The ongoing story of Fanta the ASD student coming to H.S.

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Thought I would report my progress to date with my new grade 9 ASD student whom I will call Fanta. I'm going to admit that I am doing this for selfish reasons, I'm hoping to get some good advice here and to see other perspectives. At the same time, what I observe may also give many of you an insider look at a Spec Ed today, and challenges I face with regard to Fanta and programming/ integration into the student body.

I work mainly with school based behavioural ID'ed kids "Mild" kids, and LD kids. I've been working in Special Ed for 10 years now and I have worked with a number of high functioning ASD kids, none of them have ever had emotional outbursts that I have witnessed. They have generally fit more of the "geek" profile. Our school would be considered an inclusive school although we don't have any highly exceptional students. No student stays in a segregated class for more then 1/2 the day. We integrate every student into regular classes for part of the day. Fanta is our first real ASD behaviour student.

I first heard about Fanta last spring. It's unusual to get that sort of advanced warning about an incoming grade 8 student. The advance warning was because he could go into rages that could last longer then 1/2 an hour. The elementary school had used a 5-person restraint to control him during these rages and it happened a number of times during grade 8. That may sound worse then what actually happened, you may get a picture of brute force used to totally control Fanta. At his elementary school, the person he trusted most (his EA) would be holding his head, and calmly talking to him to try and calm him down during a rage. He had destroyed chairs and a computer once during a rage because it wouldn't work. Staff have been injured. He has banged his head against walls and the floors during a rage. Restraint had been used mainly for his personal safety(more on that later). His female EA is a quiet and calm person who was the one who "handled Fanta". It was like she was the "horse whisperer" on staff and was revered in her ability to avert many potential meltdowns. He is thin boy and under 5 ft tall, I could carry him under one arm. He is kind and pleasant, and naive in a charming way, for his age. It is hard for me to imagine that he could need a five-person restraint.

More later….

How verbal is this child and has there been a really adequate behavioral assesment to determine what may trigger these meltdowns. Verbal or sensory issues could be triggering these things - especially if they are intense rages - or even bullying which may not have been addressed if it was not overt. Just speculating but the simple use of restraints itself could even have been intensifying the rages because the anxiety of that could fuel an already overloaded system. Imagine trying to calm yourself if you knew people were going to pounce on you. And I use the term pounce because it might be felt as being that intrusive even if it was holding. Also - and this is of the utmost importance - have you been formally trained in how to do something like this properly -- although I do not advocate it. The time to learn is not when your adreneline is rushing.

I also don't think it is uncommon for teachers to be advised in advance that they will have a student on the spectrum in the classroom though. My son has HFA and we met with the potential 1st grade teacher towards the end of K so we could discuss strategies for classroom success.

Bullying-my favorite issue. The teachers evaluated my behavior as if the bullying didn't exist, and they knew very well that it did. I had similar issues at home. At home and at school they were pretty good at keeping it off the record. What seemed to set me off seemed minor to the adults, especially after they had edited my personal history in what passed for their minds, but they were good at doing some sort of "last straw" setup to me when I was trying to do my schoolwork or participate in class. They would poke at me, snicker, and whisper, and the teacher wouldn't take into account the fact that they were the same gang who would trap me into fights on the way to and from school. We would grade each other's so-called science papers and one of them would alter an answer on the multiple choice on my paper and that would start a fight, stuff like that. It didn't take much of that to make it so that I couldn't do my work or trust any of the other students. Most of the students thought that this was the way that things should be done.

So then we were heading into the end of June. Fanta had come buy twice to look at the school. He had taken pictures of staff that he would most likely encounter in the next school year.
My worry?
A major transition, new staff, and he was coming to high school with it’s different expectations. Academically, it is a make or break time. Mess things up at his home based school and things could go horribly wrong for him. Our school suspends students for the semester if they are too much trouble behaviour wise and although they may believe they are welcome the next year, they hardly ever get that second chance. With a major behaviour student like Fanta, the buck would also stop on my desk. If any thing serious happened, people would ask me why. I went through the board restraint and behaviour policies and found out our board didn’t support 5-person restraint. Nor were our staff trained for 5-person restraint. All of the EA’s had been trained on 3-person restraint but none of the teachers. The teachers union discouraged this training because once you had that certificate, the fear would be that you would be parachuted around our large board into trouble spots. You would get a much heavier workload. In effect you could become the behaviour teacher without having a choice.

