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Autism and Christmas – Teachers are you ready?

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 12:00:00 Z

In this guest blog, our friend and resident ASC expert, Lynn McCann, founder of Reachout ASC, shares her hints and tips for supporting students on the autistic spectrum throughout the festive season.

Ok teachers this is THE half term when I get so many more emails about autistic pupils in school and their behaviour. I wanted to warn you all and help you get ready, but not for the challenging behaviour, no, it’s supporting your autistic pupils at this time of year that I want to help you with so that the chances of their behaviour changing is lessened.

Of course, the culprit, the trigger for behaviour at this time of year is most likely to be Christmas, not Christmas itself, but the way we DO Christmas.

This is what happens in most primary schools…

When we are talking about behaviour changes please remember that not all autistic pupils will have challenging behaviours when they are overwhelmed – they may just as easily have withdrawn behaviour and become very quiet or unusually tired all the time. Please watch out for the particular signs of stress in the child you teach.

THE SCHOOL NATIVITY OR PLAY

Have you started this yet? In the next few weeks; schools will be starting to introduce and practice for whatever Christmas play or carol service they put on. The usual routine will begin to change as practices take the place of PE (we’ve got the hall booked anyway) and other lessons. Singing, performing, dressing up, CHANGE can all be overwhelming for an autistic child. But by far the most unsettling thing or many of them is the constant, unpredictable changes to the timetable. A spontaneous play practice might be exciting for many of the class but for an autistic child it can be a nightmare.

What to do:

Write a social story about what the play is about, why you are doing it and what their part in it is.
Make sure that you have a ‘play practice’ symbol on their visual timetable.
Speak to parents about how they help their child cope with Christmas and what tips they may have for supporting and/or involving their child.
If they cannot cope with lots of sitting around and waiting as the play is practiced, then provide a box of activities that are linked to their special interests and let them take it into the hall to play with in a quiet corner.
Do what you can to help them be able to take part, then always prepare them for anything new. Show them costumes beforehand and allow them time to get used to each different thing.
Find any way possible for the child to be part of it. They could have a role they choose themselves, or be in charge of prompting other actors, a role in arranging the music or managing the CD player, be the one who sorts out and gives out costumes, in charge of lighting, or sitting somewhere comfortable, doing something they feel comfortable with, but is included in the performance. One child who loved dancing was given the role of the star and danced across the stage to her favourite music as the Wise Men followed.
Be realistic about evening performances and don’t insist the autistic child should come if it is too much for them. Try to make sure parents have one successful performance to attend than two or more stressful ones.

A word about parents:

Parents have told me how heart-breaking it is to be told that their child can’t do the Christmas play. It’s usually said in a way that makes it sound like it would be too much for the child. But if we could just make some accommodations, then the majority of autistic children can be included. I can’t tell you how much this would mean to parents. And make sure the child is named on the programme and is photographed with the whole class.

And be extra nice in saving the child’s parents a seat at the performance. Ask them where they’d like to sit and make them feel it’s an honour to have them there. You will do something so small to you but so huge to parents that they will never forget your kindness.

THE DECORATIONS

You might think it’s exciting for all the children when you stay late at school one Friday night to put up all the hand-made decorations the children have been making for weeks so that you can hear their gasps of amazement when they walk through the doors on the Monday morning. But for an autistic child, you will have completely and unexpectedly changed their whole environment and that will cause them a great shock and anxiety. I have known many autistic children flatly refuse to go into school because the decorations were put up suddenly, or there was a Christmas tree by the door they go into school, and others who have had meltdowns because they cannot cope with the sensory overload.

What to do:

Write a social story to explain why we make and display decorations at Christmas.
Cut down on the amount of decorations you make. You really don’t have to do all of them. Try to keep the classroom tidy.
Involve the autistic child in deciding where the decorations should go and try to have one or two decoration-free areas they can go to if overwhelmed.
Involve the autistic child in decorating the school Christmas tree and have some say in where it should go.

THE CRAFT

We go craft crazy in Primary schools at Christmas. Glitter comes in huge tubs and boy do we use it liberally! But glue, glitter, many competing textures, shiny paper can be a big sensory distraction or overload for some autistic children which can send them into sensory overload or meltdown. (BTW – I love glitter but I’m really aware of the effect it may have on autistic children).

What to do:

Slow down! It’s better to do one or two things well rather than lots of hurried, half-finished projects that get left around the room in a mess.
Go with what the autistic child is interested in. For example, if they like Lego, let them make a Lego Christmas tree, scene or angel. Take a photo and put that on their Christmas card, calendar and if necessary, even every craft project if that makes it accessible to them.
Don’t insist the autistic child must do the craft. They may need to do something that is connected to their regular routine instead. For example, if it’s usually a maths lesson, let them do maths if that helps them stay calm.

THE CHRISTMAS PARTY

More sensory overload! Different clothes, loud music, unstructured event, everything and everybody looking different. Food, sweets, sometimes an ‘act’ such as a clown. A party can easily be overwhelming for an autistic child. However, it might also be an opportunity for them to relax, not have work demands and share some of their favourite music or dance moves!

What to do:

Write a social story about what will happen at the party and what they can do to prepare for it. Explain that they can wear different clothes to school and that’s ok. Make sure parents have a copy to read at home.
Put the party date and how long it will last on a calendar in the classroom and have one at home too.
Let them choose some music to play, and if they feel more comfortable, give them the job of being DJ.
Make sure there is a quiet space for them to go to if things get too much.
Practice dancing!
Prepare a ‘buddy group’ of friends before the party to support and help the autistic child on the day.
Encourage them to bring a favourite toy to the party as a point of comfort.
Have a sensory area in the party or just outside so they can go to it and have time out whenever they need it. If this means asking a member of staff to keep an eye on them for the party, then arrange that but don’t have them hovering over the child all the time.

FATHER CHRISTMAS/PRESENTS

A strange man, in a strange red suit comes into the room with a big voice calling out “Ho, Ho, Ho!” and then we ask children to go up to him and receive a wrapped up present which they have no idea about what may be inside. Considering your autistic pupil, this may be a terrifying experience for them. They may be ok with it, but understanding how your child may react will be important.

What to do:

Show the pupil pictures of the actual person who is dressing up as Father Christmas in the outfit they will be wearing. Add this to a social story to explain that this person will be bringing a present for all the children.
Some children with autism will need to know what will be in the present and it is ok to tell them. Surprises may not be something they can cope with.
Read the story of St Nicholas to help older children understand why we have Father Christmas.

THE LACK OF NORMAL LESSONS OR ROUTINES

All the things that happen for Christmas are not what we do normally. As the last couple of weeks arrive, everyone is tired, the rest of the children are all excited and the usual routines are often abandoned for play practice, craft or sometimes movies or Christmas colouring sessions. An autistic child may also be tired, overloaded and exhausted through trying to keep up with all the different things that are happening. They may be anxious or over excited about Christmas and be finding it difficult to regulate their emotions and responses.

What to do:

Please don’t abandon their visual timetable. It will be more important than ever to communicate what is happening and when.
Consider having more sensory calming breaks so that the child has chance to ‘chill out’ or regulate the sensory overload.
Have a stack of work they can access that they may prefer to do when others are doing something they find uninteresting or overwhelming.
Have a box of toys, activities and magazines connected to their special interests that they can access during the less structured times.

THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Just be aware that there is no break from the over stimulation that infects our society in the Christmas season. We are all bombarded by lights, decorations, shiny things, noise, constant repetitive Christmas songs and the anticipation. An autistic child that finds this overwhelming is going to show this in their behaviour. Parents are going to be anxious and will have to try to support their child through this the best they can. Please do speak to parents and ask them how they are ‘doing’ their Christmas. Then you won’t assume things when you talk to their child. For example, if they don’t wrap presents because that will freak out their child, then don’t wrap their class present either.

Christmas is really about a little baby that was born to bring hope to the world. No-one was meant to be excluded from that simple message. I hope that in our classrooms we can do all we can to include everyone in what should be a simple and hopeful time of light in the darkest part of the year.

Marry Christmas everyone.

About Lynn McCann

Lynn McCann began working as a mainstream class teacher and was an early years lecturer and SENCO. More recently she has developed over 10 years’ experience in autism education, outreach and training in specialist education settings. She has training and experience in autism theory and research, PECS, Sensory Integration, SCERTS, TEACCH, ASC and Puberty, Social Stories and Forest Schools.

Lynn set up Reachout ASC in January 2014. The team has grown over the years and with a commitment to making sure that autistic people were part of the team and part of their driving force, they now have a team of four specialist teachers, three office staff and an OT/sensory therapist who works with them.

What SEND training do Axcis offer?

