(Note: This post began as
a message to students with Autism returning to school. However, the focus shifted towards helping
parents of those students guide their students through the process of being a
high school student. This post could also be helpful to parents of ANY student starting high school for the first time.)
Ahhhhh back to school. Vacations have ended. Swimsuits have been swapped for jeans and
fresh new tees, flip flops with the latest sneakers. Pencils and
calculators have replaced video games, sleeping in with rising up before the
sun. Time for teachers, friends old and new, and homework. The
excitement! The anxiety! The stress! Oh my! While back to
school is exciting and fun for most, it can be an excruciating experience for
those on the Spectrum.
Unwritten Rules
Unwritten rules are perhaps the greatest source of angst for
students on the Spectrum. These are
rules that are not stated (or are stated in a manner that is not clearly
defined). For example, here at RRHS we
have a Dragon emblem on the floor in the Student Center. The unwritten rule is that one must not step
on the Dragon, and if one does, he or she must get down on his or her knees and
kiss the Dragon. If a student is
unaware of this rule, he or she may face great social consequences from
peers.
It is imperative that we make these rules clear, especially to
those entering a new campus with new unwritten rules. Often times finding a peer who has been on
the campus is helpful, as well as new student orientations. When new student orientations are done in
smaller groups, they are less intimidating and students are able to learn
more.
Unwritten Procedures
In elementary school and middle school, students were guided
through procedures and routines directly.
These procedures include where to go before school, how to go about
getting breakfast and lunch, how to get to the bus, finding one’s way around a
big campus, obtaining accommodations, visiting the counselor, finding one’s
case manager for special education services, knowing where the restrooms are,
knowing the procedures for using the restroom for each class, which side of the
hallway to walk on, turning in work, etc.
In high school, these routines
and procedures are not always clearly stated and can vary from teacher to
teacher.
Some of these procedures may seem minor, yet their impact on a
student’s school day and academic performance can be huge. Take for example, turning in work. The unwritten procedure may be to pass in
the work at the end of the class period.
However, if a student is engrossed in an assignment, he or she may not
notice the cue to pass in work.
Instead, the completed assignment gets tucked away in a folder. Instead of getting credit for his or her work,
the student gets a “Missing”, which accounts for a “0” in the grade book. The
student did not EARN a grade of “0”; he or she was simply unaware of the
procedure for turning in the work.
It is important to clarify the procedures for our kiddos on the
Spectrum. Taking students through a new
student orientation can be helpful. In
addition, having students list their worrisome questions and finding a person
who can answer them before the first day of school can help ease some of the
worries and frustrations that often come with the first few days/weeks of
school. Asking teachers to clarify in
writing their procedures for turning in work (and what to do if work is missed)
can be helpful, as well as teaching students on the Spectrum to advocate for
themselves by turning in completed work unprompted and directly to the
teacher.
Students on the Spectrum CRAVE and live by routine. In
high school, there are loosely defined routines. We
must teach our students how to expand upon these existing structures and create
their own routines and positive academic habits at school. Once
our students settle into these routines, much of the anxiety is removed and
success can blossom.
Academic Expectations
When students first begin high school, they tend to be shocked at
the amount of homework and the level of difficulty they are expected to face. Gone are the days where teachers hover and
prompt. Students are expected to take
responsibility for their own learning.
I find that most of the time our students are academically capable of
being successful in high school coursework, but that there are barriers
associated with Autism that hinder academic performance. Organization skills, relationships with
teachers/teaching styles, inability to self-advocate, work load, and the level
of academic rigor associated with high school courses are enough to overwhelm
any student.
Disorganization murders student success. Not being able to find completed (and
uncompleted) assignments, forgetting homework has been assigned, not
remembering due dates, not being able to desegregate a multi-step project,
leaving important items at home or in a parents’ car, and misplacing important
papers plague our students.
To compensate for this, each of my students is required to use the
same organizational system. The system
starts with a binder. A three-ring,
tough binder, preferably one that zips closed (especially for the students with
sensory issues who have trouble knowing how hard they are being on their
materials). The student is then
required to have one folder per class period in their binder. Additionally, the there must be a separate
folder for notebook paper and one for “My Stuff”.