So there we were the day before school was to start in September. I had drawn up a behaviour plan but the principal hadn’t responded to it. Our meeting with the behaviour specialist was cancelled last minute so we didn’t even have a chance to talk before that first day. We had contacted an outside community agency but board personal squashed that one because they were not to help with specific students. This was a territorial thing. Fanta came with his mom, and we walked the halls to his next day classes. Then we spent a great deal of time practicing with his combination lock. He got the hang of it and was proud that he could do that. Then he went home. I had nothing to tell the EA’s the next day. We had talked like there would be a written plan in place on the first day. I couldn’t even answer if we could do a five-person restraint. I just had a rough of the behaviour plan which neither the board or the Principal had okay’ed. I shared the draft with all staff by e-mail, was I even overstepping my bounds by doing this?

He was taking regular classes except for a life skills cooking class first thing in the day and a credit bearing Special Ed study skills class. He had a regular English, Art, and Phy. Ed. On his Psych assessment he had great discrepancy between verbal and non-verbal scores. But in studying the info and talking to people, the bigger problem for academic success would be a lack of task perseverance and his low frustration level. As we got to know him that first week, he would talk in the third person and say, Fanta doesn’t want to do ________. He would do this with some conviction. He would make faces like he was licking lemons, and pull his chin into his chest while he shock his head. We have good EA’s and they are good at redirecting, distracting, and cajoling. Most of all they are persistant, and to their credit they have been successful. The first week went by well, a honeymoon period? Where did we run into trouble was with, transitions, unexpected surprises, girls, and computers.

From basically having one teacher a year and the same EA for 8 years, he went to 4 new teachers and 3 separate EA’s. We had the expectation that we would set the bar higher Elementary school. That wasn’t a planned goal. Some set the bar higher then others. Still, he was in high school after all. In fact we soon learned that if possible we had to let him walk to class by himself and also he would have some unsupervised lunchtime. We were just stretched to thin. To our surprise this wasn’t a problem. He needs assistance in every class because he is often confused about expectations or needs someone to push him along.

Our first hurdle was fire alarms. He dislikes loud noises. In elementary school they simply pulled him out of school before the bell rang. High school is different, the shops and cooking class are usually the cause of at least one surprise alarm a year. Kids once in a while also pull the alarm. Baby steps or not for this situation? Do we warn him ahead of time and do we get him near a door before the first alarm? We had debates about this as a staff with a clear dividing line between those who didn’t want to baby him and those who wanted to lower the risk of a rage. We trained him to fold the outside of his ears over his ear holes. In the end, it went better then expected.

The next hurdle was his first minor tantrum. We had trained him to expect computer time to be over when a small hand held timer went off. It was decided that he would not get to control the computer for the time being. He had an art history assignment to do on the computer, and his EA and Fanta tried to get on the computer but his password wouldn’t work. He was getting riled up. The call came for assistance and luckily our tech guy was handy to get the password to work. Again the EA was alone with him but Fanta was fixated on NASA space images he had seen and got hold of the mouse and keyboard. We compromised, work for the most of the period and the last 10 minutes are yours for NASA pics. Again, debate within our area, had we awarded bad behaviour or avoided a probable meltdown?

A few days later I walked by the library and saw Fanta on the computer alone. My jaw dropped. He had a supply teacher that day and a supply EA who was happily assisting other students. Fanta was having a great time. His parents don’t allow the Internet at home because of his rages associated with computers. Other EA’s walked by and had the same reaction. What were we to do? Shall we tell him to get off now? Eventually we decided that an EA he knew would tell him that he had to get off on the lunch warning bell. He did this without prompting, all were shocked. Did the bell association help here?

A few days later both his EA and gym teacher were away. He went to change in our area because he doesn’t like to change where others can see him. He doesn’t like the look of feet. I knocked on the door, and told him it was health. That change and the change of staff set something off in him. I didn’t pick up on it and left but was soon called back. He was seated and had his whole body turned away from the EA. He was rocking and muttering. Again, he had his chin pulled in with the bitter lemon look. He was complaining bitterly about Sony Play Station 3 and the release date. He didn’t know the release date. We simply checked on the Internet, he wrote it in his planner and we offered the deal to going to class for some free time on the computer at the end of the day. From the darkest of rain clouds he became sunny. That night I got an e-mail from an EA stating that we were teaching him that if he acted badly he would get rewarded. The next day some EA’s said that Fanta wanted free time like he had in elementary school and had recently.

