The way in which we can address this is by doing a functional behavior analysis. By conducting this assessment we can determine whether a behavior is serving to access or avoid tangibles, demands, attention, or sensory input. Once we know the function of a behavior, it can be effectively addressed.

Too many times children with autism are treated as if their behaviors (i.e. screaming, bolting, hitting, biting, rocking, ignoring, etc.) are symptoms of the child being naughty or misbehaved or not disciplined. They are put in time out, seclusion rooms, ignored, physically prompted, have things taken away, or are given things without really considering whether or not these “consequences” for their behaviors will effectively decrease the unwanted behavior and increase the desired behavior.

Conducting a functional behavior analysis or assessment should be done by someone who understands the forms and functions of behavior and what interventions are most effective in addressing the behaviors. Additionally, it is important that any interventions implemented are well planned and followed as consistently as possible to be the most effective. It is not possible for an intervention to be implemented in one environment and not in another and a still have the most long-lasting effect. Most importantly, the results of the intervention should be tracked by quantitative data to prove that they are effective.

The last note about interventions to address behaviors is that it is not enough to try to eliminate a behavior, because the function of the behavior still needs to be served. For instance, if a child is exhibiting a behavior to gain attention but the form of the behavior is unacceptable…they need to be taught acceptable ways of gaining attention. If the child is not taught appropriate means to get their needs met, we are not doing all we can to help them grow and learn. After all, that is the point of teaching and the reason why we teach…not to eliminate unwanted behaviors, but to help children learn and grow and be accepted and loved for who they are.

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For many children with autism, verbal directions are hard to understand. Additionally, time concept and relational concepts such as “first you need to do this, then you can have that” can be difficult to comprehend. However, when presented visually this is more easily understood.

The most recent example I have of this is one of my students asking his aide for a star wars picture. I was working with another group of students and I heard him demand repeatedly “I want a picture of Anakin”, “You need to get me a picture”. Her response to this was a verbal direction that it was time for math and he could get a picture later if he worked hard. The concept of “working hard” in a very abstract one and he seemed to understand her redirection as “No, you can not have a star wars picture”. This went on for a while until I had to intervene because they both were escalating and there was no math work being completed. I went over to them and asked his aide what he needed to do, then I asked him what he wanted. After getting the answers from both of them I wrote out a simple schedule on an index card: (1) Math (with a 10-star token economy to show him he needed to do 10 math problems); (2) Star Wars Picture (his desired reinforcement). This ended the incessant requesting…and low and behold he completed his work!!

This is a simple example of how a visual schedule can be used to illustrate what needs to be done and when a desired item can be accessed. Schedules can be as simple or as complex as the child can handle and understand. If you’re just starting, it is best to start out small and work your way up to longer, more complex schedules. It is important to remember that schedules are not only effective for children who are able to read, picture schedules are just as effective.

It is a good thing to remember that simple is better…this in the principle of parsimony. It’s much simpler to provide a schedule to a child than to go round and round in a verbal debate which only serves to frustrate the child and the adult involved in the situation.

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As for outdoor activities, bicycling (maybe a tandem bike if low motor skills), scooters, skiing/snowboarding/sledding, obstacle courses, basketball (especially games you can make very visual like HORSE, around-the-world, etc), soccer, and frisbee are fun options.

For indoor activities (especially during those chilly winter months), playing musical instruments (drums, piano, horns, etc.), video games (such as Dance-Dance Revolution, Wii Sports, Wii Carnival, Mario Party and Wii Fit, etc.), listening/dancing to music, art projects, cooking projects, cleaning projects (could tie in with earning money to make purchases…great life skills), dance/holiday party for friends (include the kids in planning and setting up, etc…again, great life skills), and re-decorating/painting projects are always fun.

I always try to make sure, as I’m sure others do too, that the activities are fun and engaging, but also working on some life skills. Additionally, I always make sure that the kids are part of the planning process to ensure that they are engaged in the entire process and equally enthusiastic to do the activity…not just doing what an adult tells them to do…again that goes back to building life skills including organizing and planning their own activities.

Let me know if YOU have any other ideas!

