Student Teacher 3
How should a student teacher in an elementary classroom respond when a student with autism explodes with anger in response to a change in the daily classroom routine? The first step, of course, is to prevent tantrums by working with the teacher to develop a calm classroom atmosphere and predictable schedule. We discussed preventive strategies in two previous podcasts – Student Teacher 1 and 2. Since the best efforts at prevention sometimes fail, let’s look at some ways the student teacher can respond to an angry outburst.
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Every situation is different, so it is impossible to come up with one sure-fire strategy to help calm explosive meltdowns. In this case, we are focusing on a fourth grade girl who screams, yells, and stomps around the room when the classroom schedule is changed. She eventually stops screaming and moves to a corner of the room to sit and rock. Her student teacher reports that attempts to talk calmly to the youngster usually escalate the situation, causing the student to yell loudly and say she doesn’t want to talk to anyone. The student teacher said, “We usually just ignore the behavior as long as she is not too disruptive. If it gets too bad or lasts for more than 15 minutes, we usually have the student call her mom. Mom can usually calm her down.” The other students in the classroom have learned to ignore the outbursts. The youngster does not hurt anyone when she is angry, but her stomping and yelling disrupts the learning process for all concerned. Her autism may be interfering with her picking up on social cues and learning from others how to express her anger in a more appropriate manner. The student teacher wrote, “I am just trying to think of something to do to help this child.”
Some ideas:
1. Calm Down Chair. Some teachers and parents have found that having a “mad” space allows an agitated individual with autism retreat from public and cool down. Because this youngster is averse to adults talking to her when she is angry, teachers could just hand her a pillow and point to a bean bag chair near the back of the room out of view of the class. The youngster can rock, crunch the pillow, mutter, and otherwise work through her anger.
2. Cues from Mom. What does the mom say to help this youngster calm down? Listen to the words and phrases she uses. You might be able to incorporate those in your response to the youngster’s anger.
3. Put it in Writing. Because this student’s rage escalates when others talk to her, the teachers might consider writing a few helpful phrases on index cards to hand her when she gets angry. For example, one could say, “Move to your Calm Down Chair,” and another could say, “You are very mad because we changed the schedule.” A third could say, “When you are calm and not angry, please sit at your desk.”
3. Rewards. The student teacher mentioned this youngster really likes Legos and asked about the wisdom of giving her some Legos when she has a tantrum. Giving her Legos WHEN she has a meltdown only reinforces her disruptive, angry responses. If it is helpful and necessary to do so, you can have “Lego Time” at the end of the day. The student earns Lego time by staying calm when possible, and by moving to her “Calm Down Chair” whenever she feels as if she is losing her temper.
4. Consistency. As we mentioned in a previous podcast – Student Teacher 2 – it is important to keep track of the frequency and length of emotional meltdowns. It may seem as if she is not making progress, but patient and consistent responses can help this young lady gradually learn to manage her anger and express her frustration more appropriately.
NOTE TO READERS AND LISTENERS: I am Cathy Knoll, a board certified music therapist and long-time friend of many folks with autism. At FAQautism.com we are committed to providing free, practical, everyday tips for making life better for people with autism. Feel free to send me a confidential email at talk@FAQautism.com with your thoughts or challenging situations or innovative solution. And don’t forget to check out our website for a wealth of ideas and a glimpse into the world of autism. http://FAQautism.com
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