Question
Can you help me with behavior management for teenagers with Aspergers Syndrome in mainstream school (e.g., interrupting, joking, attention seeking)?
Answer
Social boundaries are not always understood by teenagers with Aspergers (high-functioning autism). Teens as a whole may have difficulty with these concepts; however, the teen with Aspergers may have a tougher time understanding how his behavior is disruptive or unacceptable. Teenagers with Aspergers struggle to understand how to control their feelings. Anger, stress, anxiety, and frustration can build quickly. This can cause inappropriate behaviors as the teenager strains to maintain control. Other times the teenager may act improperly without realizing what has happened.
Here are some commonly used treatment options:
• Individual counseling— Much like Cognitive-behavioral therapy, a trained professional counselor will attempt to develop a relationship with the teen with Aspergers. Teens can benefit from the one-on-one of basic counseling sessions that deal directly with the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of emotions and actions. This type of therapy may last for years.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy— Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a time controlled intense therapy that is based on the belief that a teen’s individual thoughts are the cause of his behavior. In other words, the people around you and the situations that occur are not the cause, but an effect. Since this is the reality, a person should then be able to change the outcome of actions and feelings by changing the way they think about them, and not by changing the situations.
Without strong support at home, Aspergers teens may not make much progress with dealing with emotions and poor behavior. Any therapy will include homework. Some families, either by choice or desire, may choose to handle the adolescent years without the assistance of private therapy. In many instances, this can be an acceptable alternative.
My Aspergers Teen: Discipline for Defiant Aspergers Teens
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2 comments:
I have a 9 year old son who was diagnosed with Aspergers and ADHD around the age of 6, and he has been on medication to help with his attention & focus at school, which seems to work fine for the most part.
At least twice a school year, the homeroom teacher becomes frustrated with him, as he begins to push the limits to see how far he can go, usually in refusing to do classwork, refusing to "try". He gets to this point when he has lost focus, been distracted, either doesn't know how to do the work or would rather be playing computer games. The teacher always feels she has exhausted every avenue for rewards/punishments and wants my approval to send him to ISS (in school suspension) or corporal punishment (spanking). I am not against these punishments in general, but for the right reasons. I have stood my ground that he shouldn't receive ISS or spankings for refusing to do work or to try, but am I making the problem worse? I'm so afraid I'm enabling him to continue acting bad at school; when all i really want is the teacher to try other methods to prevent the bad behavior before it happens. What is an appropriate punishment/dicipline for him when he refuses to do work or refuses to try at school and at home?
Hey Anonymous,
First, you aren't alone. Most of us have been round and round in the fight with school systems who want to suspend or spank autistic teens. There is a time and place for it, but unfortunately our experience has been local school systems lack the necessary training to safely deal with autistic kids.
Please don't panic, I just want to caution that they do not understand autistic kids act differently than Neuro Typical kids. For instance my son will respond to escalation with more escalation until he needs to be restrained until the meltdown is over.
Strongly emphasize they MUST use redirection. If you have not had an IED (Individual Education Plan) and ARD for your son make sure they are aware of his diagnosis and demand one. DO NOT trust they will do the right thing as we did because they will do what is easiest because they have 20 or 30 other NT kids to deal with. It's much easier for them to send him off to another room than to deal with him.
Also see if there is a SEPTA (Special Education PTA) in your district as you can usually find resources there to help you deal with the system.
I'll be happy to answer any questions about what we went through here in the Dallas area with our son as well. Just email me at houstonkeys (at) Hotmail (dot) com
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