For more activity ideas, check out this discussion forum:

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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has termed this early identification process as Child Find, and these services are available in all states as it is federally mandated by IDEA-Part C (it may be called something else in your state…just contact your local school district). The school districts are obligated to meet with families who are concerned about their child’s development and conduct an evaluation to determine if services are warranted. Please do not take the doctor’s scheduling delay as a delay in your child’s access to services…contact the school district to access services NOW!!!

Here is a description of how the process works. First a meeting is scheduled with the Child Find team and as a team it is decided whether or not to proceed with an evaluation. Once the team has decided to evaluate, they have 35 school days to complete the evaluation and present the report and recommendations at a feedback meeting. If your child is found to be in need of services, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) will be written outlining the child’s needs, their educational goals, and services they will receive. Many times school districts will begin services, if the parent consents, before the IEP is finalized to ensure that the child receives services as soon as possible.

Do not hesitate in contacting the school district to initiate early identification and early intervention services. It is the law and it is your child’s right to receive free and appropriate services.

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The truth of the matter is that some of the assistive technology items are pricey, but with the advent of newer technology, the prices are coming down. In terms of paying for these items, many schools have limited budgets so teachers need to get creative in garnering the funds. This can happen through fund raising, applying for grants, or donations. It is important to remember that the cost of NOT using these items can almost be more than the purchasing price. They can allow children to express themselves and their needs, communicate with other children, read books and access their environment. In the video clip below, you will see a boy with autism who was labeled “non-verbal” learning how to request activities and access books that were previously unavailable to him.

When it comes to managing these devices, although they may look difficult to program they’re actually not that difficult. Yes, it may take some getting used to, but again the cost of time to learn how to use them it minuscule compared to the gains it can help children make.

It is vital that we begin to use more of these technologies in our classrooms and stop making excuses for not using them. For some children, they are the key to their future success and happiness because without them they risk remaining voiceless and locked away from the amazing materials a classroom has to offer. We need to make sure that every child is given the opportunity to access the curriculum and materials in the classroom so they are able to succeed in school and in life.

AbleNet, Inc. has many amazing products available. They are a great company and have created many assistive technology devices to help children communicate (i.e. SuperTalker) and access books (i.e. BookWorm). Watch the video clip below to see how they have been used with children with autism.

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Stereotyped motor movements in people with autism include hand flapping, rapid eye-blinking, spinning, and rocking. It is postulated that the seemingly “odd” behaviors usually occur in response to stress or excitement. The video below is a great example of how we all have stereotyped motor movements in response to stress or excitement…the difference being that many of these seem “normal”. When our bodies produce neurochemicals in response to stressors our bodies react in the form of stereotypical motor movements to help regulate our responses. We tap our pencils, twiddle our thumbs, shake our legs, bite our nails and pace back and forth in an attempt to cope with a chemical overload. This is no different than what happens in people with autism; therefore, I argue that these stereotypical motor movements are not something that we should try to stop because they are normal reactions to normal neurochemicals. I’ve heard the argument that the stereotypical motor movements of people with autism interfere with learning and social interaction so they need to be stopped. My counter-argument is that learning and social interactions can be stressful experiences for people with autism and therefore elicit stress responses in the form of stereotypical motor movements. What we need to do, rather than trying to stop the movements themselves is to work with the child and give them the skills to make learning and social situations less stressful. Stopping the stereotyped movements themselves does nothing for the underlying cause of the reaction.

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This article brought up a couple key issues for me. First of all, this family is among many others that have spent their lives since the diagnosis of their child struggling to provide their child with the intensive intervention recommended. This, as is pointed out in the article, can be very expensive and beyond the means of most families. Something needs to be done at the local, state, and federal level to ensure that children with autism and their families are able to access the most intensive and effective treatments. The second issue that jumps out at me is the fact that the family was offered limited support from the school to address the girl’s issues at home. This is an issue that I deal with as a teacher. The public school system is not set up to help families at home…family-centered programming and support stops when the child enters kindergarten. This is a sad reality and something that needs to be addressed because it has been shown that consistency across all environments is the most effective in addressing issues with children with autism…if there is limited support for the family by the school which is full of trained professionals, there will not be as much success as possible. It wasn’t until the Autism Partnership got involved that the family was able to get help at home. The final issue is the fact that this girl and her family are suffering because of the intensity of her behavior which has increased as she has gone without treatment and as she has entered puberty. It brings up the point once again that early intervention and education of family members is vital to ensure the progress of the child and solidarity within the family.

