Hello. My name is Susan (M) and I am a graduate student in the Autistic Spectrum Disorders Certificate Program at Antioch New England. I work as a school counselor at a large middle school in southern NH and have become fascinated by kids on the spectrum as a result of a few different but converging things. First, I have had the exciting pleasure of working with a couple of boys during the past two years that have taught me more than a million hours of book learning ever could. They are bright, quirky, somewhat marginalized kids who pique my curiosity and make me laugh, all in the same breath! Next, we have been fortunate to hire two very talented people who know a lot about social pragmatics and autism. My collaboration with them, one a speech path and the other a spec ed teacher, has resulted in my being absolutely convinced that we can and should do more for our AS kids. My goal in participating in this program is to be able to be more effective in teacher education, parent collaboration, and in improving my clinical skills so that I can be useful to our students not just "in the moment," but long term, as well.
This past weekend, in our Intro to Counseling class, we discussed the idea of students mentoring other students in acquiring social skills AND practicing these skills in natural social settings. I am REALLY excited about this concept and wondering about whether or not I can use this at the middle school level to alleviate some of the trouble spots like the cafeteria and playground. As a Special Olympics coordinator, I have seen the powerful effect of mingling spectrum kids with neurotypical peers. What I need to consider is how to present this option to the NT peers, how to get spectrum kids to buy in; I will need to try to anticipate problematic situations that may arise; i.e., what to do when the NT kids get teased, how to avoid "burn out" of the mentor kids, what kind of social opportunities can be successfully left up to the kids to navigate independently, how to approach families, what the importance of AS kids actually knowing their diagnoses might be, and so forth. In all cases, it is a very exciting idea.
The parameters of conversation, the discussion about the soft neurological signs associated with AS, the concept of behavior "chaining" and breaking the chain at the earliest opportunity and weakest link have all presented as ideas that can effectively and affectively alter the course of the day for an AS child. I think the most obvious impact of Sunday's discusssion for me centers around sensitizing me to the actual experience of being an AS kid. As a counselor, it is important to me to be able to be in the same space as the child. Not easy when considering an altered neurological state. Unconditional acceptance tempered by the need for explicit instruction can be a departure from the norm or one's own comfort zone when undertaking counseling in which insight is a gift, not an expectation. I have a lot to think about and a lot to learn.
2 comments:
When I was a kid, peers were the last people I wanted to practice social skills with, but they were also the last people I could think of who would be unconditionally accepting. It is natural that at that age, they would be sorting out (judging) who people are, where they belong in the social order of it all. My mentor would have been the hippie teacher from 4th grade who answered all my questions directly. There is a reason the AS kids hang with older people.
Could you talk more about behavior chaining please. Perhaps it is all of you who are in an altered state. Are you talking about when we are ANGRY? So many typicals are really uncomfortable with anger and what it looks like. There really does have to be a cycle, it just does not have to be as big perhaps, but forget about preventing it. Lets negotiate what is safe.
Hi Susan, reading blogs is like taking a refresher course of what was just presented with the added extra or another perspective Powerful learning. Keep blogging, and I will keep posting.
Tina - anger is scary whether viewed from outside or inside. Safe? Least restrictive? Manageable? These are not words that come to mind when I rage - and Boy! Do I rage.
I think the ’chaining’ reference comes from identifying the escalation stages, sequence of events. If there are any….. I go from zero to 120 in a heartbeat! My only solace - I come back down nearly as fast, so the unsafe time is limited somewhat. Can it be stopped? Can I avoid it? Not so far, and I am 44 and still hate myself for getting in a rage. My rages typically occur less than once a week. I would love to visit your blog, but restricted here’s minehttp://lizmacdonaldasdantiochne.blogspot.com/
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