There is reasoning behind the madness of my binder system. Our students rarely take the time to open the
rings of a binder. It is time consuming,
often requires the use of a hole punch, and requires fine motor skills. Therefore, having the rings simply to
contain folders rather than to contain important papers and supplies just makes
sense. Kids are more likely to rip
notebook paper out of the rings rather than to open them and remove the paper carefully,
adding to the chaos of the paper nest that grows over the course of the
year. Therefore, containing paper
within a folder where students can reach in and grab a sheet or two is more
convenient and more likely to be used appropriately. Having one folder per class creates a “home”
for everything related to that subject, reducing time spent searching for
assignments and notes. Giving the student a folder labeled “My Stuff”
allows a space for drawing and personal notes.
I never look in this folder, as I respect that everyone likes some
privacy.
The other part of my system includes a daily planner or assignment
notebook. I have taken care to create
calendars that coordinate with our grading periods, list the block schedule
(A/B days), list our various bell schedules (here at RRHS we have 3!) and list
holidays and other important events.
Behind each calendar are daily planner sheets, where students must list
assignments and activities for each class period.
Just giving our students these tools doesn’t fix the problem of
disorganization. As with any skill, organization
must be directly taught and practiced in order for it to become second
nature. When I provide this system to a
student whom I am responsible for in the grade book, in order to hold them
accountable for practicing the skill I grade each of the components weekly. However, I do not always have this
option. In these instances, systems must
be set in place to hold the students accountable until they become a
meaningful, habitual task. My Godson is
a freshman at a nearby school, and I have set him up with the binder and
planner system. To keep him accountable,
I check his materials weekly and provide him with a monetary reward that can be
redeemed at the end of the month. So
far, so good (cross fingers).
Having numerous teachers with various teaching styles can be
extremely overwhelming. Each teacher
has their own unique expectations regarding student performance, their own
personality that will more often than not either fit like a glove or clash violently
with that of the student. The student who struggles to relate to others
and think like others will have a difficult time forming respectful and
nurturing relationships with individual teachers. Student-teacher
relationships are important in that they affect a student’s ability to
communicate with said teacher. This
leads to anxiety and contributes to difficulties students have in advocating
for themselves in the classroom.
Struggles with self-advocacy can hinder a student’s ability to ask
for help, attend tutorials, retake tests and quizzes, and ask for
accommodations when needed. Students are often afraid to ask for help
because they feel they will be appear in the eyes of others “dumb”, “stupid”, “you should have been paying
attention” or “you are incapable of knowing this on your own.” This
is especially true for populations of students who are otherwise extremely intelligent. In addition to teacher and parent
expectations, the student has high expectations of themselves. Therefore, not knowing how to do something
is not an option, and so asking for help is out of the question.
We must directly teach our students that EVERYONE needs assistance
in life, and that EVERYONE, even Neurotypical adults, must eventually advocate
for themselves and ask for assistance.
NOT KNOWING IS OK. It is natural. We must first make examples of
ourselves. We must demonstrate in our
ordinary lives that we need help. Ask
for assistance finding something at the grocery store, ask for help in loading
a heavy item in your car, or ask to be seated in a quieter area of a restaurant. People are willing to make accommodations, but
we must ASK. Have your child ASK for these things as
well. Give them the opportunity to ask
for help.
We have to show our students what it means to communicate with
teachers. We must show them what it
looks like, feels like, and sounds like to ask for accommodations. We must teach them HOW to USE tutorials. Often our students do not know what tutorials
are even for, or they do not know the appropriate questions to ask. A good place to start is by having students
attend tutorials mandatorily for a trial period. Teach them to communicate with the teacher
about their needs. If the student is
unaware of what his/her specific trouble area is, teach them to state “I am not
sure where my struggle is in science but I know I do not get it. Can you help me find what I need to work on?” Sometimes
having a script (even for our most “social” students) can reduce the amount of
stress tremendously!
Work load and academic rigor.
That statement alone is enough to make me cringe. I can’t imagine being a high school student
in today’s world of technology and rigorous expectations. We ask a lot of our students these days, but
it is necessary in today’s world of innovation and competition. We must teach our students how to handle this
work load appropriately. We must teach
them to EXPAND upon what they have learned in the classroom and create
INDEPENDENT LEARNERS. This means that
when our students say they have nothing to do, we directly teach them that
there is always something they can do to continue their learning.