Offering our candidates access to CPD courses is very important to us here at Axcis. As such, we continue to expand and adapt our training offerings. Please keep an eye on our website and social media for more information, as well as our CPD Training and Career Development page and Events Diary for upcoming courses and events.

*Please note that courses and resources may be subject to change at any time as the providers add or remove content from their offerings.

Being ready for any class (Guest Post by Lynn McCann)

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 12:00:00 +0100

As SEND teaching staff you may get to visit a lot of classes in lots of different schools and work with a lot of different teachers and teaching assistants. You may get to observe a lot of lessons and get to know a lot of children who might be struggling in school, usually because they have needs associated with being autistic, having ADHD or similar conditions. But you will also meet children who have a wide variety of other conditions, all who with the right support, can often do well in both primary and secondary stages.

As specialist teachers we work with a lot of schools. One thing teachers often ask us is “how do I meet so many different needs in one class?” If you are a temporary teacher or teaching assistant, working for Axcis, then you might be asking the same question, with the addition of “when I don’t even know what those needs are!”

Great, adaptable, and curious teachers often have really thought about inclusion of all children in their classes, and they adapt their teaching, build relationships based on encouragement and have good classroom management. Within that, they approach children who are ‘acting out’ or struggling with curiosity and ask themselves, “what are the barriers to that child at this time?” When they are well trained in SEND, teaching staff also have a positive impact on teaching and learning of the whole class.

We know that temporary staff often miss out on CPD and yet they need to be multi-skilled and be ready for anything. So, if it is understanding how to get the best learning from autistic or ADHD children, get tips for behaviour, support playtimes or reluctant writers, anxious pupils or autistic girls, there is a huge amount of free CPD accredited training you can access through our partnership with Axcis. If you are working in special schools, they are particularly applicable as the needs covered in the courses are extensive. We want you to be knowledgeable, skilled, and full of confidence in knowing how to understand SEND children and be a real asset to the school who has taken you on.

When I was a supply teacher, I had my own little bag of classroom management tricks. I had a visual timetable with every symbol I could think of, and I had a set of visual rules for each table that I put on there before the children came into class. I leaned heavily on the class TA to explain the needs of the children but worked quickly to find out the ways that child liked to learn. I found that many autism and dyslexia friendly strategies suited most of the classes I taught. I started at a special school for autistic children as a supply teacher, and I loved it so much I didn’t leave for 8 years!

So why not try out our first level courses covering either - Supporting autistic children in Early Years, Primary or Secondary School to start with.

Then you can choose to build up your expertise through the courses covering PDA, anxiety, autistic girls, using visuals for learning, ADHD, writing, behaviour, SRE. We have workshops with guest experts on transitions, Social Stories, sensory integration and employment skills.

This partnership is bringing you, the chance to skill up and bring something positive and beneficial to your work. The children will benefit and so will your career as your confidence grows.

About Lynn McCann

What other training do Axcis offer?

*Please note that courses and resources may be subject to change at any time as the providers add or remove content from their offerings.

Deciphering the Language of Behaviour

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 13:04:43 +0100

Guest blogger Graham Chatterely, regularly shares tips as educations resources in our Axcis blog. As a former senior leader of a specialist SEMH provision, Author, Director of "Changing Perceptions Limited" and regular presenter on Teacher Hug radio, Graham has extensive knowledge in the sector. He is also a dedicated father and two of his children have additional SEND needs. His experience in school settings and understanding of challenges at home offer profound insight.

Deciphering the Language of Behaviour

During Christmas 2019 I left my job as Assistant Head at a school I love, with staff I loved and kids I loved, but a Headteacher I didn’t love. I think we can call it creative differences and there were many reasons I had to go but the day I decided for definite was when I was asked to accept that systems were more important than relationships. There isn’t a fiber of my being that believes that and despite my best efforts I wasn’t going to change any minds so I decided that it had become time for something new.

I have been providing outreach support for some time and have developed my own training. I therefore decided to set up my own company, rather than seek another leadership role. With the pressures of home and the school workload I had dropped out of the NPQH so I couldn’t progress in that respect.

The first thing I needed was a name…

What is it I wanted to achieve? I went through the different parts of the course and which were the most relevant. The whole premise of the training is the idea that if we can increase staff understanding of children’s challenging behaviour then we can change the way staff react in times of crisis. More empathy for the “why” of behaviour creates a different response to the “what”. Therefore, what I’m actually trying to do is change the way staff perceive behaviour. For example – a realisation that a child is being disruptive because they are scared of failing at the work – rather than because they fancy giving a personal attack that day – means a different reaction from the staff – which in turn helps to reduce conflict. This also has a positive knock-on effect for staff wellbeing.

Challenging Perceptions Limited was born.

Now I needed a name for my main course; it used to be called ‘Reworking the Conflict Spiral’. Based on the Team Teach conflict spiral, it looked at how experiences like trauma, failure etc impact on feelings like low self esteem, frustration and anger. This drives avoidant and aggressive behaviour and how we as staff react depends on whether we end up with conflict. We often use punitive measures due to the policies in place at most schools.

If we rework this so that the reactions are less punitive and more empathetic then we can change experiences. Instead of failure, negativity and believing that adults are scary and can’t be trusted, they can become; I can do this, I can be more positive, adults can be trusted and that I might be different but that’s OK. These children then feel safer, like they belong and have more self-worth. This leads to a child who is calmer and who can access strategies because they are regulated and can remember them. We end up with no conflict because they can self-regulate.

Unfortunately, as I designed this course while in post at school, it officially “belongs” to them and as such I have been unable to bring it with me to my new venture and I was advised to design a new course. So that’s what I did – it was following an incident at school and a LinkedIn post that resulted. The post read;

“I had a pupil make quite a significant disclosure today. Something that had been weighing on him for weeks.”
“How did he tell me he wanted to disclose this?”
“He tried to abscond, damaged displays, stabbed me with a screw, messed with my phone and stole my keys. When I didn’t hold him, send him home, fight with him for the equipment or threaten him with a consequence he came into another room and explained everything.”

Behaviour is a language and we all speak it if we take the time to decipher it!

Now usually the only time one of my LinkedIn posts is viewed a lot is if it’s a video of Daniel (my disabled genius slash spawn of Satan son) and I’m cool with that, he’s far more interesting than I am. However this one seemed to strike a chord and I had loads of comments and lots of questions about it. When I had put the final sentence on I hadn’t thought much of it. I was doing my job, it’s a position I’ve been in before, something about his body language didn’t make me feel threatened and if it did escalate I knew I had the skills to manage it. That child needed to know I wouldn’t be pushed away and I wouldn’t reject him – and when he felt like he could trust me – he offloaded.

That’s the thing with our most challenging pupils. They are bottling up all sorts of emotions and don’t feel safe enough or trust anyone enough to share them. Eventually it overflows and we often see extreme behaviours as a result. We have to do our best to take a step back and we have to look behind the behaviour.

So I decided to call my course ‘Deciphering the Language of Behaviour’ and that’s what I am trying to help people do. It’s the same principal with a lot of the same content as my previous course and raising understanding and empathy is still the focus. We have to pass some tests to prove we are worthy enough to earn their trust. You may be the only adult in their life who has ever been trusted and that is a very special thing.

If you'd like to learn from Graham and his work then don't hesitate to check out his book Building Positive Behaviour: Returning to learning using a Sequential Approach which is available for purchase on amazon or follow him on twitter @grahamchatterl2 .

My journey from being withdrawn from PE at school to becoming an Olympic gold medalist (guest post)

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:09:03 +0100

As a patron for nasen and Axcis Ambassador, we are thrilled to share this guest post from Danielle Brown MBE. In it, she talks about her journey from struggling at school with PE, through a difficult period of diagnosis for her disability and how she has overcome this to achieve sporting success. We think you’ll agree that this is an inspiring story.

I have something called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. It’s a neurological condition that causes chronic pain in both my feet all the time. Not the most pleasant of things, but it is what it is.

Sport played an important role in my childhood. I grew up in a very active family and I loved nothing more than being outdoors. But at eleven years old my feet started to hurt after I’d been running. It progressively got worse until walking become unbearably difficult and taking part in all the sports I’d loved doing was impossible.

It took me five years to get my diagnosis. CRPS was – and still is in some cases – difficult to diagnose and not always well understood by the medical professionals. Five years of medical appointments, scans, medication and physiotherapy. Some doctors tested me for brain tumours, others accused me of making it up. All in all, it was a very difficult time for me and it completely fractured my self-esteem.

Growing up is a difficult time for anybody; it’s where we start to figure out who we are and what we want to do with the rest of our lives. The world places so much value on outward appearances and I… well, I was broken. I didn’t fit within that blanket ideal of physical perfection, which further singled me out. I was different, and different is sometimes a very lonely place to be.