I stepped out on a limb. Because one thing they warn you about with ASD kids, is there is risk once you give them something and then try to take it away. On the other hand he was becoming an adult yet we were still controlling computers like he was a four year old. We got his mother in and talked about him using computers on his lunch for his own enjoyment. He was no longer to ask for free time during class. We would start with two lunches a week and build up from there. We signed a contract we wrote up on the spot with rules. One EA got wind of this and was pissed. Were the EA’s just minions with no say? I stepped out on a limb. I could see conflict coming down the path we were traveling. Why not take away his desire for the computer? But would a taste of the computer create more desire, would he resist when he was to get off? Would people question our handling of Fanta if it went wrong? The answers was no on both accounts. He got off moments before the bell rang. He checked his watch and was proud that he did this and smiled. Sometimes you go with your gut and if you are wrong, they talk behind your back. Sometimes they even talk behind your back if you are right.

Recently the school got off after lunch for the Football championship. It was very cold and windy with some rain. Fanta and a good number of the students were in the warm forum. It was loud and noisy with many kids and free time. I was on duty on the field when an EA came running. Fanta was starting to agitate and attract attention. He so much doesn’t want to be different from his peers. Yet in the open environment of the forum, the girls collected together as they do and the usual social groupings subdivided into conversation. Fanta couldn’t connect. He walks on his toes and although he doesn’t visibly look different his mannerisms set him apart quickly. In class the girls are accommodating, here in the class of social standing no one wanted to risk that failing grade of talking to the Autistic kid. He was muttering to himself when I got there. He so desperately wants a girlfriend but is miles and miles away from the right path of socially acceptable courting. Students near Fanta had backed away and opened a lose 10 ft circle around him. I simply walked up to him and made eye contact and told him to follow me. He wasn’t following EA instructions so I gambled with the currency I had built up with him…and lucked out. He followed and muttered in an upset manner. I isolated him in the Resource room and had him sit down. Then I backed away about 20 ft. He was angry and pounding on the table. That Kyle…Kyle…Kyle was talking to the girl he liked. I simply said things like, it’s okay Fanta, in the calmest voice I had. We had 15 minutes until the buses came. As he started hitting his legs I thought to myself it probably wasn’t a good idea to bring him into the Resource room with all this expensive computer equipment here. His anger swelled and luckily waned. He was told he had done a great job to keep it under control and he got on the bus.

He has begun to make eye contact in the hall, smile, and wave with staff. Our behaviour specialists finally came in and made some suggestions. No five-person restraint. Restraint only if he is a clear danger to himself or others. Let him fall the ground in a three-person restraint. Let him break anything. Our plan passed the mustard. Seems not too many schools make a plan before an incident.

This is a good news story to date, but I harbor no illusions. I know that a girl, alarm, or even a storm will set him off some day. We may do something that he resents and not be aware of. When things go wrong, it is so much easier to make mistakes. I’ll report again if things change….

No such assessment has been done although his many triggers have been identified. He has a strong sense of his pecking order in this world and what is acceptable behaviour from others. He doesn't like children or people below his pecking order, telling him what to do. He doesn't like dark rainy days, feet, pictures of faces...the list is long. In a sense we are flying by the seat of our pants and I have no illusions that we couldn't do this so much better. Then again, I've never seen a kid like Fanta. Our board is putting a lot more Resources into this because there are a lot more coming up.

From what I have heard from his former staff, he doesn't like being out of control and wants to be taken away from the eyes of his peers and staff. He does not resist the restraint. It doesn't sound like a negative thing. it's like he knows he is out of control...as strange as that may sound.

His universe is still confined within the limits that you set for him.

Yes, 100% true. But we are happy with progress to date. Rightly or wrongly, all of a sudden you are put in a position to influence a child forever. Could someone do it much better...I'm sure. Here is a call to all ASDers on the board. There is great need for educated and caring personal within our school systems. There is no better job then being a Special Education teacher or EA.

He is not wrong when he gets mad because other people are limiting him.

If no such assessment has been done than there is every possibility that the suspected triggers are incorrect. It is not as easy as cause and effect because what might appear to be the trigger may only be the incident that finally causes the overload - not the reason for the buildup in the first place. That is where having a serious FBA by someone who is well versed in autism could make a huge difference. Is there any way to push for this to be done properly?

Also - as far as restraint goes - no one likes to feel out of control and being in an overload can be a very frightening situation. Included in that may be that the person with autism does not know themselves what the actual trigger is. So this can skew the idea of identifying the proper triggers also. If the person doesn't exactly know WHY they get overloaded but just know that it happens in a certain space than it can almost become like a panic attack once the same scenario starts to play out which could cause the behaviors just by being in the same situations as previous ones have occured.