Learning is a process.
There is no end. Tests and other
assessments are measurements of where we are NOW. They are not measurements of our final abilities. Every failed test is an opportunity to
pinpoint areas of concern, as well as areas of strength. We
have to show our kiddos and encourage them to dig into the areas in which they
struggle. Our kids are so used to being
“the best” at things. Failure can be
devastating, and for many students can really affect their already fragile
self-worth. We must foster their
EFFORTS, build upon their STRENGTHS, and teach them that failure is an
acceptable part of the LEARNING PROCESS when used as a tool to facilitate
bettering oneself.
Social Life
Generally speaking, kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders WANT to
fit in and have friends. While it is true that many do prefer to be
alone, at the very least stands the desire to be socially accepted.
High school does offer more social opportunities than one can
imagine. A variety of clubs and
extracurricular activities exist within our campus community. There is something for everyone, from art to
sports to even zombies! I encourage our
students to find something they are interested in and take advantage of the
many opportunities on campus. Joining
clubs tends to lead to relationships with peers that have similar
interests.
It seems as though for every opportunity for a student to create
new friendships, there is also an opportunity for a bully to make clear one’s
differences. Bullying is a big issue in
our schools these days, and children with ASD tend to be easier targets. Buses,
cafeterias, hallways, restrooms, the internet, and even supervised classrooms
are Petri dishes that fester with gossip and meanness. Kids
are mean. And bullying happens. Kids try to fit in, to be cool, to stand out,
and to increase their self-worth, and unfortunately the way they know to do
this is by demeaning others and making others feel inferior. I would like to eradicate bullying
altogether. But the fact is, I am human
and as a teacher I can only hear and see so much, therefore I can only stop and
rectify what I see, hear, and what is reported to me. However, I can and do teach my students how
to recognize and report bullying, and how to handle themselves appropriately
when bullying happens to them. I can be a presence in the hallways, show both
bullies and victims alike that I am here and I will not tolerate it.
What we must do for our students is teach them to get
involved. The more involved students
are, the more peer-relationships and teacher-relationships they develop, the
more support they have in their school day.
We must also help foster self-worth, self-advocacy, and how to recognize
and report bullying. Often when we
teach our kids to advocate for OTHERS, they are less likely to become a victim
themselves.
Summary
Back to school time can be a fun, exciting, stressful, and
wonderful time of year. If our students
are properly equipped, our parents have the right information, and our teachers
are given opportunities to learn about ASD, it can also be a successful time of
year!
Notice I said “we must teach our students” repeatedly throughout
this post. Our kiddos are not born with
these innate abilities. Neither were
we. We learned them. Some of us learned more easily and naturally
than others. And although it may seem as
if our kiddos “get it”, often times they don’t “get it” on a meaningful and
useful level. We must face the facts
that times have changed and our students will learn differently than we
did. It is not about coddling or
hand-holding. It is about making clear
expectations and procedures that are muddied with the sands of the
ever-changing academic system.
Things We
Must TEACH Our Kids About High School
·
The specific “unwritten rules” of their campus
·
The specific “unwritten” or “unclear” procedures for each
classroom
o
Turning in work
o
Asking to go to the restroom
o
Getting accommodations
o
Introduce them to the main players in their education (counselor,
AP, case manager, etc)
o
How to create their own routine within the school day
·
How to handle the academic expectations of how school
o
Using systems such as binders and planners to keep themselves
organized
o
DIRECTLY TEACHING students how to use said systems
o
That EVERYONE needs help sometimes
o
How to advocate for themselves (asking for help, accommodations,
etc)
o
How to RECOGNIZE when they need to advocate for themselves
o
How to forge positive relationships with their teachers
o
How to EXPAND upon their learning
o
That learning is a PROCESS
·
How to handle the various social situations in a high school
community
o
Encourage them get involved by joining clubs and programs that
cover topics of interest
o
To make friends that share interests and values
o
To recognize and report unwanted behaviors, including bullying and
harassment
o
Foster their self-worth and emotional well-being
