped so much. Annie, thank you - I have done everything you mentioned.. the principal knows, the parents and I talk daily or at least 3x a week. We just sadly live in a remote area of Australia and these things take time.
Im glad noone has bagged me and told me I am not doing enough. Ill keep on keeping on...and try anything to get him to be a learner.
Thanks again everyone.

OK to clarify - I am his teacher, we live in Australia, he has seen a paed and a psych 2ce. The mum is aware and working with the school, the dad is out of the equation except when he wants to be part of it, the grandma is over-powering. They are indigenous. He is 6, his sister displays similar traits altho is more 'together', she is 4. Mum is lonely, (was abused by dad) - it is an all round messed up situation but the kid needs me to do the best I can while he is so little. He is one of many with emotional/social/behavioural probs. It is because of his violence that I am asking for help. My other needy bubs arent violent.

Answer 1

Sounds like atutism - but could also be ADHD. Have you had a referral to a psychologist? There are diagnostic tests that can determine if autism is present and it sounds as if you need an answer now, because unitl there is a 'diagnosis' you are unable to implement effective strategies for that diagnosis.
What you are doing now is survivng! With some answers the road can be made a little less bumpy, as strategies based on structure, routine, visual communication and life skill development will work well if the diagnosis is autism.
Are you the parent or teacher? Talk to the principal. The process can be lengthy but I see this child as a priority - for his own and everyone else's safety.
Medication, such as Respiridol, can sometimes help, but a psychiatric assessment will determine the necessity of this.
Atutism or Aspergers - they can both lead to anxiety and anxiety can lead to violence as a coping mechanism. Not understnading, or being able to read social cues means that inappropriate behaviours are prevalent and extreme.
Hope the little man can be helped and soon - but I would recommend stay away from ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis)) programs - two boys in my class of 4 autistic boys did this and there is no return once the damage is done!

Answer 2

It sounds like the little guy may have asperger's, but hard to diagnose off of here. He needs to be seeing the psych, and they should be able to figure that out. In the mean time, in order for you to just get by, have you heard of functional behavioral assessment? There are lots of website online if you search it, they can tell you how to do it. What it is is a process for funding the function of behavior (why is he doing the things he does?) and then coming up with a behavioral intervention plan to try to change his inappropriate behaviors to more appropriate ones. We use them in our school with our behavior disorder and autistic kids all the time. It takes a decent amount of time to do, but once you have all the data in front of you and put it all together, it really makes the whole behavior start to make sense. Plus, even though it is a lot of work, it will save you a ton of time later on if you can get it right now. Even if he is autistic, there is a reason he behaves how he does. It could be for attention, he could be avoiding, he could need higher or lower levels of stimulation (sounds more in this area). FBA will help! look into it if you get a chance. Good luck :)

Answer 3

I cant tell if he is your child or you are his teacher.
Big difference in what you can do!
What country are you in?
If you are the teacher does he have siblings?
Are the parents cooperative?
here are some aspergers links sure sounds like thats what you are dealing with.
My son had some issues. and someone gave me some excellent advice.

Do not go to a Dr.or counselor who is not qualified to make a diagnosis.
The pediatrician is not good enough. I always say if I need a specialist if your child had this problem who would you take him too?
Who is the best qualified person?
I started with the chair of developmental pediatrics at the local medical school. Early and correct intervention is the key.
If you are in the US. contact me. I sometimes work as a volenteer advocate.
I have 3 kids with different LD's, the eldest is on a full college scholarship and is now doing very well.

Answer 4

THe evaluation needs to be sped up if you can. The sooner you have an idea of what is going on, the sooner you can begin to develop a behavioral management program with the school psychologist.

In all honesty, my gut instinct is to ask where are the parents during all this? Do they know the extent of the behaviors occuring at school? If not, get a black and white composition book and begin sending it home each day with a full report of the child's day at school. Encourage the parents to report any sleepless nights, behavioral episodes at home, etc to you using the book as well. Not only will this give you proof that the parents are being informed of the issue, it may provide you with some insight to behavior outside the class as well (and even a heads up about a rough morning or bad night that could become a horrible day in class). The parents have to be in on all of this..their voice will carry far more weight than yours in getting changes in placement...and there is no doubt in my mind that a mainstream class is not where this child belongs at the moment.

You have a violent, aggressive child that takes huge amounts of effort to get minimal results from. If he doesn't have a full time one to one aide, he needs it. There is no way you can even hope to successfully mainstream this child without the use of a dedicated aide. This person will need to be shown how to head off tantrums, intervene to keep the child and others safe and have been trained on safely restraining the child if it is needed. Both you and the aide will need appropriate training in dealing with a child with autism with severe behavioral issues. Applied behavior is often the most effective, but requires ignorning the negative behaviors while trying to redirect the child. In a full size class with the extreme behaviors you are decsribing, it would be tough.

In all honesty, this is a child who needs to be placed in a specialized educational setting. The truth is, if the school doesn't have the services, it will have to find them or create them. Keeping things as they are is asking for serious problems if another student is attacked or hurt. The child in question is clearly not getting an appropriate education as his needs demand far more than sitting for story and not hurting anyone. He needs to work with teacher who can address all of his educational goals..behavioral as well as cognitive.

