Case
Student panics when she has to do group work

Last year, when I was a paraprofessional, I worked with a middle school student who has autism in a general education classroom. Every time she has to do a group assignment, she starts to cry and sometimes gets out of her seat to go to the back of her room. I tried calming her down by saying "It's ok. I know you don't like to work in groups, but I will be right next to you. You can do it." Also, I tried waiting 5 minutes for her to calm down before trying again for her to work with her group. What else could I have tried?

Posted on: 10/14/22 | Views: 246
Solution #1
The student may like to go on a quick walk. Some of the students in my ESE classroom like taking walks to calm down. On this walk you could talk to the student about why they dont like groupwork and see if there is someone they could be paired with that they would like to work with.
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Solution #2
Give the student a moment. Ask them what they need and maybe let them take a walk or help them take deep breaths. sit with them during group work and make sure they know you will be there the whole time.
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Solution #3
I would give her the option to pick to who is in her group or at least a group partner who she can always work with. For assignments where collaboration is not essential, I would let her work alone.
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Solution #4
Instead of making her do groupwork whenever there is groupwork, it may be a good idea to allow her to work independently if the work can be completed that way. More importantly, always letting her know beforehand that there will be groupwork will also allow her the time to prepare mentally for the task!
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Solution #5
I would give her a medium to monitor her anxiety and express herself in a way that fits her. I also think maybe asking she works in the group for 5 minutes, setting a timer she can see, and then if she is not feeling it let her work independently or have some choice-time. Doing that every time. I would want her to develop some of those interpersonal skills that come with collaboration, but also I would want to respect when she advocates for herself saying, "I cannot handle this right now."
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Solution #6
I think what you did was great but you could add more to it by giving her something to fidget with if she needs to take a second or i would place her in a small group than the rest. I would also give the option to work alone.
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Solution #7
I suggest giving her the option of independent work if possible. You could also have her work with smaller groups and build up from that!
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