1. Elizabeth Ives Field, CCC-SLP
Autism Spectrum Consultant
250 Main St #405
Hudson, MA, 01749
207-852-1835
betseyfield@gmail.com
Autism Spectrum Disorders And Classroom Discipline
Students with autism spectrum disorders have a greater than average need for
structure, rules and education about what behavior is acceptable in school. They are not
biologically equipped to “figure out” social expectations. This social deficit is a major
condition required for the diagnosis. These students are far less likely to watch and copy
the appropriate, but subtle, behaviors of peers although they may readily imitate the less
desirable but more visually obvious actions of classmates.
The child with autism is not always responsive to the authority given to teachers
and principals, or to the group pressure exerted by peers, ("Be good so we can earn the
marbles and have pizza"). Although group rewards may be effective for some, for other
children they may increase anxiety and confusion, leading to additional behavioral
problems. If fairly compliant, or concerned about having playmates, he or she may be
easily directed by classmates to do silly or otherwise inappropriate acts.
Because children with autism have great difficulty seeing the emotional
perspective of others (or even understanding and expressing their own), they are rarely
deterred by avoiding embarrassment, may not value compromise, and often have an
innate “need” to have their own desires met immediately. This tendency toward self-
centeredness is not the result of being “spoiled”, but is an integral part of the disorder. It
does, however, need to be shaped and modified if the child is going to have success in
society.
If the child also has significant sensory issues such as avoiding and/or seeking
sounds, smells, touch and tastes, has a high level of inattentiveness and physical activity,
has no previous experience with being structured, or has learned to fight against being
controlled, classroom behavior concerns will probably be greater.
Children with autism spectrum disorders usually need individualized programs for
education, behavior management and social development, ideally developed by teams of
people who know them well. These suggestions are based on some general, common
issues and will hopefully serve as a guideline to development of plans for individual
children.
Maybe this child will be able to follow the typical classroom discipline
procedures so, until experience dictates otherwise, try first the methods you use with
other children. These will have the best chance of success if they are clear, simple,
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2. applied calmly and based on facts and actions rather than on more abstract behaviors such
as “being on task” and “paying attention”. Some examples of classroom consequences
that might be effective with autistic students might be that " Children who:
Wriggle and talk at circle time, go sit at their desks
Don’t finish a paper, stay in and do it at recess
Misuse materials, must put them away
Push on the playground, go stand by the wall
Show specific, listed, positive behaviors, earn stickers or tokens toward a reward
Break set rules, lose a token or get a demerit
Get three warnings, must take a note home, stay after school," etc.
When the student with autism can follow the classroom plan and conform,
everyone benefits. He learns to comply with the expectations of society, other children
see him as being like them, and teachers have fewer plans to juggle and more time to
teach. However, there are a number of reasons why classroom plans often don’t work for
students on the autism spectrum, including:
He doesn’t really understand the system so he accepts the consequence but
continues to repeat the behavior or fails to recognize that very similar behaviors are
equally unacceptable. This is true even for children who can easily recite the rules on
request.
He becomes anxious and won’t ever use the removed items again, or talks, fusses
and argues incessantly about the warning or consequence or initiates frequent
conversations about “What will happen if I…
Sometimes the consequence may actually be rewarding. She may prefer to stay in
from recess or to sit away from the group.
She may accept the rule and apply it literally to control situations to her
advantage, such as dropping unwanted food on the floor because “You can’t eat food that
has been on the floor” or putting her mittens under the faucet because “You can’t go out
to recess if your mittens are wet”. Although these may be seen as “manipulative” because
the child is trying to accomplish a specific purpose, it is quite likely that she doesn’t see it
as “wrong”. Likewise, she may not see that her echoing the teacher during group lessons,
blurting out answers or talking about her current interest in the midst of a class discussion
on another topic is different from the conversation of her more socially aware
classmates. Or her egocentric intensity may lead her to believe that she should be able to
speak whenever she wants.