Have you read of Temple Grandin and her description of how she developed a hug machine for herself once she realized the importance of needing deep pressure(does not apply to everyone on the spectrum however)? Has an OT suggested things like weighted vests or blankets or lap pads that may help provide that feeling of security?

I would love to step in but unfortunately, I have to homeschool my own special ed son. Because our homeschool doesn't give a crap about accomodating and know nothing about autistic people.

Interesting line of thought.

Limits cause anger. Limits could be seen as a social construct. His abilty to "read" social constructs may well be impaired. Should we then take all limits away to avoid any posibility that he may get angry? Is there the possibility that he could he get mad more if there are few or no limits? What if he gets into rages more...can we then go back to the limits that were in place? Is it in his best interest to take away limits, especially if his ability to "read" rules could be impaired? Can there be some learning here with regards to limts? I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.

Last edited by tortoise on 05 Nov 2006, 12:34 am, edited 3 times in total.

Thanks for the advice.
As I said before, flying by the seat of my pants. But then again that is not an usual thing. That happens everytime something new and major comes at you. You can read about these things but it's always different on the ground floor..be it CD, BiP, or BPD..etc

I know right now that no one in our board can do a FBA. It will then be a question of funding and if that funding should come the school board or an outside agency. He has weighted blankets but they were never used recently. I'll have to go back to his go back to his elementary school and find out; who ordered them, why, if they worked, and if there is an assessment that we don't know about.

I know from experience with my son, a lot of the "traditional" equipment doesn't work for him. They look like equipment. He likes hugs and tickles. He doesn't like to be grabbed or know that he will be grabbed.
Fanta may be too old for social stories, but has he or his family used them before? Maybe a story or "schedule" that explains the order of events, including what happens when the computer doesn't work. (for example)
His speech may be age appropriate, but like my son, may not be comprehensive. From your description, he seems to lack some amount of speech. Find out if he is amenable to pictures or cards to relay messages. Improving his speech skills or finding out another way to communicate may help his social anxiety.
I think your idea about his using lunchtime for internet is great. It's not giving in to something that's unreasonable. Recess is for destressing. It shows that he is making his own choices and even if they aren't great choices, he is free to them. I'm sure the NT kids aren't angels either. They area eating junk food, going off campus, doing who knows what. I used to skip lunch and use the money to buy records.
It does sound like he was over-controlled in his elementary school.

I'm getting the impression that he needs comfortable boundaries at times and he needs more freedom at times. Good fences make good neighbors and everyone needs to take a walk every once in a while.

I think that when a situation is frustrating he needs to back away from it and know that this is what he will be allowed to do. I still fall to pieces sometimes because of the times that things were just shoved in my face. Anyone who gets things shoved in his face has the God-given right to break those things. It should be a law.

I doubt if Fanta is being greeted by thugs in the morning, but that is one of the number one crimes that was committed against myself and it should be prevented at all costs. If it is not safe for a student to walk into the building, the staff are not doing their jobs. I never saw them doing their jobs when I was in school unless they caught me trying to hit back after being punched.

I hope you're not also running into the "fix him, not us" kind of thing. I have no idea how anyone tolerates the kind of upbringing I had, whether the nonsense came from teachers or parents. What I went through no one should put up with and Fanta shouldn't either. It's not an excuse for me if everyone else in the school somehow seems to tolerate it.

There are a lot of "eyes" on Fanta. Even when he is alone, a teacher could turn the corner any moment and be aware of who he is. We are a mid-sized country High School and generally we are stricter and more unbending...that philosophy comes with it's own baggage, but on the plus side we see less behaviour/ bullies in our school. He is happy to come to school.

Yes, he is monitored more then other kids but as noted earlier, he has more freedoms at H.S. then he did in elementary. The goal is a regular High School diploma. We accommodate him so at help him perform as other kids do. We try to modify his class no more then needed, if possible, we don't want to change his academic expectations by giving large chunks of classroom time for free time. It's better to taylor his interests into the curriculum. No one is trying to fix him because 3/4 teachers are regular teachers with regular courses. They wouldn't know how to "fix" him.

It sounds like you're headed the right direction, Tortoise. One thing that a lot of people might not believe is that someone's behavior improves when controls are relaxed. I understand a child who feels that controls are threatening. They often actually are threats.