At school, PE had gone from being my favourite subject to becoming a living nightmare. My mum did her best to keep the school updated, but without a diagnosis it was very difficult to get teachers to understand. I was still expected to participate, which caused my pain levels to skyrocket. In the end my Mum ended up pulling me out of PE and I spent two hours a week sat in the school library.

Sport ended up being the thing that turned my life around. I missed being active, missed being outdoors, so I looked around for a sport that didn’t involve lots of running or walking and figured that archery was something I could do. For my fifteenth birthday my Dad and I did a beginners course at a local club, and I was terrible! It was a miracle if I could hit the target, never mind the middle of it but it was so much fun. Every night I’d pester my parents to take me to practice, and the more I practiced the better I got, the better I got the more I enjoyed it and the more I wanted to practice. Three years later I made the Great Britain team.

I jumped straight in as World Number 1 and hung on to that position for my entire career. I won gold in Beijing 2008 and retained my title on home soil in London 2012. I won five World Championship titles, held all twelve Paralympic World Records and did something that not very many disabled athletes manage – I made it onto the able-bodied team. In 2010 I proved to the world that disability does not have to be a barrier to success when I became the first disabled athlete to represent England at the Commonwealth Games, where I won a gold medal in the team event.

Sport transformed my life, challenging the perceptions I held about myself. There was a time when my disability was the cause of many insecurities and fears, and coming to accept myself for who I was and see beyond my physical limitations was a rollercoaster of a journey. This does not mean that I pretend this part of me doesn’t exist. My disability plays a big role in my life. It’s a constant companion, and truth be told I cannot remember what it is like to live without it. It has shaped my life, it has closed doors and opened them and it has made me the person I am today. It has been the very worst thing that happened to me, and the very best. But I am not broken. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with me and my disability does not restrict me in any of the ways that matter – I have pushed the boundaries of my potential and redefined what I thought I was capable of.

Looking back at my story, my teachers could have explored the different options available to me. They could have let me know more about inclusive sports and focused on my ability rather than my disability. Even though it worked out great for me in the end, I wonder how many other young people miss out because they aren’t given the right messages or support.

And this is why I want to help others.

We all have the capacity to make a difference. So many people helped me turn my vision of winning medals for Great Britain into a reality. The belief my coaches had in me, the creative ‘no barriers’ thinking from my team, the unending support my family and friends gave me, the kindness of volunteers. I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for them.

I now work with young people to help them unlock their potential and see their limitless potential. I equip young people with tools to help them raise aspirations, develop a success mindset and build confidence levels, whilst proactively supporting their mental wellbeing. We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health and if we proactively learn how to look after our mental wellbeing we are better placed to prevent issues from arising and live life to the best of our abilities.

We can all achieve great things given the right support and encouragement. Disability does not have to be a barrier to success if we approach it in the right way, so never underestimate the power of your words.

About Danielle

Danielle Brown MBE is a Professional Keynote Speaker, Training Provider and Coach. Her organisation inspires and empowers people to unlock their potential, overcome adversity and achieve big goals. Her online programme Your Journey To Success© centres around improving mental wellbeing and academic performance in schools and she has co-authored Be Your Best Self, a self-development book for 7-11 year olds.

E: info@daniellebrown.co.uk

W: www.daniellebrown.co.uk

Are you looking for SEND staff or work?

If you're looking for a SEND teaching or support job in England or Wales, why not register with Axcis, the SEND recruitment specialists? Or perhaps you need to recruit staff for your school or provision? If so, why not take a look at the Axcis Website, or get in touch today to find out how we can help?

My journey: how I became a TA & why (guest post)

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 13:51:04 +0100

Me? Work in a school? I couldn’t imagine it in this lifetime!

My career of choice aged 13 and above was fashion design, I spent evenings designing cool outfits a la Jean Paul Gaultier and doing art coursework in between listening to Bros and watching The Lost Boys (and of course The Clothes Show). I would never have placed myself in a school then but it is so rewarding and fulfilling and I adore it.

I didn’t like school much-primary school was miserable as I dealt with daily bullying and a maths phobia, but I think that’s why I make a difference working as a TA.

Later in life I found that art college teachers were tough critiques and this was too much for my wobbly ego at the time so I chose an apprenticeship in hairdressing-the closest I could get to creative work. I soon found out that it wasn’t glamorous at all, I found it boring and was not for me, then came a nasty recession and a string of less than enjoyable customer service roles.

Feeling disillusioned and frustrated, I drifted from battery hen style call centres with Hitleresque bosses to menial supermarket roles (unexpected item in bagging area, anyone?)

The welcome turning point occurred when my first son, four, started school: At the parents meeting the wonderful, inspirational reception teacher pleaded for parents to help in the classroom. I was five months pregnant with my second child and I felt the need to make myself useful! My offer to volunteer was met with enthusiasm and gratefulness of staff and extended to staff room hospitality, coffee and biscuits. The school itself was small, cosy and caring with a lovely vibe.

Pleased that I was appreciated, I felt creatively fulfilled when I was put straight to work on a Christmas display in a mixed year one and two class. The best part of the work was the wonderful children and I loved every minute. Whilst on the school run or out at the shop, “Hello Mrs Phillips” never got old, and in the classroom having a reason to get glitter out the art cupboard meant I was even happy to work for free.

The children’s talents gave me a buzz and I realised that my bad experience of school gave me skills for the job: I had patience with those who didn’t understand, along with creative resourcefulness that had me raiding the cupboards and happy children who got it! I always try to raise morale and confidence of learners, and did not want them to feel like I did in the bad times!

Soon I began working at the school as a lunchtime supervisor. Again, my own bad memories encouraged me to be vigilant as I worked hard to prevent and sort out unkind behaviour and I developed an incidental sideline as an Agony Aunt!

However, if my dream of being a paid TA were to be realised I needed a level two NVQ, and a good maths qualification. Luckily I had a good English GCSE, but I had a lot of work to do-vacancies were few and far between-and they had the world (and his highly qualified, experienced wife) applying for them.

So I spent a few years in college gaining qualifications, and as no jobs were coming up I even did the first year of a foundation degree, so determined to get “The Edge” to land my dream job. After four years volunteering and a couple of unsuccessful interviews I landed a job at my favourite school as a one to one TA with a child with autism. I stayed there for six years and worked in every year group from reception to year six.

I had always wanted to work for Axcis in ASD bases and have done so for about fifteen months. I am now working long term in a secondary school (my old school, secondary school was fine!) and I never want to do any other role. Oh yes, and I help in all classes, from art to GCSE maths!

Anna Phillips

Anna Phillips is a TA in her old secondary school currently working at the ASD base. She started helping in schools aged 32 and has been doing so for 10 years, and has worked in all school year groups. She has always lived in Somerset and has two sons aged 10 and 15.

Are you looking for SEND staff or work?

Preparing to support your pupils with SEND (nasen guest post)

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 13:49:50 +0100

How can you prepare to support children with SEND in the new school year? Alex Grady, Education Deveolopment Officer for nasen, has kindly provided us with this essential guidance in her guest blog for Axcis.

Get the new term off to a good start with this essential advice

Getting off to a positive start with your new class/es in September will help to set the temperature for future lessons, but knowing how best to do this can feel daunting, especially when you know that there are pupils with SEND (as there will be in almost every class). There are lots of things you can do now or early in the term to prepare to meet the needs of every child you teach to make for a more successful start to the year for everyone:

Find out as much as you can about the pupils (particularly those with SEND – make sure you speak to the SENCO). As well as using data and assessment outcomes, also aim to find out about them as people – every pupil coming into your classroom is an individual with their own needs, strengths, fears, family, hobbies etc. Try to find something you can talk about or refer to for each child– the personal touch really helps with building relationships, and relationships will help to see you through any difficulties ahead.
Find out as much as you can about any identified types of SEND (by looking at relevant websites, finding books etc) so that you have an idea of what particular strengths and needs might be. For example, most people with autism have sensory needs, so you may want to consider the impact of lighting, noise, seating etc However, do be aware that the child is not the diagnosis – every pupil with autism/dyslexia/Down syndrome etc is different, and knowing about this area will simply give you an indication of what an individual’s needs may be.
Consider your classroom environment – even if you don’t have your own classroom, you can think about the aspects of the environment that are within your control. Clutter can be extremely distracting for many pupils, and some will not be able to filter it out, so aim for as little clutter as possible – tidy up piles of books, pen pots, desk tops etc (and train your class to keep them tidy!). What’s on the walls?
- Do you have word lists or prompts that you want pupils to refer to? If so, make sure they can easily be seen from everywhere in the room and teach the pupils how to use them.
- Are there old/tatty/irrelevant displays up? Take them down – a bare board is better than one with useless/confusing information on it.
- Can pupils access the equipment you want them to use? Can those pupils who need a writing slope or a chunky pencil get themselves one? Arrange resources so they can be used independently.
Think ahead about how you want to respond to the individual needs of your pupils – for example, if you have pupils with literacy difficulties, what support will you offer them for writing? How will you manage spelling tests? For all pupils, but particularly those with SEND, how will you try to develop independence? What strategies could you employ to support the child with autism who needs a routine? (Think visual timetables and preparing them for changes). How will you avoid, and if necessary respond to, situations where a pupil challenges you verbally? (Read about restorative approaches to behaviour to help with this). You cannot possibly think through every possible scenario, but if you are clear about having inclusive values and respond using these, this will take you a long way.
Make sure you know what resources you will need for particular pupils. For example, a dyslexic pupil may benefit from topic vocabulary lists, common exception word spelling lists, coloured overlays, high-interest low-reading age books etc whereas a pupil with autism may need a now-next board or emotions cards and so on. You will probably discover there are other resources you need as time goes on but having some prepared gives pupils the message that you care about them and want to support them
If you are lucky enough to have support staff, consider how you will work effectively with them – use the MITA website information for good advice on this.