Autism 911: Help for a family in crisis

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School districts typically provide training regarding how to deal with aggressive behavior (basically how to minimize damage) but they do not learn the basic principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, data collection, incidental teaching, prompt fading techniques, etc. If we continue to have untrained paraeducators in the classroom supporting children with autism there will continue to be problems in regards to actual access to the general education curriculum, appropriate social interactions, and full participation. The way in which paraeducators are currently used serves as a barrier between the child and typically developing peers rather than serving as a facilitating factor to support the growth and development of the child.

If we are going to provide appropriate education within the context of the general education classroom we need to stop putting untrained paraeducators in the classroom. They need to be trained by professionals in order to maximize the efficacy of their role in the classroom.

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I’ve gotten many questions about how to “get rid” of these behaviors in children. My answer to that comes in the form of a questions: How do we get rid of our OWN ritualistic behaviors? The ultimate answer is that we don’t. What we do is shape these behaviors in ourselves and children with autism to not allow them to control our lives…but all ritualistic behaviors serve a purpose and ultimately make us individuals.

Take, for example, the ritualistic behavior of having obsessive interests. This can manifest itself in many ways, but for simplicities sake let’s say a child with autism is obsessed with a character from a TV show. So much so that the child will only watch that show, only play with toy that are characters from the show, and will only draw pictures of the characters from the show. Does that mean that this child is unreachable? Or that they will always only like this? No what it means is that they are interested in something that we can use to connect with them and help them stretch and branch out their interests. Using this character we can teach the child to role play and work on social skills, read using books about this character, or write books about this character.

In my opinion, it is unfair to make children with autism “stop” engaging in their ritualistic behaviors. What we can do is help children learn how to manage these ritualistic behaviors so they do not control their lives. I, for instance, am obsessed with books. Reading is something that I cannot get enough of and if I could I would read all day every day; however, I have learned how to manage this in order to meet the other obligations in my life. What I have taught myself to do it reward myself with access to a good book after I’ve completed my obligations.

In conclusion, I urge parents and educators to stop worrying about how to stop the behaviors and start figuring out how to use these ritualistic behaviors to engage the child and help them learn and grow.

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Currently, most states still allow the use of seclusion rooms with limited to no training and limited documentation. The biggest problem is that many use seclusion rooms without any other interventions to actually address the behavior (i.e. through the use of Positive Behavior Supports), rather these “educators” are content to continue to abuse these children and make them fear being tossed into the “cage”. Parents and teachers need to take a stand against the use of these seclusion rooms anywhere and hold the schools and educators accountable for actually teaching these students using positive practices.

Please click on the link below for a recent news story about the use of seclusion rooms:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/17/seclusion.rooms/index.html

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The answer is that it is nearly impossible to do so. When teachers have smaller caseloads they are able to program more effectively and provide more intensive services. Unfortunately, our school systems are not set up to make these smaller caseloads a reality. The reason that children are provided special education services is to provide them with specialized services to address their individual needs in order to help them access and make progress in the general education curriculum. It is unfair to assume that special education teachers will be able to provide these high level intensive services when they are spread so thin. We must continue to push for smaller caseloads at the federal, state, and local level to ensure that our students who are most at risk receive the quality services they deserve. Smaller caseloads are one step in ensuring bigger successes for our students with disabilities.

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When creating goals for IEPs it is important to take into consideration the state standards towards which all students are working. By creating goals in this way, Individualized Education Plans are considered standards-based. When we create goals in this way we ensure that children are held to high standards and that their goals are helping them work towards the same standards as other students, not just randomly selected goals. This ensures that we are holding children to high expectations. It has been shown in studies that when we hold children to high standards they are more likely to meet or exceed those standards. Conversely, if we have low expectations children will perform to those expectations. All children with disabilities have the right to be educated to the fullest extent possible. Only by creating goals in the Individualized Education Plans which reflect high expectations will we maximize the effect of our teaching.

