to expect primary teaching staff…..

[Mollyweasley]

….to know and answer to the basic needs of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (including Asperger's syndrome).
to inform themselves if they don't, prior to the beginning of the school year when they know they will have a child with ASD in their classroom.

Autism is an invisible condition, it is not a reason to ignore it…. .

YANBU. If not teachers then I'd expect at least the SENCO to know something about it. Ours screamed and shouted at DS during a meltdown.

I have been shocked by the levels of ignorance in mainstream schools. Countless times I have been reassured that professionals employed to look after DS have experience with autistic children and know all the methods of dealing with problems. In practice, this amounts to waving visual aids in their face while they are crying and then shouting when said child doesn't conform.

Just the basics would be nice. It's so common that teachers must encounter ASD kids lots of times during their teaching careers, surely?

YANBU.

thanks guys! Why is this happening, why is Autism so widely misunderstood?

why is Autism so widely misunderstood?

In very general terms, because no-one's pointed out the difference between ordinary naughty behaviour and the reactions of a child in a very heightened state of anxiety often brought on by sensory overload.

If you can't spot that difference, you can't deal with the behaviour correctly.

Another common presentation is masking where the child holds it all together at school then literally melts down at home. Schools don't recognise the signs of masking therefore they do not believe the parents when they are told what's happening at home and suggest unhelpful things like parenting courses etc.

If you can't see the signs of masking when the parent has alerted you to it, you won't be able to help that child in school, then when they do become overwhelmed and let it go, you punish them for bad behaviour.

There is no way of learning how to effectively work with all children with autism in one short PD session. Every single child is different, and what works with one child will not necessarily work with the next. At the start of every school year it is a case of finding out all you can about the individual child from their parents and previous teachers, then using everything in your tool kit until you find what works.

As I understand it, trainee teachers spend hardly any time studying special needs, maybe a day or two in a whole year course, this would be all one or two days on all special needs not just Autism. My DS has Aspergers and I have found teachers to be a very mixed bunch. A teacher who will take time to learn about my DS's condition is worth their weight in gold. Autism affects everyone differently and a lot of teachers tend to treat all pupils with autism the same which doesn't help at all. DS is incredibly clever and capable, but initially in reception was put with less able children due to his behaviour, he got bored and his behaviour worsened. Thankfully Autism Support got involved and things got a lot better, but it was still very hit and miss. I remember having a very heated discussion with his year 6 teacher who tried to apply neurotypical concepts to a problem DS was having with another pupil. The teacher was convinced that they would end up as friends and put them together at every available opportunity. It ended up with DS going into an half hour rant on how the other pupil wound him up, had wound him up for seven years and how he would never ever be his friend. When his teacher called me in afterwards I refused to go in and told her perhaps next time when I told her something she might actually listen as she had made the situation and DS's response more not less likely.

You are all quite right, but am I wrong in thinking that this would apply to most people on the spectrum? :
1)socialising is intellectualised therefore unstructured time is hardwork and not as relaxing as for most children.
2)need structure- timetable available.
3)need consistency (do not tend to like change or tolerate unfairness for example)
5) extreme need to get to know the particular child needs as all children on the spectrum are different. Please consult with previous teacher and parents.

When my autistic daughter started mainstream infant school, the teacher expected her to have behaviour problems as people had told her that all children with autism hit others, throw things etc.
she seemed quite shocked when this non verbal autistic child just got on with things, settled quickly and was very well behaved.
Her 121 teacher that had been with her in nursery and reception had told the class teacher all about her, that she had never so much as pushed another child at all about her but it seemed the teacher didn't bother to find out or take notice that all autistic children are different.

when I was training as a teacher I did a placement where the teacher had taught the same kids two years in a row and still had no idea what the needs of one kid I. her class were. he had epilepsy and a couple of other issues but she had no idea and no idea how to deal with his seizures. I only found out when I had to read his file to find out his SAT results for my coursework.

I think sometimes there is too much for teachers to do to have time to read through the mountains of paperwork that comes up every year, a lot rely on the SENCO to cover off the basics and then advise.

we had absolutely zero training on special needs - everything I knew then was because I had a personal interest in it and studied it myself.

I never went into teaching in the end as I had a fundamental issue with a lot of the changes that were being made burning have continued to work with kids and kept up my interest in SEN practices so that should I ever work with any kids who have them then I am one step ahead.

