Nonverbal autistic child exposing himself?

Question

Since school started, I've noticed one of my students often sticking his hand or finger down his pants to touch his "private parts". Yesterday he was lying on a soft mat in the classroom on his stomach and when he turned over, he had his shorts pulled down in front and he had an erection. I told him to pull up his pants because he isn't allowed to do that in the class. He exposed himself two more times after that. Today, he was touching himself while he was sitting at a table in the cafeteria. Then he pulled his pants down in front again and exposed himself. This doesn't seem to be an attention getting behavior. He is almost 12 so his body is going through changes--however, I don't know how to make him understand that he can only do it in private. And I can't have him exposing himself in front of other children in the cafeteria. He is nonverbal but I know he understands what is going on. I've talked to him about other issues such as pinching and he only does it more now--with a smile.

I asked this question on the special education board of yahoo answers because I know there are lots of educators and parents of autistic children who come here to offer and ask for advice. I have gotten lots of good ideas on here. I am trying to help this child so that he can function in the real world. I am a special education teacher so I do know there are other sources of information--including talking to other educators and autism "experts." However, there is no standard answer because every child is so different. He is already in a self-contained class because of his behavior and only time he leaves the room is to go to the cafeteria and the bathroom. I am looking for ideas instead of criticism for asking a question. Thanks to all of you who are actually offering suggestions.

Answer 1

It sounds as if you handled the situation at the time correctly, as this sort of behaviour is very difficult to deal with, especially when other children are being exposed to this type of behaviour.

Being firm with him and not over reacting is vital, and explaining why he can't do this, you might find you will have to repeat this a few times before he understands that he can't do this.

Talk to colleagues or supervisor about this, and see if they can offer any idea's on how to tackle this behaviour. I have put in a few links which may or may not help, the top one is sexual information education council of the US, which has some good down loadable pdf files, which you may find helpful too.

You may also have to speak to his parents/guardian about his behaviour, so they can monitor him at home and act on any inappropriate behaviours too.

This is a really good book A TRAINING GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONALS
By Winifred Kempton
Which deals with the following issues Sexuality Education and Guidelines for Curriculum Design
Coping with Inappropriate Sexual Behavior
Sexual Abuse and Informed Consent
Working with Parents
Considerations Relating to Living Centers

I myself have had to deal with the same type situation, (I am a Youth & Disability support worker) we the carer's tried not to over react to the young mans actions, we told him he'd have time out, away from an activity he wanted to participate in. It took a few times of sitting out for him to get the message, that touching himself in public is not polite.


Good luck

Answer 2

This is natural, but socially unacceptable.

He needs a replacement behavior and to be TAUGHT (not just told) that this is only done in private. It cannot be assumed that he knows this is not socially acceptable...that is a major deficit of kids on the spectrum...lack of social skills. Because he is unable to communicate, he may be getting a reaction from others that he enjoys.

I had a student do this last year (10 year old) and for him it was not a sexual thing, but more the novelty of "look what I can do" - like a neat trick. He was higher functioning than what you are dealing with, so we were able to discuss the issue and he stopped. - - - He was not aware that this was something done in private. As far as he was concerned, it was a parlor trick like being able to touch your tongue to your nose.

Being that this student is nonverbal, do you have access to Boardmaker http://www.mayer-johnson.com/ProdDesc.aspx?SKU=M125&MainCategoryID=5419&CategoryID=&SubCategoryID=
or another program in which you can create a social story about where this behavior is and is not appropriate? It may mean that he gets a trip to the bathroom at a certain time of day to be in private.

Does he display this type of behavior when he is anxious? In other words are you seeing it happen just before transitions? In the loud cafeteria? This may be an escape route or a distraction for him. Maybe you might want to try charting the behavior to see if you can find any antecedents. You stated that this is not a way of gaining attention, but without data as support, it is unreasonable to dismiss the possibility.

Answer 3

I had a high school student with moderate MMR doing the same thing. I spoke with the student about appropriate behavior and then had a meeting with the mother. I explained to her that the behavior he was exhibiting was normal but the location of the behavior was unacceptable. I suggested she teach him to masturbate at home in an acceptable place - bed, shower - but to remember that he does not transfer knowledge well so wherever she wants him to do this activity is where it has to be taught.

To stop this behavior in school start him on a rewards program where every 30 minutes he doesn't do the behavior he gets a sticker or points on a chart and at the end of the day if he has all his stickers or points he gets a small reward that he chooses. If you can get parental buy-in, perhaps they can give a bigger reward weekly if he gets all his stickers or points for the week.

Remember, you can really only work on changing a few behaviors at a time, rewarding behaviors you want works better then punishment for behaviors you don't want, and attention from you is a huge reward for him. Expect escalation of a behavior you are trying to extinguish at first as he tests you, but frequently, ignoring him when he does things like pinching will make the behavior disappear. Don't forget you are replacing a behavior you don't want with one you do want!

Good luck to you - you are doing a job that has a huge impact on those you work with!

Answer 4

Since he understands other issues you've talked with him about, I would continue talking to him about this issue and explaining that this behavior is innappropriate. Perhaps a social story about proper behavior in public places would help too. I would also try and keep him engaged with other activities so that he doesn't have idle time to be bored and start doing this. You'll have to keep a close eye on him and catch him before he gets to involved in the behavior. If you can catch him when his hand first starts to wander towards his private parts you can simply say "No touch" and redirect the behavior..."Come here and help me do such and such". If laying on a soft mat is one of the things that starts the behavior, then don't let him do that anymore. If you see start to go to the mat, then you can redirect him. Not making a big deal out of it is a good thing too. I would also develop a behaviorial intervention plan and give copies to everybody working with this child so that mom/dad and other teachers or professionals at school will know what to do when he starts this behavior. Consistency among everybody working with this child is important.

Answer 5

Social Story Private Parts

Answer 6

Wow, I have no idea what you might say or do to affect his behavior, but I agree that you can't allow it to continue.

Geriatric centers and nursing homes often have residents with similar problem behavior. There are catalogues with clothing designed for "active undressers." What they amount to is the shirt and pants stitched together, and the fly stitched shut, so the whole outfit has to come off for the penis or buttocks to be exposed. Of course, this makes the bathroom a major production, but it's a trade-off at least some people require.

I hope you'll locate a forum for special ed teachers, where you can get advice "from the trenches."

Thanks for caring about kids like this boy. It's a hard job and we're glad people do it.

Answer 7

All children this around this age perform this type behavior. This guy has all the sexual desires of his peers, he simply does not have the social awareness to avoid doing so in public. Does this child have access to a behavioral specialist, home trainer, this would be the best way to teach him when this behavior is allowed and not allowed. It is quite simple when behavior modification methods are used on a consistent basis and followed through with in all areas of the child's life. As a teacher you need more resource to meet his needs, if another child sees this, the family could file charges of sexual harassment.

Answer 8

a reward system...explain everyday he goes w/o exposing himself he will get a sticker or a stamp. If a day is too much for him try it by the hour-every hour he goes w/o exposure=sticker. then when he has reaches the targeted amount of stickers he get an appropriate reward. Even thought he will not speak he should understand. Are you sure is not attention seeking because like you said with the pinching it increased when you addressed the issue which is a huge sign of attention seeking behavior

Answer 9

Perhaps he should be transfered to another school, that may deal with his challenges better? Talk to his parents and see if they have this problem with him at home, if so see what they do to correct this behavior. Good luck, this is a tough one!

Answer 10

I think you should address this question privately to someone who is an expert in autistic children.

Why would you ask this question of a bunch of third world teenagers on this page?