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Teachers in a school district in Washington State, for instance, have a cap of 26 students; however, caseloads can exceed this number with some additional reparations. When you think of the students included in this caseload, they range from students with specific learning disabilities to students with more significant disabilities which affect many different areas of their learning. The needs of these children are vastly different, yet the special education teacher is required to write IEPs, track progress, and program for all of these children. There is, to be quite frank, not enough time in the day to ensure that the students with more intensive needs are provided with all the services they deserve and are entitled to. The children with the more significant needs typically make up a smaller percentage than those with specific learning disabilities, which means that there is a lot of imbalance and stretching of the special education teacher.

The only way that we will ever be able to ensure children with more significant needs are included in the general education classroom is to change the way in which caseloads are formulated. The current funding structure does not fully allow for a true continuum of services which, in most cases, should be provided at the child’s home school. My proposition is to make sure that students with more significant needs are provided with special education teachers whose caseloads are much smaller than the average so they are able to provide to most adequate programming. The only way that this will ever be possible is to ensure adequate special education funding for our schools so they can make all these programs available.

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• Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
• Voice Output Communication Aide (VOCA)
• American Sign Language (ASL)
• See-Sign

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It is not enough for students with special needs just to be in the classroom and be receiving lessons from the para. There must be adequate preparation on the part of the general and special education teachers in order to best serve the child in that environment.

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Obsessive interests can be in topics or in objects. This can be seen in the inability or inflexibility in reading or talking about topics, and obsession with toys, books, or behaviors many people may view this behavior as aberrant, it important to realize that we all have interests and these interest can be used to facilitate learning. For instance, if a child is interested in Spiderman this topic could be used as a material for teaching the child to read or take the perspective of others. It is also important to understand that we should not try to stop a child’s interest, but help them use these interests to grow in functional ways.

Adherence to routines may lead to some anxiety due to confusion arising from changes in schedules and routines. Some routines may be counterproductive and non-functional. It is vital that we help children learn to be flexible, but we must provide them with adequate supports to do so. The use of visual schedules can be very helpful in this regard because it can help prepare the child for deviations from the normal routine. If we do not provide children with the supports necessary to foster flexibility, we may inadvertently increase anxiety around changes in routines and schedules.

Stereotyped motor movements include flapping, spinning, rocking, and self-injurious behavior. These stereotyped movements are thought to be driven by internal processes to help the child self-regulate. This self-regulation may be linked to pain, chemical imbalances, confusion, or feelings of under or over stimulation. Sometimes these stereotyped behaviors may begin as self-regulation but become reinforced by outside factors including access to objects or attention. It is important to conduct a functional behavior analysis to better understand the driving force for these stereotypical behaviors so we can best understand how to address them. It is typically not appropriate to stop a child from engaging in these behaviors unless they are in some way endangering themselves or others. By conducting a functional behavior analysis we can determine the best course of action to help the child learn appropriate forms of self-regulation. An important thing to note here is that we all engage in self-regulating behaviors including tapping our pencils, biting our nails, squeezing our hands together, and going for walks.

Preoccupation with objects can border on perseveration that can lead to the inability to shift focus from that object. Behavior problems can arise around obsessions and routines when there is an attempt to quickly alter behavior, change routines and schedules on short notice, and remove objects of obsession. It is of the utmost importance that we systematically address ritualistic behavior by first understanding the function of the behavior in order to best serve the child’s needs.

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Impairments in use of non-verbal communication and expressive language significantly affect the child’s ability to initiate and sustain communication. Perseveration on a topic, issues initiating communication, difficulty using unwritten communication rules, inappropriate interrupting, and inflexibility in style of conversation all contribute to difficulties in sustaining appropriate conversation.

A restricted vocabulary can also present a severe issue in communication. Children with autism may have a vocabulary that is dominated by nouns and are often confined to requests or rejections to regulate their environment. Typical communication is dominated by verbs and adjectives which can be complex and abstract. These differences between these two forms of communicating lead to an inevitable breakdown of communication.

Echolalia, scripting, and stereotyped use of language may indicate an attempt to communicate. The upside of this is the indication of the ability to imitate and produce speech and it may serve a communicative or cognitive purpose for the child.