Remember – every pupil in every class is an individual with their own personality, so enjoy getting to know them – you will all learn a lot as the year progresses!

About Alex Grady, Education Development Officer with nasen

Alex has worked in education for 25 years, almost all teaching children and young people with SEND. She has worked as a primary class teacher and SENCO, for a dyslexia teaching service, in a language resource base, with Looked After Children, for a Learning Support Team in a local authority, and she has been a Reading Recovery Teacher Leader. She recently taught in and coordinated outreach support for a special school federation and has been a SEN governor for ten years. Alex has a wide understanding of the needs of pupils with a range of SEND and the challenges that providing the right support can bring to mainstream and special school staff. She is now an Education Development Officer for nasen, the leading organisation supporting professionals working in the field of SEND, where she has led the development of their Early Years SEND Resources. She is currently working on the Whole School SEND project. This project is based on collaboration across the sector and the sharing of effective practice to meet the needs of all children and young people, and Alex is excited to be a part of it.

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Help! I’m a new SENCO and don’t know where to start – blog by Gareth Morewood

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 13:46:44 +0100

If you’re new to the profession, the role of the SENCO might initially seem complex and unsupported. It’s important to know that you’re never alone!

Over a typical week, I will receive about twenty e-mails and tweets from fellow SENCOs across the country and about ten or so from parents and carers.

I always try to spend some time each week answering each question in turn. This can be a real challenge, especially when I am travelling to events and school-to-school support work myself, in addition to doing my SENCO ‘day job’!

This week I received a lovely email from a new SENCO colleague who had typed into Google ‘I’m a new SENCO and need some help’, only for my name to pop up! I have never courted praise or chased followers, but always tried to set myself up as someone who can make a difference by sharing resources, helping colleagues and offering advice.

As I’m often answering similar questions from new SENCO colleagues, I thought it would be useful to collate my thoughts for the support of new SENCOs.

Don’t live in isolation

I have been a member of the SENCO Forum e-discussion group since the beginning of my career as SENCO. I am currently vice chair of the Advisory Group that helps keep the service free to use. Now in its twenty-first year of operation, the forum provides an opportunity for (new and experienced) SENCOs and other SEND professionals to discuss issues, share information and pass on practical advice. This is often based on the first-hand experience of SEND professionals, along with relevant research evidence and local/national policy guidance.

Knowing I can seek the advice and support of my colleagues almost immediately has proven invaluable throughout my career, and it’s important that all SENCOs know that they aren’t isolated within their roles. The forum is an excellent way to get the help you need simply by sending an email.

Any questions about using the forum to disseminate information about SEND-focused research, policy and practice can be addressed either to me or the Advisory Group chair, Christopher Robertson.

Consider key priorities

SENCO colleagues often feel overwhelmed by the pressures and demands from lots of different areas. I wrote recently about my three-stage plan for school improvement, which may be as useful for new SENCOs as for more experienced colleagues and headteachers.

However, the key is always to think about priorities and not to do too much at once. Being reflective will allow for a more strategic approach, which is crucial if SENCOs are to meet the challenges faced day after day.

Define your role

The education system is currently under a lot of pressure, and schools are struggling with a multitude of financial constraints and significant curriculum changes.

In this context, I think it is important to remain specific when defining the role of SENCO. Don’t try to be ‘something to everyone’; be as focused and strategic as possible.

The SENCO works strategically with the senior leadership team to review and refresh a school’s provision for SEND, while also working with classroom/subject teachers to ensure that every child with SEND gets the most appropriate and personalised support possible.

Drawing clear distinctions between the responsibilities of staff is as important for new SENCOs as it is for everyone else.

The classroom teacher should:

focus on outcomes for the child when reviewing SEND provision
be responsible for meeting special educational needs, working in co-operation with the SENCO to
develop a higher quality of teaching
have high aspirations for every student, with clear progress targets for pupils
be clear about how the school’s full range of resources can be used to meet such targets
involve parents/carers and pupils themselves when planning and reviewing progress.

The headteacher and SLT should:

consider how SENCOs fit into the strategic management of the school, including how they feed into strategic decisions
ensure that the SENCO has sufficient time and resources to carry out their responsibilities, with sufficient administrative support and time away from teaching to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities (Code of Practice section 6.91)
foster a strong relationship between school and parents/carers, meeting parents/carers at least three times each year (Code of Practice section 6.65).

It is always good to have a strong relationship between SENCO and SEND governor. Optimus members can download our toolkit of resources to help develop better collaborative working.

The SENCO should:

oversee the day-to-day operation of school’s SEND provision
coordinate provision for children with SEND
liaise with the designated teacher for a looked-after child with SEND
advise on using the graduated approach to develop SEND provision
advise on the use of delegated budgets and other resources
liaise with parents and carers of children with SEND
work with other education settings and external agencies
liaise with the next providers of education to facilitate transition;
work with the headteacher and governors on the Equality Act
ensure that SEND records are kept up to date.

However new to the role of SENCO you might be, you’ll never be alone! There is plenty of advice and support out there.

After all, if there is one thing I’ve learnt over the last 20 years, it’s that SENCOs are a generous and supportive bunch!

Gareth Morewood

Gareth is Director of Curriculum Support (SENCo) & Specialist Leader of Education and Honorary Research Fellow in Education at the University of Manchester. He has authored a number of articles, books, academic papers and publications which can be found on his website www.gdmorewood.com. This article was originally published on his blog and has been reproduced with his kind permission.

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Why the fear of Touch is leaving kids lost (guest post)

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 13:19:04 +0100

Graham Chatterley is an assistant head at a school in Warrington for pupils with a range of SEMH needs. He has 4 children, the youngest 2 of which have varying ASD needs. One being very high functioning with some social and understanding difficulties, however managing well in Mainstream Primary. The other having significant ASD, ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder needs requiring an SLD setting. This has put Graham in an unusual position of experiencing both sides of Special Education Needs which has aided his understandings of both. He has kindly provided this guest post for the Axcis blog.

Why the fear of Touch is leaving kid’s lost

Just for a second think about your day, your interactions with family, friends and work colleagues. Now relive that day and take out every piece of physical contact you had with other people. No hug for your family, no arm around your friend, no handshake at the start of your meeting. How different would your day be? How would you feel about it?

The importance of touch

It is widely recognised that touch between an infant and their primary caregiver is absolutely vital in that child’s development, understanding and feeling safe. So when a child starts school at age four, are they fully developed, understanding of the world and feeling safe enough to no longer need touch?

There has been a lot of research to support and I would 100% stand by the fact that it is easier to understand the emotional meaning of touch than understanding facial expression or tone of voice.

A stigmatised action

Despite this, touch has become an alarming word when used around children. Even though it is something that can be used in so many positive contexts, it has become attached to so many negative stigmas that it is now seen as a bad and inappropriate thing that has no place in schools.

It is this shortsighted view; this created negativity that leads to dangerous hands-off policies and educators who fear and doubt themselves, children who are put at risk when at school and who leave school not understanding touch as a means of communication and therefore encountering difficulties in their adult lives.

The flip side

On the flip side of this, appropriate, positive touch is a cornerstone of relationship building. Used correctly, it can break down barriers and allow us to see how a child is really feeling. It can be used to show a child that we are there for them or proud of them. It can allow us to keep them safe from themselves or others from them until a time when we can have a verbal interaction to find out what is wrong with them.