It would seem that the problem is that Teachers are not aware of the suffering of people on the spectrum. The root of the problem is therefore really a communication issue between people with autism and others where it is very hard to show/communicate emotions and needs, which makes I suppose people with ASD extremely vulnerable...

bloody senco did not know it was lifelong. (head desk)

Unbelievable!

ASD training is poor. Every child is different and what works well with one, could act as a trigger for another.

I've been in the job for 20 years. Am a phase leader and have got 3 (soon to be 4) children with ASD across 3 of my classes. I am learning new techniques every day.

Finola - teachers like you are a joy to come across though, I've met teachers that still hadn't read any of DS's information even though he'd been in their class 6 months or teachers who've told me that they weren't willing to do things like tell me which days certain homework was due in because DS kept forgetting and he should know by now...and he needed to just pay more attention or complaining that he took things literally. I've even had to explain to teachers that they can't exclude him from a cooking lesson because he'd need help physically lifting a heavy pan due to his co-ordination difficulties.

That's pretty basic stuff.

Yes training is poor and yes it'd be great if it was better, but really the problem is that some teachers just aren't willing to do anything that might require extra effort on their part due to SNs.

It's not a majority, but often enough that it does cause a problem and it's a lot more teachers than I ever realised when I worked in schools rather than being the parent of a child with an SN.

YANBU, DS's teacher last year was awful because she just didn't get it, nor did she want too.

His teacher this year is much more clued up and understanding, an absolute star. I cannot tell you how much difference it has made for DS and us.

finola What would be your rule of thumb and advise to teachers who have kids with ASD in their class? (including children who hold it together at school and meltdowns at home?)

Training is poor.
Teachers trying to diagnose SN with no professional training.
I had an absolute nightmare when my ds was 7 with a teacher who insisted ds had aspergers and autism (he had developed some anxious behaviours like chewing pencils due to bullying)
The professionals told this teacher again and again that my ds did not have aspergers or autism, yet it stayed on his school record without my knowledge.
The teacher in my case had incredibly poor classroom management skills and wouldn't listen to anybody, so I would imagine that when a child has a diagnosed SN then exactly the same problem can apply.
Great teachers are amazing, poor teachers can do indescribable amounts of damage.

'What would be your rule of thumb and advise to teachers who have kids with ASD in their class?'

Talk to the parents, talk to previous teachers and those that have had prior experience of working with that child, be prepared to try things and adapt them if they don't appear effective, read up on specifics if necessary and be prepared to undertake training for one child. It's not a waste of time or effort.
Study that child and find out the triggers, and be as pre-emptive and proactive as possible. Build on their strengths and support their needs.

I would say support for teachers who want support to find out more is often poor. There have been a couple of children in my previous classes with ASD. I spent time speaking to the parents, and also time at home researching strategies to help. I also asked the SENCO for support with how to support the child during lessons. She came and observed them, and all she could suggest was that I gave them some blue tac to fiddle with. She offered no extra training and couldn't recommend any reading materials.

During my PGCE the SEN training was very limited, and I don't think ASD was really mentioned at all.

And yes Down I found the most helpful thing was to actually devote some time to just observing the child, and keeping a note of what their triggers were, so that then I could try and avoid these situations.

Given that this is undoubtedly a serious issue across the teaching profession shouldn't the teaching institutions be pushing for change at training level? Surely something must be done about this.

I'm a teacher (in Scotland) & although in my PGCE we didn't really cover much on ASN, I've done a fair bit of CPD on it over the years on insets etc. We seem to be having more & more children diagnosed, (& quite early on)& although the psychologists are quite good, it's a bit variable. It sadly seems to be the case that there are quite a few older children undiagnosed so not getting any support, or children getting diagnosed as on the spectrum but no money to provide PSAs/other support. I'd say that there is definitely more understanding & awareness here & teachers (most) trying their best to support & provide for all children's needs.

'Given that this is undoubtedly a serious issue across the teaching profession shouldn't the teaching institutions be pushing for change at training level? Surely something must be done about this.'

You know, over the decades I've been a primary teacher and a parent to two very different children on the spectrum, I've come to think that it's less the training and paperwork and more about the attitude of the teacher.
The willingness to be flexible and open-minded and make reasonable accommodations and to see providing for the needs of the child as a basic right, not an extra. If the child doesn't fit the pigeonhole, then you need to rethink the definitions and your own understanding rather than trying to tailor the child to fit. The Procrustean education method doesn't work well, however hard the government and officialdom try to make it do so.