The lack of imaginative play may arise from the inability for some children with autism to take the perspective of others.

Moderate to severe behaviors may arise from the inability to communicate effectively. The child may feel confused and frustrated by not being able to get their point across or not understanding what is being communicated to them. It should be the goal of all educational programs to assist children in developing an effective form of communication to decrease the likelihood of them becoming frustrated by not being able to communicate.

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These deficits may stem not from a lack of interest but rather a lack of ability to use and pick up on non-verbal communication and a lack of perspective taking ability. Children may have a rigid way of interacting due to an inability to distill social information and then respond promptly or appropriately. Perspective taking is integral to effective and appropriate social interaction, children who are limited in this ability are unable to understand that others have a perspective that is different than their own. They also may be limited in their ability to identify and/or express their own perspective.

Moderate to severe behavioral issues from social deficits arise due to lack of response or interest in social praise or consequences. Behavior seems to be bettered when clear primary reinforcement is used.

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One great curricular resource for social skills training in an integrated setting is “The Incredible Years” developed by Carol Webster-Stratton. This intervention has been studied extensively and is highly effective in helping children with and without disabilities become more socially and emotionally competent. This is quite an expensive curriculum, but it is definitely worth the investment of time and money. There are currently many foundations that will provide grants to non-profit organizations to implement programs such as these (i.e. in your schools) because our nation is lacking in the emphasis on social-emotional development in the younger years.

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The first step in gaining Special Education services is for the student to be evaluated. This is usually done by the school psychologist and the special education teacher. It can also be done by an outside agency (this is called an Independent Education Evaluation - IEE) if the family is not satisfied with the results of the evaluation. The families can request that this service is paid for by the school district. This evaluation will determine in which areas the student needs specialized services. These areas of service include academic areas, cognitive, adaptive, social/behavior, speech, and motor services. Not all children will qualify for all services, it is dependent on the child and is determined by being significantly delayed in an area.


After the qualifying areas have been determined, the family can accept or reject the recommendations. Once it is agreed upon, the IEP writing begins.


An IEP needs to be written and agreed upon within 30 days of the student qualifying for services. The writing of the IEP is a collaborative effort - all members of the IEP team have a say regarding what goals and objectives will be included in the IEP. These goals and objectives need to be measurable! It is important for the family to understand that each of the goals included in the IEP need to have a unit of measure that can show progress. For example a goal that says “The student will be able to add and subtract” is not a measurable goal. Conversely, a goal that says “The student will add and subtract single digit equations with 90% accuracy (i.e. 9 out of 10 correct) 3 days in a row” is a measurable goal. An additional note regarding this example is that accuracy is important, but fluency is equally important because if you can do something accurately and quickly it is more likely to be a skill you will use in the future. Fluency is how quickly things can be done. A goal for math that includes a fluency component might say something like “The student will solve 10, single-digit addition and subtraction equations in 2 minutes with 90% accuracy, 3 days in a row”.


Okay, so now that the student has an IEP which includes goals and objectives (which are measurable) based on their areas of need, the next concern is monitoring progress. The students progress on goals and objectives needs to be related to the families at least as often as they receive report cards from their general education teachers (usually quarterly). Progress reports can be sent more frequently if the teacher or the parents wish to do so, but it is only required quarterly. In this way, the families can know how well their child is progressing and if they are in line to meet their goals and objectives by the IEP review date (IEP review dates are discussed below).


Once a year (or more if needed) a student’s IEP is reviewed. During this review process goals can be added, taken out, or modified. It is important that everyone on the team is present and participates in this process. The changes should not come only from the service providers! Parents, related service providers, and the general education teacher(s) have vital import when it comes to the IEP development process.


Every 3 years (or more if needed) a student is reevaluated to determine whether or not they are still eligible for services, and if their areas of need have changed in any way. This is an important part of the process because if your child no longer needs special education services, the services should be terminated, or if their needs have changed those needs should be reflected in the IEP (and changes in services areas can only be modified with a formal evaluation).


This is just the beginning when it comes to Special Education Services for children with disabilities. It is important as a parent, student, or family member to understand the process and your rights. Please feel free to post any questions, comments, or concerns.

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