I am fortunate enough to work in a school that doesn’t see touch as taboo or inappropriate and is used to positive effect on a daily basis. It is in fact one of the best and most positive tools in my armory – whether it be to help communicate with a child, keep them safe or meeting a sensory need they have. I have done a lot of staff training in a lot of other schools on positive handling and I walk through every set of school gates expecting to be faced with the same misconceptions, stigmas and fears about the use of touch.

Touch as a communication tool for children

It is a given for many that an arm around the shoulders is a show of support, a pat on the back a form of praise, a ruffle of the hair a playful way of saying I like you or a hug to greet, nurture or comfort. These things are a given because we have experienced them. We had a ‘normal’ childhood and received them from adults and caregivers all our lives and we have learned what they mean.

What if a child hasn’t experienced this? What if the caregiver hasn’t done any of these things? What if that caregiver neglected these things or abused the use of touch? What if the only person to give any care to that child is a teacher or member of support staff? But the school says there can be no touch. How does that child learn what those things mean?

The simple answer is they don’t! Touch becomes an unknown thing, and that brings with it a fear. Or it was something genuinely negative and brings with it even more fear. When they go for their first job interview and are expected to shake hands, it brings with it fear and anxiety and they are immediately set up to fail. They cannot form effective relationships because they are scared by or don’t understand every aspect of physical contact so shy away from it. Or worse – repeat the misuse they suffered.

What if that child has additional communication needs? Speech and language support is going on all over the country in schools and a huge amount of time is spent on seeing and recognising body language, hearing tone and volume of voice but nothing on how touch is used to communicate – causing children to avoid it at all costs or get themselves into trouble.

Touch should be the cornerstone of emotional literacy because it is proven to be easier to understand than other forms of communication and can powerfully show emotions

Touch should be the cornerstone of emotional literacy because it is proven to be easier to understand than other forms of communication and can powerfully show emotions. If a child is upset and finds facial expressions difficult to read and doesn’t detect a soothing tone of voice, but finds a gentle arm around the shoulder calming, then should we really be avoiding this touch? Should we continue talking when we know what is more effective? Well this is the position staff are in when constrained by a no touch policy.

I want physical contact between my staff and their pupils. I want to see a pat on the back to say job well done, a holding of hands to say you are safe with me and an arm around the shoulder to say are you ok, do you want to talk about it? These are essential to helping children understand the meaning of touch and how it can be a positive thing.

Touch to keep children safe

Not only do they take away so much. No touch policies are dangerous!

Regardless of training or school policies, every teacher and teaching assistant has had to touch a child at some point. Be it breaking up a fight, stopping a small child running off or preventing an autistic child from walking into a road, it is the duty of care of the member of staff to keep that child safe, and that often requires them to be touched.

For me, I would rather they know how to do these things safely and I will champion positive handling till the day I retire but restraint is an argument for another day.

Having these skills serves much more of a purpose than just keeping everyone safe. Children with poor emotional literacy and feelings they don’t understand often react with aggression. Is it better for them to hurt themselves or another child? Or is it better for them to be held safely by me where they can release those feelings by fighting against me knowing they aren’t going to get hurt? I want them to find another way but at this stage it is the lesser of two evils. Again, put yourself in a position where you encounter a loved one who is angry and distressed. Do you spend ages talking to them or do you hold them as tight as you can and tell them it’s gonna be ok? I will talk later about the benefits of deep pressure touch but it is something we instinctively do without knowing why.

The stigma tells us that holding is used as a way of gaining compliance but the truth is that it is a last resort to keep everyone safe and a way of making a troubled child feel safe when they are at their most distressed. When a child of our own is young and distressed we hold them tight so they don’t hurt themselves and feel safe. Just because they are bigger is this a tool we shouldn’t use?

Touch as a communication tool for staff
Many children can’t say how they feel or may lie about it. Often, children hide how they feel and give nothing away in body language – but the thing they cannot hide and the thing that betrays them every time is their heartbeat.

Anxious? Heart beat rises.

Frustrated? Heart beat rises

Angry? Heart beat rises

With boys, an arm around the shoulder and a subtle hand on the chest can give me the info I need to plan a course of action and prevent an escalation.

I know the immediate risk and can avoid making the situation worse by trying to get them to talk.

Touch to meet sensory needs

I have a far greater experience with sensory needs at home than I do at school but it is becoming more common in my setting. I have mentioned already that my youngest son has severe autism and massive sensory processing problems. He is under-sensitive to touch and when he is unsettled and/or disregulated he will crave a very deep pressure touch. Now I know that this is one of his many needs and I know that because of the specialist setting he is in he will have this need met.

My son is at the very high end of this spectrum with a sensory profile and an awareness of his needs. What about the children who are not as obvious and haven’t been identified? We are new to it at school and if I didn’t have it at home I probably wouldn’t see it; especially as much of the time the children don’t even realise it themselves. However, in my setting if a child initiates touch they won’t be turned away. This may not be the case in a mainstream setting where awareness of sensory needs is hit and miss and they may be denied the touch required to re-regulate themselves.

This may also be a reason why children end up getting themselves into a restraint situation when all they wanted was a squeeze in the first place. These sensory needs are far more common than people realise and staff need to be educated about them and not be afraid or feel restricted from supporting a child in need. It is not just for ASD pupils either, the links between attachment disorder at varying levels and system dis-regulation are proven. There are children in every school in the country affected by attachment to different degrees. All of these children will have sensory needs at one level or another. The problem is that if a child has a need that is not being met then that will be their primary focus. Not English, not Maths and therefore the child gets in trouble for not doing work and it spirals from there.

The common belief is that sensory needs are for special needs and this is simply not the case and if we meet the need we re-focus the child and put them in a better position to learn.

The common belief is that sensory needs are for special needs and this is simply not the case and if we meet the need we re-focus the child and put them in a better position to learn. If that need is physical deep pressure touch and we are a school where we can’t touch then that need will be met in another way like aggression or it won’t be met and that child will struggle all day to concentrate and stay on task. Eventually this will lead to frustration, anger and aggression.

Touch is like so many of the most important things in the world, it is divisive and can be misused but if we are scared of it or we remove it from schools then we lose so much and leave children confused and uncomfortable, not meeting their needs and leaving them unprepared for the real world where touch is a big part of everyday life.

Huge thanks to Graham for this fantastic submission.

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4 bits of behaviour management advice I’d give my NQT self (guest post)

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 12:00:00 +0100

4 bits of behaviour management advice I’d give my NQT self

In recent weeks, I have been doing some training on behaviour management and de-escalation techniques with a couple of university students who are lucky enough to have been placed in our school for pupils with SEMH needs. Probably a daunting experience for them, but one which will definitely stand them in good stead for their future. Which will more than likely be a mainstream one.

It’s handy for me to see what their university course has offered by way of behaviour management and how it matches up against other things like planning and assessment. It also allows me to see whether things have progressed since I was last in a university. It is evident though that the concept of being an authority figure and emphasis on rules is still up on a pedestal. The “one size fits all, consistency at all costs, every child needs to be a round peg” style is still being pushed on to our trainees.

I get it – focussing on the majority makes some sense. Planning is very important and assessed data and progress will be ultimately what you live and die on – but would it hurt to give our future teachers some different information? Information like; it’s the minority who are the lynchpin of your lesson, and the very best planning in the world won’t matter if your behaviour management is weak – and if you can’t engage the children there will be nothing to assess and no progress shown anyway. Surely more focus on understanding behaviour will set them up more effectively for a career in teaching?

It wasn’t that many years ago I went to do some speaking to a major teaching university’s outgoing NQTs and the last advice they were given before going off and starting their careers was; ‘I don’t want to see you smile till Christmas’ and ‘Ignore all low level behaviour’. Now don’t get me wrong – I get some of the logic behind these statements. If the class is full of children with a great work ethic who rarely do more than lightly chatter then these strategies are fine. However, unless these guys are doing their NQT year in the prep school from the film School of Rock, advice like this is not going to help a great deal. It’s far more likely they will get challenging groups, children from deprived areas and children with a multitude of additional needs in their classes. Children who often don’t respond well to authority and if you ignore their early behaviours they will find a more significant one to get your attention.

I look back at the mistakes I made when going to my first secondary teaching placement. I was once told by my secondary school mentor that I was like a robot and needed some personality. I was teaching that way because that was how I understood you show authority!

Then there was my first job after qualifying – I was teaching a year 4 class who I thought I could ‘wear down’ with seating plans and missed playtimes, thinking if I shouted loud enough they would behave themselves!

I realise looking back that I was going against my instincts and as a result what would have actually made my classroom management better! This was because I was straight off the university teacher production line. It’s why I nearly failed my first 2 teaching placements and it’s why I very nearly failed my NQT year. However, I struggled through them and then I relaxed – the pressure of constantly being assessed on everything I did stopped and my personality started to come out. And I started having fun with the children! School became a more enjoyable place for me to be – and without me realising it, I made it more enjoyable for the children in my class, too!

