Behaviour
‘If you want to know what the symptoms of autism mean, you have to go beyond the behaviour of the autistic person and into his or her brain. But wait. Isn’t the diagnosis of autism based on behaviours? Isn’t our whole approach to autism a result of what the experience looks like from the outside (the acting self) rather than what the experience feels like from the inside (the thinking self)?’
(Temple Grandin – The Autistic Brain)
We believe that all behaviour is a form of communication and by building strong and trusting relationships, we can identify a cause of distress quicker and minimise the triggers sooner. Our focus is to create calm, respectful and safe environment, where all children are accepted for who they are. We strive for consistency and balance in challenge and support. There are protocols in place to facilitate a detailed assessment of behaviours which are presenting barriers to learning. The support systems take into account the child's autism and their individual understanding of behaviour. The autism specific interventions used in Pathways include:
Consistent transactional support developed through understanding of the child's autism
Use of individual proactive strategies
Low arousal environment
Minimal, predictable and consistent language
Use of visual systems to support communication
Established and embedded routines throughout the day
Development of self-management techniques and appropriate self-regulatory behaviour
De-escalation techniques and TEAM TEACH
Movement and sensory breaks
Conditioned relaxation
Development of understanding through the use of social stories and comic strip conversations
Pathways team meets weekly to discuss and reflect on behaviours of individual children and to identify training needs and share strategies to promote consistency and proactive responses to behaviours. Where appropriate, a detailed Behaviour Management Plan (BMP) is designed for individual pupils, identifying distressed behaviours, triggers and proactive and reactive strategies. We use Home and School Communication Book to promote consistent communication between home and school. Parents are always consulted when there is a significant change to their child's BMP.
The SCERTS model (see the section on the range of approaches used) is used to support the development of each child's emotional regulation. A more specific strategies are developed to increase pupils' resilience to and tolerance of specific environmental factors such as noise, smells, touch and proximity.
More information about our Behaviour procedures and policies can be found on our school website under Policies - Childs Hill Primary School.