Challenging behaviors are frequently the primary obstacle
in supporting students with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). While there are
few published studies to direct educators towards the most effective behavioral
approaches for these students, it appears most evident (given the heterogeneity
among these individuals) that effective behavioral support requires highly
individualized practices that address the primary areas of difficulty in
social understanding and interactions, pragmatic communication, managing
anxiety, preferences for sameness and rules, and ritualistic behaviors.
While the specific elements of a positive behavioral support program will
vary from student to student, the following ten steps will go a long way
in assuring that schools are working towards achieving the best outcomes
on behalf of their students.
1. Understand the characteristics of AS that may influence
a student’s ability to learn and function in the school environment.
•It is important for those involved to understand the idiosyncratic
nature of AS and to consider problematic behaviors in light of the common
characteristics associated with the disability.
•Insistence on sameness: easily overwhelmed by minimal changes in routines,
sensitive to environmental stressors, preference for rituals.
•Impairment in social interactions: difficulty understanding the “rules”
of interaction, poor comprehension of jokes and metaphor, pedantic speaking
style.
•Restricted range of social competence: preoccupation with singular
topics such as train schedules or maps, asking repetitive questions about
circumscribed topics, obsessively collecting items.
•Inattention: poor organizational skills, easily distracted, focused
on irrelevant stimuli, difficulty learning in group contexts.
•Poor motor coordination: slow clerical speed, clumsy gait, unsuccessful
in games involving motor skills.
•Academic difficulties: restricted problem solving skills, literal
thinking, deficiencies with abstract reasoning.
•Emotional vulnerability: low self-esteem, easily overwhelmed, poor
coping with stressors, self-critical.
2. Acknowledge that behavior serves a function, is related
to context, and is a form of communication.
Effective behavioral support is contingent on understanding the student,
the context in which he/she operates, and the reason(s) for behavior. In
order to effectively adopt a functional behavioral assessment approach,
several assumptions about behavior must be regarded as valid.
Behavior is functional. The purpose or function of the behavior may be highly
idiosyncratic and understood only from the perspective of the individual
with AS. It is important to remember that individuals with AS generally
do not have a behavioral intent to disrupt educational settings, but instead
problematic behaviors may arise from other needs, for example, self-protection
in stressful situations.
Behavior has communicative value. Remember that individuals with AS experience
pragmatic communication difficulties. While they are able to use language
quite effectively to discuss high interest topics, they may have tremendous
difficulty expressing sadness, anger, frustration and other important messages.
As a result, behavior may be the most effective means to communicate when
words fail.
Behavior is context related. Understanding how features of a setting impact
an individual (either positively or negatively) has particular value for
adopting preventive efforts and sets the stage for teaching alternative
skills.
3. Use functional behavioral assessment to determine
the root of the problematic behavior and as the first step in designing
a behavior support program.
The key outcomes of a comprehensive functional behavioral assessment should
include a clear and unambiguous description of the problematic behavior(s);
a description of situations most commonly, and least commonly associated
with the occurrence of problematic behavior; and identification of the consequences
that maintain behavior.
4. Think prevention.
Too often the focus of a behavior management program is on discipline procedures
that focus exclusively on eliminating problematic behavior, rather than
developing long-term behavioral change. An effective program should expand
beyond consequence strategies, (e.g., time out, loss of privileges) and
focus on preventing the occurrence of problem behavior by teaching socially
acceptable alternatives and creating positive learning environments.
5. Never assume that a student with AS knows appropriate
social behaviors.
While these individuals are quite gifted in many ways, they will need to
be taught social and pragmatic communication skills as methodically as academic
skills.
6. Teach alternative skills as an integral part of your
program.
It is critical that students with AS are taught acceptable behaviors that
replace problematic behavior and that serve the same purpose as the challenging
behavior. For example, a young child with AS may have trouble entering into
a kick ball game and instead simply inserts himself into the game, thereby
offending the other players and risking exclusion. The child can be coached
on how and when to enter the game.
7. Teach self-management skills.
Self-management is a procedure in which people are taught to discriminate
their own target behavior and record the occurrence or absence of that target
behavior (Koegel, Koegel & Parks, 1995). Self-management is an especially
useful technique to assist individuals in achieving greater levels of independent
functioning across many settings and situations. By learning self-management
techniques individuals can become more self directed and less dependent
on continuous supervision and control.
8. Effective behavioral change may require that all individuals
involved change their behavior.
Since behaviors are influenced by context and by the quality of relationships
with others, it is also important for professionals and family members to
monitor their own behavior vigilantly when working with students with AS.
For example, each time a teacher reprimands a student for misbehaving, an
opportunity may be lost to reframe the moment in terms of the student’s
need to develop alternative skills.
9. Design long term prevention plans.
It is imperative that plans for supporting a student over the long term
be outlined right from the start. Many procedures and supports with the
most relevance and utility for students with AS (e.g., specific accommodations,
peer supports, social skills, self-management strategies) must be viewed
as procedures that are developed progressively as the child moves through
school. These are not crisis management strategies but the very things that
can decrease crisis situations from arising.
10. Discuss how students with AS fit into typical school-wide
discipline practices and procedures.
A major issue to discuss is how students will fit into and respond to typical
disciplinary practices. Many students with AS become highly anxious in the
presence of practices such as loss of privileges, time outs or reprimands,
and often cannot regroup following their application. Another issue relates
to school-wide discipline procedures. Schools which focus on suspension
and expulsion as their primary approach, rather than on teaching social
-skills, conflict resolution and negotiation and on building community learning,
will typically be less effective with all students, including those with
Asperger’s.
Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate!
Educators, administrators, related service personnel and parents will all
need to collaborate on a behavior support plan that is clear and easily
implemented. Once developed, the plan will need to be monitored across settings,
and regularly reviewed for its strengths and weaknesses. Inconsistencies
in our expectations and behaviors will only serve to heighten the challenges
demonstrated by an individual with Asperger’s.
Reprinted with permission from the Autism Asperger’s Digest, May-June
2001 issue, a bimonthly, 52 page magazine published by Future Horizons,
Inc. For more information: http://www.autismdigest.com
or call 1(800) 489-0727.