And guess what happened?

Behaviour improved

The atmosphere in the class improved

Children started to progress more

So I took this with me to secondary and I realised that my strengths lay in my patience and my humour and I found that I built a good rapport with children who gave other teachers hell. When I had them, they behaved better. Maybe because we got on, maybe because I had their respect or maybe it was because they knew that with me I wasn’t expecting the worst of them. They didn’t have the bad kid expectations to live up to. Whatever it was; by having the most challenging children in the class on task, the others followed suit and teaching wasn’t the battle it had always been before.

I have no doubt whatsoever that without these realisations, my teaching career wouldn’t have lasted 5 years, it was purely a job and one I didn’t enjoy. I realise I was not equipped at all when I started my career. However, I went to university with a guy from the Valley’s in Wales, he was mad as a box of frogs and the funniest and most charismatic guy I’ve ever met. I never saw him teach but I often wondered why he did so well in his teaching practices. I’m guessing it’s because he couldn’t be tamed, couldn’t be turned into a production line robot and because of that the children adored him and hung on his every word. He just had it and we can’t all just be like that, but we can learn from it. For others as teachers; we are performers and we blag our way through sometimes. We might fake a passion for a subject or topic we have no interest in and at times we imply years of knowledge in things we only just looked up on the internet 10 minutes before the lesson. Most importantly however and where we have to be the best performers is convincing a challenging child that we like them and are interested in them. If it’s the truth then brilliant, but as long as they believe it then that will be enough!

So I thought I’d put together my own list. Tips and advice I wish I’d had when I started out. Here it is:

Build relationships, especially with the challenging kids

Above all else this is the key. It’s a lot harder to mess about for someone who means something to you, it’s a lot harder to abuse someone you like and it’s a lot harder to disappoint someone who has shown faith in you.

If that child sees you as a statistic, another teacher to come and go then why would they invest in you?

But if they see a person with shared interests, who is fun to talk to and cares about them. It may well influence them in a positive way.

In a child’s file there is likely to be pages and pages written about what the child has done in the past, risk assessments etc but good schools will also tell you what a child’s likes and dislikes are, what they have experienced and what they are good at. If those interests are similar to yours then great; if you support the same football team or like the same music, brilliant. However, if not, take some time to find out. It will mean giving up some time, maybe time away from planning and assessing but I promise it will be worth it. I was onto an immediate winner with our sporty kids but I’ve had children who have been obsessed with ‘My Little Pony’ or ‘Pokemon’. It’s no good me asking them if they watched the Utd game at the weekend! Therefore I’ve done my research and now I know my ‘Flutterby’ from my ‘Rainbow Bright’ and a ‘Pikatchu’ from a ‘Charmander’. I now have just enough to start a conversation with these children. A conversation starter that might be enough to use as a distraction/de-escalation when they are heading for crisis, but more importantly it shows them that I am a person and that I’m invested in them. Therefore I start to build trust and they might just invest in me.

The big piece of advice I often give to students when they go into a class is; identify the most challenging pupil who is often a strong character. How that child behaves often dictates the whole class. Then get that child on board and the lesson will manage itself. It’s almost like a sibling relationship where the brother/sister can make each other’s lives hell but nobody else is allowed to look at them wrong. If they aren’t going to misbehave in your lesson then nobody else is.

Don’t take anything personally

I hope the phrase ‘behaviour is a communication’ is making it out there, but more importantly is being taken seriously. When you have been told to be a figure of authority it seems only logical that being told to ‘f**k off’ is an outrage and a pound of flesh shall be taken! After all it is what the child expects, but it continues the cycle and school stays the negative place they hate with another teacher who isn’t bothered.

But what if we weren’t outraged? What if we recognised that the child was distressed and talked to them about it? What if we talked about something completely different, made them feel more positive and then talked about what had made them angry? And what if we did all that and found a strategy for letting you know they are angry that didn’t involve telling you to ‘f**k off’?

Or we could just give them their usual consequence and carry on as normal. React as they expect and give the anger something to feed off. Wondering why it never changes.

Empathy and understanding

For anyone familiar with the Team Teach Conflict Spiral, Children have experiences, this leads to feelings and that drives behaviours. If those experiences are negative it will end in negative behaviour and if we react in a punitive/challenging way we end up with conflict. This is the process and the cycle I see so much of.

We see the child who knocks over the chair – we tell the child to pick up the chair – then we give a consequence when they refuse to follow instructions. We see the child’s behaviour, not the child themselves. We give a punishment for the aggressive action without understanding the root of the aggressive feelings.

If we react differently and ignore the chair and put an arm round a distressed child, we probably find out that the chair got knocked over because the child hasn’t slept – perhaps because parents were arguing all night, or they are frustrated because they find the work too challenging or their anxiety has flooded their body with chemicals and they are scared by how they feel. Just having these bits of knowledge means we feel better; then we can be different and show a different kind of reaction and give them more positive experiences of how an adult can react. From there we can help them to find a better way to express their need for support.

Have a Plan

If a plan exists for a pupil – know it. If a plan doesn’t exist – make one. Always stay calm and use what you know. Use your knowledge of the child’s experiences and feelings to avoid triggers. Use their interests as a distraction tool. If you can identify early signs of negative feelings, you can intervene early and prevent the behaviours and there is no need for conflict.

I hope the movements in understanding behaviour and mental health in children is filtering down to universities because I was not prepared when I started my career. I was weeks from leaving teaching and looked very carefully at other careers. I realise now that would have been a shame.

Whatever your personality is, make sure you show it. Get out onto the playground and play with the kids, get involved in clubs and camps. Show the children you are a person as well as a teacher, and if they do things wrong tell them how it makes you feel and that you know they can do better, but don’t make the behaviour more important than the child.

These would be my main bits of advice I would give my NQT self. I’m not saying be best friends but you don’t gain the respect of a challenging pupil by beating them down with consequences. However, if you get to know them, understand them and like them even when they are at their worst. Then there is a very good chance that they will give you their best.

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Photo credit: Pexels

Why punitive consequences without context do more harm than good (Guest Post)

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 12:00:00 +0100

Graham Chatterley, SEMH school leader – has kindly provided this guest post which explores why punitive consequences can do more harm than good for our children and young people.

Consider this – we live in a society where (provided that a judge and jury can be given context and convinced that the risk was significant enough and you were acting in self-defence), you can kill someone and not be given a punishment. Why, therefore, are children who react with aggression when they perceive the same level of threat given punitive punishments for far lesser actions without the same application of context and understanding?

Why is it that our adult, non-traumatised, fully developed brains get to decide how threatened and scared that child was in that moment? We take our own perceptions and our own logic as fact and dismiss that child’s feelings because we see the level of risk through different eyes.

We – the people who haven’t experienced the violence or fear or loss – are judge and jury. Vital things like context, the child’s ability to self-regulate and the genuine perception of threat don’t get a look-in.

Why is it that the law takes everything into account and sometimes considers self-defence a reasonable and necessary response, but schools do not do the same?

I believe there are 3 reasons:

Time and resources to take the time to investigate properly and give context
The need for better understanding of brain development.
Too much of a ‘If they do this then this must happen’ approach to consequences and punishments

Just because a threat isn’t deemed as serious by us does not mean it wasn’t very real for the child. We see a child refusing to work because they are oppositional. The child may see the work as something they will get wrong – when they get it wrong people will laugh at them and reject them – everyone rejects them they are going to end up alone – being alone is unsafe and they can’t protect themselves – somebody will hurt or kill them! You may read that and think it’s ridiculous – how can being asked to work end in death! That is because your logical brain works. For a large number of children theirs doesn’t work as it should and in some cases not at all.

At a time when exclusions and off-rolling are the hottest topic in education, isn’t it time to try a different approach? We know more now than we ever have about the human brain, more about what causes aggression and more about the facts and figures relating to how many prisoners in the criminal justice system have had adverse life experiences that led them to where they are. Yet we are still punishing behavioural mistakes rather than teaching a better way. Continuing a cycle rather than breaking it.

Before things go to court in the real world, hours and hours of evidence building takes place to understand everything about a situation. The picture is painted by numerous different people from numerous different vantage points in order to create a bigger picture and make it fair. Motive plays a huge role in the decision making process and the outcome.

In schools, although the investigation may well take place, the consequence is usually based on the action rather than the motivation. Therefore, the child who smashed the window because they were scared and lashed out often gets a more extreme consequence than the person who scratched ‘Mr ______ is a w$£$%r’ into it. Even though one is completely out of the child’s control and they were hijacked by fear and the other was a thought out retaliation because they were annoyed with the teacher. This is because we focus on the what, instead of the why.

