Case
I want to make a choice, I do not want to do my work.

In the class I am interning in, there is a girl who has Kanner's Type Autism. She has to do an activity everyday where two cards with an animal on each are placed in front of her and she is told to identify whichever animal they tell her. About three times into this, she will completely lose focus and start to pretend as if she is really sleepy and wants to "make a choice" which is what they do in their free time in the classroom. They can choose an item to play with. What can be done about this?

Posted on: 02/24/15 | Views: 896
Solution #1
Top Solution
In this case, I would offer a sort of rewards system. Does the girl have to do this during the entire free time period? If not, keep her on track by telling her that once she gets through the set of cards then she may indeed make a choice. Perhaps even explain to her politely that sometimes in life we don't get to make choices. If she seems to have mastered the set of animal cards it might be best to move on to a different activity. Depending on her reading level you might consider adding a few cards that have simple animal names rather than the pictures, such as "bat", "dog" or "cat" just to mix it up. If she is unable to read at all, then try different picture cards. Go on to something like food, or something she is not familiar with. It could be that she needs a challenge to keep her interested.

Excellent suggestion!

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Solution #2
maybe change things up a little and make it more like a game or find this type of material online and use technology to get through it.
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Solution #3
It sounds like she is bored. She may actually be getting sleepy as well. It may be helpful to have the student get up and change locations at this point and work on a different task.

I think Sapypu's comment is helpful, but yeah, the same thing can get extremely boring after a while... does your school have access to an ipad/computer for the students where she could complete this activity? If so, even this small change could make a great difference in getting her attention.

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Solution #4
The teacher should try providing the student with more of a variety of different activities so that the student does not get bored. In addition, provide the student with more positive reinforcement in order to motivate her to do her work.
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Solution #5
I can see why she may be getting bored and want to avoid the behavior. Yes, schedules are GREAT for students with autism, however the tasks themselves don't (always) have to be the exact same! Let her know this is "work time" and try an "if, then" statement. I.e. "IF you finish 15 min of doing these cards, THEN you can make a choice for 5 min" or something along those lines. Any time she brings up being tired, remind her "card time is not up yet. Finish cards, then we can do choice for 5 min." Make sure to give her times, so when she has to put "choice" away, she does not throw a fit. Also remind her when there is only 1 min left so she can prepare herself to move on. Perhaps get a visual reward chart. At the top it can read "I am working for choice" and maybe every 5 min of work she does she can earn a star. If an unfavorable behavior is made, she looses a star. Something she can see and can not argue with. Timers and visual schedules are PERFECT for this! Even having a "doing now" and "done" schedule can be great. She can move the item or picture of maybe a notebook or book over from the doing to the done side and then she knows that it is all over.
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Solution #6
I would recommend the used of fidgets for the student. This way she can continue to play while doing her work. Keeping her moving while working may be beneficial to her academics.
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