YOu have put in a great deal of time and effort to work with this child. There is no shame in going to your administration and flat out telling them you are not equipped to provide this child the education he is legally entitled to. Thier refusal to do anything (no matter the reason they give) is grounds for you to go to the district level and the union. No teacher should run the daily risk of being attacked by a student. Your allowing the school to continue placing him in an enviroment that offers so little of what he needs is unfair to both you and the student. Speak privately with the parents. If they have voiced concerns and complaints about this to you and the school, let them know you share these concerns and recommend they get copies of the parent and student rights for children on IEP's. Unfortunately, if they don't fight, nothing can change.

Answer 5

There was a landmark decision in Colorado in the mid-70's that stated public schools would be responsible for the education of all children. And we not only got busing, we also lost many of the special education facilities. Public schools were in chaos as they struggled to mainstream children and de-segregate the public schools. Thirty years later we no longer bus students and are again hearing a 'need' for black schools and special education never really worked for main streaming children. Not all children get a good education and no child left behind is a farce. It's politics and policies tend to change with every election. Dedicated professionals did manage to save a few of the special private schools like Laradon Hall and the CP Center. Your child needs a special school environment public schools cannot provide.

Answer 6

It's hard for people to understand why they do these things and what to do about it. It is now mandatory for teachers to go to workshops to better understand what goes on in the minds of a autistic asperger's syndrome child. I have one and he did the same thing. Now on the right medication he is functioning in the regular classroom and has done very well. They are really very smart. He designs house's and buts alot of house plan books. With an aide at his side he can do anything anyone else can do, you mention the quiet place for him to go, this is important, their hearing is very sensitive and they need that break. They can hear sometimes 15 percent more then the normal person so they are hearing what we hear plus sounds that we do not hear and all in one volume so all day long that can get pretty overwhelming. You need to see someone professional to get him on the right meds so he can function well. Never give up, he has alot to offer and what he can do once he has it undercontrol will amaze you.

Answer 7

I teach also...my entire class is on the autism spectrum...it is strange that the doctor wants to wait until he is 8 to diagnose/label...that is lost time! Here in the U.S. children are typically diagnosed and treated as early as 2 years old. In any case, if he is in fact on the autism spectrum, there is a lot that his teachers/adults need to learn and learn fast. Try reading information on the internet or reading books at the library. I could give you tons of advice, but it would be too much to post. He is disruptive/violent because the world around him is scary and confusing. Life is random, like small snippets of information, none of which link together. He needs to be given ADVANCE warnings of transitions to other activities/classes/schedule changes constantly, provide him with a copy of his daily schedule that he can check off, he will need a lot of reinforcement for appropriate behavior (i.e. candy, stickers, so on) - be sure to tell him why he is being rewarded (i,.e. "You wrote your name, you get a sticker") otherwise the reinforcement will mean nothing to him. Social praise ("good work") will not always work as children on the autism spectrum have HUGE social skills deficits. Try pairing your directions/teaching with pictures. Children on the autism spectrum are very literal/picture thinkers. If he "sees" it, he will get it eventually. Avoid using words or language that can't be shown it a picture (idioms, metaphors, etc.) - it must be literal. I have been guilty of making that mistake. I told my class to take a seat (meaning "sit down") and several students picked up their chairs as if to take them home. I hope some of this works.

Answer 8

I am reading some very good advice, and know how difficult this is for you as well as your students who have to endure these actions. One thing to check is his diet. I once a student who was disruptive she was bad every day but, some days were really bad. I finally started to keep track of her meals. Mornings that she had waffles and sweet cereal she was horrid. Mom was not helpful, and eventually she was removed from the class. Beg for a one on one teacher and try an award approach for completed work

Answer 9

Both for your own stability, and for support while you search for the right resources and people to help your son and family, I would highly recommend healing prayer which can address the emotional roots in the family line. It is nothing short of amazing the stablizing factor this has while seeking medical and therapeutic treatment, to address the spiritual level first, so that the others follow. Please contact therapist Judith MacNutt and Frances MacNutt with healing ministry and school in Florida. This is the one group I know who equally emphasizes medical and psychological treatment in addition to spiritual therapy so that ALL levels are addressed. They have written a book on HEALING that explains that if you skip the spiritual therapy, this can block the psychological and medical treatments from working. But if you seek prayer and healing first on the spiritual level, it can facilitate or even instigate healing on the other levels. So it is very important to work with the whole person and even the whole family. http://www.christianhealingmin.org

Frances MacNutt, a former priest who wrote the book "Healing" based on 30 years of experience after starting with no knowledge of healing, has documented cases where adult schizophrenia was completely cured and even Down's syndrome was improved in a child by healing prayer and spiritual treatment with the parents. So he has collaborated with medical professionals to study and prove the effects on otherwise "incurable" conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, added to later editions of his book 2001 or later.

They are truly on the cutting edge of medicine and therapy because they do not reject one for the other but use all for healing the spiritual roots of the whole person and family.

I believe that this support will open up doors and references to find the help you are looking for. Best wishes to you, Emily

P.S. If you want immediate change and doors to open to find the right people, please call my friend Olivia who prays for that and things change right away. Her number is posted at the top of one of my webpages http://www.houstonprogressive.org/nothanku.html
about spiritual struggle to let go the burdens of the world.
So the words are about the deep pain I have seen people suffer until they prayed and were released so things could change for the better, either over time or sometimes overnight.

Answer 10

You may want to see if an aide can be brought into the class to assist you with the child. The one to one attention may help him to focus. Also kids w/asperger's syndrome usually fair well when smaller steps are laid out w/time limits. There's a great website that provides support for families, teachers, etc. You may find it useful

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/