It should be the other way round and we must have completely different approaches if we are going to help the children get “better”. The question that needs to be answered is; what is more important – our compensation or the child?

Are we helping the adults or the children?

No traumatised child has learned to self-regulate, manage their aggressive outbursts or been made to feel safer by being given punitive consequences. Even when we know they couldn’t help it, even when we know it will only add to the feelings of shame, even when we know they were responding in self-defence; we still punish! We punish because of statements like; ‘They can’t be given special treatment!’, ‘They wouldn’t get away with it outside of school!’, and ‘The other kids need to see that that kind of behaviour is unacceptable!’

All of these statements are used every day in every school and none of them are true!

None of them have the child’s best interests at heart.

None of them do anything to help that child.

For this traumatised child, making them feel that they are bad, that they are going to end up in trouble with police and getting their peers to look down on them only furthers their belief that they don’t belong. This then serves only to further entrench their negativity and shame. We encourage them to ‘manage’ outbursts to avoid punitive consequences without helping them manage their feelings. To avoid the punitive consequence the child buries the feelings and finds survival strategies to get them through the day. However, suppressing emotions isn’t a good thing – although the display of negative emotions goes down – so do the positive ones and any opportunity for that child to be happy. Or worse – that child can’t let their anger out so it can only go one way… They start to hurt themselves, turn to an escape like addiction or worse – attempt suicide. It may seem like scaremongering but if we look deeply enough at the issue, we can see that this is real, and happening every day. The examples at our provision are the extreme but to some degree this affects children in every school in the country.

What these statements do achieve, just as the punishments do – is appeasing staff. I know it’s never nice to be on the receiving end of aggressive behaviour but we may be the last hope for these children who have been let down by every adult in their life. If we cannot put their needs ahead of our own then the cycle will never be broken.

In my experience, children are far more open to individual consequences than adults, as long as they are given an explanation.

Motive

Aggression isn’t always a result of trauma and this is why the responses we give to aggressive behaviour must be analysed and the motivation taken into account. If we do that, the action that we take will be designed to improve the situation rather than make adults feel better. Our brains are designed to complete the story and strive for closure – we get a healthy shot of dopamine whenever we do this and therefore the temptation to resolve things quickly is human nature. However if we do this without the facts and make assumptions, we risk getting it wrong and potentially doing more harm than good.

Whenever you research types of aggression on the internet it splits it into things like; physical/verbal or acting in/acting out with lots of different theories to back it all up. However in my experience there are 3 main types; Uncontrolled, overwhelmed and controlled. I also believe that only one of these benefits from punitive consequences.

Uncontrolled

Uncontrolled aggression is motivated by the reptilian brain. It is about responding instinctively to fear. It is the body’s self defence system – and the child has no control over it. Any time the child perceives threat, it is literally seen as life or death for them. Just because we have a different perception, it is no less real for the child. We cannot apply our logic or beliefs from our place of non-traumatic safety because our defence systems work as they should. If by no fault of their own that child has no reasoning skills because of a massively underdeveloped thinking part of the brain, then should we expect the same logic of thought as everyone else? (Closest legal example – Self – defence)

Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed aggression is motivated by the limbic part of the brain and is an emotional response. Children who have poor emotional resilience will become easily overwhelmed by the feelings they have and it will often spill over into aggression. The starting point is often low self-esteem, which becomes frustration – which leads to anger (with any number of feelings in between). We have all got to that point, where we know our bucket is full or our sponge needs wringing out and we all have our own ways to deal with it. Some people go to the gym, others might enjoy music or art – and for many of us, it’s going for a coffee with a trusted adult and having a bloody good rant! We as schools must offer these things – and to their credit, many do. (Closest legal example – Crime of passion)

Controlled

Controlled aggression is when there has been time to think and time to calm. When it has been a choice not to use strategies and the motivation is retaliation or outrage. Something may happen early in the day and the child waits before reacting. Often followed by very little remorse. (Closest legal example – Pre-meditated)

Identifying the type of aggression

Identifying which type of aggression being displayed can be difficult – and the lines can be blurry. A revenge attack hours later could be overwhelmed aggression from built up frustration, but it depends on whether opportunities to calm have been offered and also upon the child’s ability to regulate. It is a lot to work out and requires resources – but how many resources is this child already taking up with their behaviour cycle?

Consequences

I am not against consequences but I believe they should be linked to the behaviour. I believe they should be designed to break the cycle and I believe they should be a learning experience.

A child who is scared, doesn’t have a trustworthy adult in their life and has an inner shame/belief that they are bad, reacts with aggression. This is because they haven’t got the necessary self-control skills, don’t know how to seek help and don’t believe it will matter anyway. To shout at (increase fear), exclude (further reduce trust) or punish (confirmation they are bad) them therefore compounds the cycle and does not help the child to improve their behaviour. However, if the consequence is a calm conversation with the recipient of the aggressive action to understand how they have made them feel, more often than not the child will want to put it right and will often do so in a way that makes everyone feel better.

For a child who is overwhelmed, it is my belief the approach should be similar. A punitive consequence without explanation only adds to the negative feeling and does not help the child understand at which point they became overwhelmed. Unpicking and working out missed opportunities for managing early feelings allows for learning a better way. Again this child will usually want to put things right.

When a child has had the opportunity to calm down, decided against using pre-planned strategies and has then sought out revenge – then this is when we use the punitive consequence. Making a conscious choice to be aggressive as a show of domination or retaliation needs to be treated as it would in the real world where they wouldn’t have an adequate defence. In this circumstance, avoiding a punitive measure can empower this individual and lead to further aggression. However, it is still important to seek restoration and see the impact of actions – but if they chose the behaviour, there is less likely to be remorse.

I believe that by only seeing the action, we are failing the child. Behavioural mistakes are learning opportunities – but only if we have a child who is able to listen. If we punish every child who hits another child in the same way regardless of context and motivation, we miss important opportunities to make them feel safe, we miss opportunities to build relationships, we miss opportunities to build emotional literacy and we miss opportunities to learn self-regulation strategies. We miss the chance to break the cycle!

Huge thanks to Graham Chatterley for providing such a thought-provoking article.

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Make your classroom more autism friendly by colour coding their way…

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 12:00:00 +0100

Adele Devine, special needs teacher and autism specialist shares her tips on colour coding your classroom to make it more autism friendly.

Make your classroom more autism friendly by colour coding their way…

Imagine life without colour. Everything is black, white or gray. What to wear is suddenly a whole lot simpler (and duller). No matter how bright the sun shines the sky will be a shade of gray.

Colour commute

Now consider your journey to work without colour. There will be no colour coded rode signs, total confusion at traffic lights. Imagine finding your way on the London underground trains without those helpful colour coded maps guiding the way.

Everyday colour

We use colour all the time in our everyday lives. Colour gives us choices, influences our moods and communicates faster than words or pictures. Colour can also help keep us safe.

Colour the classroom

Naturally we use colour to breakdown information in our classrooms. Maybe it’s traffic light systems for noise control, coloured pens for marking, differentiating teams or creating groups. We use colour because it’s quick, it’s easy and effective. But we can take this even further…

5 quick tips to colour the way

1 - Where to go? What to do?

When a child is unsure of expectations their anxiety will increase. Make expectations clear by providing individual schedules that they will understand. Teach the child to match their photograph to the one at the top of their schedule. They can remove a symbol and match it to a transition board. Expectations are clear and language is reduced.

Individual schedule – taken from taken from ‘Flying Starts for Unique Children’

Transition board (taken from ‘Flying Starts for Unique Children’)

2 - Colour coded lessons

Colour coded numicon is a fantastic multi-sensory resource for teaching numbers in a practical way.

Numicon

Colour coded cooking equipment allows children to grasp concepts linked with weighing, measuring and starting out with simple fractions.

Colour coded cooking (taken from Colour Coding for Learners with Autism)

Colourful semantics was developed by speech therapists to enable pre verbal students to structure answers and build sentences. Sentences are broken down into ‘who’, ‘what are they doing’ ‘where’ and ‘to what’.

Colourful Semantics

3 - Breaking down tasks

must break down tasks into achievable steps so that they achieve success with the right amount of stretch.

I can rainbow (from Colour Coding for Learners with Autism)

Be aware! A child with SEN or autism may become overwhelmed and believe a task is impossible if stages of learning are not clearly laid out.

4 - Traffic lights

Traffic light colours communicate fast and are already used in so many classrooms. Maybe the teacher uses them as a football referee to manage behaviour or noise. Traffic light systems can also be used to increase independence, communicating levels of help needed or enable children to communicate when they need assistance.