Another child may become so upset about the idea of being scolded, punished,
(“wrong”; losing; things not going according to plan) that his increased anxiety leads to
emotional meltdowns, development of more rituals and compulsions or school refusal
(Too “sick” or “tired” to work or even to come to/stay at school). These behaviors are
also common among children on the autism spectrum who are overwhelmed by the
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3. academic expectations and have become unable to keep up in one or more subjects. The
child who does well in a science class with many hands-on projects, or in math because it
is a strength for him, or in French because it is starting with vocabulary that can be
memorized, may appear not to be trying or may become disruptive in English because he
can’t organize ideas to write, has poor motor skills for writing or can’t readily
comprehend the novel he’s supposed to read.
At best, even the child who accepts and follows classroom rules will probably
have difficulty generalizing them to similar situations or may rigidly over generalize rules
like “Never speak without raising your hand” to doing so even in a brainstorming session
or small group discussion.
Discipline is teaching. The goal is for the child to learn appropriate behaviors so he can
function more effectively and harmoniously in society. For these children with severe
deficits in social understanding, an individual plan will be needed, even in those
occasional cases where the plan is simply, “We have considered the issues and have
decided that the regular classroom discipline plans will work for this child.”
More often however, the child with an autism spectrum disorder will need aids
and accommodations to fit smoothly into a classroom situation. Some of the aids and
accommodations and individualized techniques that I’ve found to be helpful include:
Visual schedules to provide predictability and reassurance( I know what is
coming next, what has been changed just for today, and if I get anxious I can look at my
schedule and check what’s coming next), accountability (we need to do it because it is on
the schedule) and evidence of progress through the day (I’ve accomplished the things that
are removed or crossed off and have five more things to do before the bus comes).
Clearly stated, literally worded, specific rules of behavior (Walk in the halls;
Never hit, push kick or bite another person; Look at the teacher when the lights blink;)
These students often are baffled by rules like “Pay attention when the teacher is talking”,
(Paying is something you do with money) “Respect others”(What does respect mean?)
and “Keep your hands to yourself”(I always keep them to myself; they’re attached to my
arms).
Individualized educational plans that are appropriate to the child’s developmental
level, not chronological age, and that are based on educational progress and individual
productivity not on how long he can stay with the group or a subjective assessment of his
time on task.
Extrinsic motivation to do things that he doesn’t understand, can’t agree with or
is uninterested in. This means reward systems are often needed as these children tend to
have small exclusive and obsessive areas of interest, may not be organized enough to
have clear goals and often are not motivated by social approval or avoidance of
embarrassment. Praise is often reinforcing but it needs to be frequent, specific and
genuine. Occasional students are distressed by praise, perhaps from mixed messages that
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4. have confused them (sarcasm; startlingly excited praise; implications that surely they can
do more if they could do this) or because praise has often followed something that they
found difficult and stressful.
Sensory accommodations such as a small room in which to do some of her work,
an air cushion to sit on or a cloth tunnel to retreat into, swings, scooter boards and
trampolines, walks, errands carrying heavy objects, small items to fidget with in circle
time, chewing gum, water bottles, lotion, headphones to block out noise, etc.
Social stories to explain situations that come up frequently such as fire drills,
lining up without having to be first, dealing with substitutes and schedule changes.
Contracts for working on specific behaviors in which the student is rewarded for
inhibiting a particular undesirable action or developing a positive one. Example: No
pushing at recess = a token and 5 tokens = 15 minutes of free computer time. Ten
minutes sitting upright in circle time (or starting a paper without prompting) = a token
and 3 tokens = a brief swinging break.
Lots of other things may need to happen too, around crisis intervention and
routine issues. These are just a few that come up often.
The main things to remember are that you are trying to decrease anxiety and
confusion, increase productive work and appropriate social behavior, increase sustained
independence and decrease prompt dependency and help this child eventually become a
safe, healthy, happy and productive member of a society that is very confusing to him.
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