Traffic light visual for asking for help (from colour coding for learners with autism)

Be aware! Traffic light systems should NOT be used for whole class achievement or behaviour displays. Imagine being little Johnny who ends up on ‘red’ for all to see every day or Sarah who’s never got her photo onto green for good number work.

5 - Sorting symbols

We know that symbols communicate meaning quicker and are more universally understood than language. But when we start using symbols there are so many. There are symbols for timetables and transitions, symbols to promote good behaviour, symbols for personal care, symbols for sports and symbols for snacks.

Symbols without colour (from Colour Coding for Learners with Autism)

A great way to sort these symbols is to create visual categories using colour. Shapes can distinguish categories and clarify meaning even further.

Symbols with colour (from Colour Coding for Learners with Autism)

See through their eyes

With more and more autistic adults opening up and sharing their personal experiences we are becoming increasingly aware of the sensory issues and differing perception. We must use this information to improve education and ensure our students access the support the need when they need it.

Coloured lenses for scotopic sensitivity syndrome

Some people experience difficulty reading due to words jumping about on the page or experience other more alarming visual distortions. But everyday perception can also be dramatically different. A horizontal hallway may appear to be a vertical drop. A person may not see things as whole, but in parts or experience a type of pixel vision. Imagine how disconcerting and confusing this would be. The autistic child may not be aware that they see differently.

Coloured lenses

Glasses with coloured lenses, which filter light can transform the way they see. It is up to us to be aware to direct parents, as these things will not show up on a standard eye test.

Coloured acetate or paper

Coloured acetate placed over writing can help some children read. You can also cover the screen of the computer or tablet. Some students will improve with a certain shade of pastel paper. Some students will find white paper will black print creates an overwhelming glare whereas cream or pale blue paper is easy on the eye. The issues are real. Imagine going through school with a constant migrane. Imagine always needing to squint or look sideways to see. Accommodations can make the world of difference to academic performance and self esteem. It is important that we teachers know…

Jumbled senses and synaesthesia

Synaesthesia is a condition in which one sense is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. The most common form of synaesthesia is grapheme-colour synaesthesia where letters or numbers are visualised as colours. Find more information about teaching students with synaesthesia here: http://www.syntoolkit.org/teacher

By Adele Devine

About Adele

Adele Devine is a Special Needs teacher at a school for young people with severe learning difficulties and autism in Surrey, UK. She has over a decade of experience teaching children on the autistic spectrum and worked as an ABA home tutor before qualifying as a teacher in 2004. Adele has a regular two-page feature in Teach Nursery magazine and shares her knowledge of special education needs through ‘A Special Blog’. In 2010, she co-founded the multi-award winning SEN Assist autism software with her husband. They have three children and live in Surrey, UK.

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Children with high functioning autism in SEMH settings. Are they failing at education or is education failing them? (Guest post)

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 12:00:00 +0100

An SEMH school leader, Graham Chatterley has become a regular guest-blogger for Axcis. In this post, he discusses the suitability of an SEMH setting for students with high functioning autism, and what mainstream settings can do to better support children on the spectrum.

The range of needs that we work with in SEMH is vast, and on the whole the children are in the right place and we are the best option to meet their needs. Smaller classes, more staff time, more individualised learning and more understanding of how to get the best out of the children, is what they need and on the whole our children make enormous progress. Unfortunately during our process of looking beyond the behaviour and focussing on the child, there are times when the lower level behaviours have to be ignored. We cannot tackle every swear word and every piece of aggression in a punitive way because that is the approach that failed them and why they ended up in the SEMH setting in the first place. So we have to be different and we have to approach the children’s learning in a different way.

Balance is important but it is the different approach and looking at the reason they are being aggressive or abusive that allows us to build relationships. It is far easier to row with somebody who rows back and gives them something to 'fuel the fire' . It is much harder to continue an argument with someone who won’t take you on, in the end you feel silly or just give up.

Children who have anger which comes from trauma, or rejection, or frustration at a learning difficulty are rightly placed with us and we can teach them to manage that anger, re-build self-esteem and make them better prepared for society. These are children who come to us filled with negative emotions which no school could have been prepared or equipped for. They were already exhibiting abusive language, aggression and violence long before they changed setting. They need a setting like ours and the alternative things we can offer. Often in these intense situations, we are not even dealing with the child themselves, but rather a fear and emotional defence mechanism they have created in order to survive the life experiences they have had. By seeing through this, not engaging with it and allowing the child to come through it we can teach them self-control.

For so many children (like our majority) who have experienced attachment trauma in one form or another and are overpowered by their emotions, we are equipped to manage them well. However, there are still children coming to us who are portrayed on paper as angry and aggressive who in reality are nothing like that. The reason they are angry and aggressive does not come from home. It is not an emotional defence mechanism created to survive because of abuse or neglect or rejection. It is because their mainstream school hasn’t taken the time to understand them and their different needs. They haven’t noticed that their way of learning is different - because their autistic needs aren’t obvious they are misunderstood and the following pattern often emerges:

Due to the fact they are intelligent, when the child with autism has said they don’t understand something they are dismissed as work-avoiding.
When they have pursued an explanation they may have been seen as difficult.
When they haven’t received the explanation they will want to know why.
They will then have been told they are behaving incorrectly.
They don’t want anyone to think badly of them and want to explain themselves because being ‘naughty’ was never their intention.
They get accused of answering back.
When they challenge this they are told they are being defiant.

Put yourself in this child’s shoes, would you not be frustrated? Would you not be angry? Is it not possible that could bubble over into aggression? What if this happens every day?

I’m sure many of us have been in a position where we couldn’t get a point across, get people to listen to us and felt like we were speaking a foreign language. This is how many children with high functioning autism often feel in mainstream school and sometimes that frustration boils over. The decision then is what do we do with them - the options are:

Recognise the child’s needs and adapt our practice to suit, try hard to understand their differences and how they learn. Help them understand themselves, why they find situations difficult and offer a safe place. Thereby allowing them to achieve in a mainstream setting.
Identify their autistic needs, explain the process to them and the reasons for it so they don’t feel rejected and a failure. Then find them a mainstream or specialist setting better equipped to meet their needs and allow them to thrive.
See a defiant, naughty child who is difficult and focus on the behaviour not the individual. Explain nothing to them, reject them and leave them thinking there is something wrong with them. At which point the child is often identified as too high ability for an SLD or MLD setting and as a result is sent to an SEMH setting.

What is best for the child?

‘I wish I had known sooner why I was different to everyone else, it would have helped me so much’

I’m not saying that we don’t have success with children with autism. We have had many come through and be very successful. We look way beyond the behaviours, allow them to understand why they find situations challenging, improve social skills and most importantly get them to understand why they are different. If I had a £1 for every time a child gets to the end of their time with us or comes back as an adult and says ‘I wish I had known sooner why I was different to everyone else, it would have helped me so much’ I could retire now. We can help them to understand why people won’t always 'get them' and how to be themselves successfully in society. These are the priorities for these children - the academic stuff will take care of itself with an adaptive way of explaining. We can signpost them towards a career with an employer who will cherish their differences and see the potential. Sadly, this won’t happen if self-esteem is so low and anxiety so high they are scared to put themselves out there. However, there is no reason why mainstream settings can’t do these things. The problem for children with autism lies in the fact they will fit in even less around the children in an SEMH setting and they will pick up behaviour they would not have previously had - like bad language for example, because it is hard for them to distinguish what is correct and normal behaviour. Their ideal learning environment is one with reduced stimulus which is hard to offer them when they are surrounded by children in crisis. In reality, so many high functioning autistic children do not need an SEMH setting, they probably don’t even need an alternative curriculum, extra academic support, mentoring or smaller class sizes. They simply need somebody to take the time to understand them and the fact that their brain works a little differently.

How can teachers help to support autistic children more effectively?

If the child says they don’t understand then it’s because there is something they don’t understand. It may not be an obvious thing but be willing to explain it differently
Don’t ask them to move on! Don’t tell them it doesn’t matter! For a child with Autism this is impossible. Problems have to be solved and unless they are, there will be no moving on and the child will become more and more frustrated - and frustration can lead to aggression.
Don’t assume! Just because something doesn’t bother us or appears minor does not mean it’s nothing to them. Noises, textures and smells can be big things - and for a child with autism a scratching sound which seems negligent to us can feel like an alarm going off. Simply being aware of this and reducing exposure may be all that is required.

If we can make these concessions and become more aware of high functioning autistic children and the behaviours they may exhibit, then we can better support them. These children and young people can then manage successfully in mainstream settings and never need to feel that they are a failure or that they don’t fit in and need to be sent to an alternative provision.

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