Learning support assistant. What is the ideal one like?

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

Hello, I don't often come to this area, but. I am interested in applying for a job as a LSA one to one with a child who has Autism. I know that it can vary from child to child and so far know nothing about the one to be supported.
I am trying to find out what sort of person the LSA should be ideally. Obviously I am not ideal and if I don't think I fit the spec I won't apply.

Read this if you haven't

29marbles.blogspot.com/2005/08/10-things-children-with-autism-wish.html

Basically i think the most important thing is having good communication skill's being able to talk to them in term's they understand without talking to them like there stupid. I don't know why but alot of people seem to have trouble with that.

My son is high functioning so perhaps i don't have a broad enough understanding of the spectrum myself but for me i get very frustrated when people find out he's ASD and then start talking to him like an idiot.

I'm sure someone will come along and be able to help you better.

In no particular order, as a parent and as a teacher who has had numerous supported children in class.
Patience, flexibility with approaches to learning, a clean slate every day with failures of temper or the system filed and remembered by the adult, but not brooded over.
To listen to both the child and the parent without pre-conceptions or disbelief. Yes, labels in clothing do bother my son beyond endurance, and he can smell things beyond your senses that sometimes overwhelm him.
To take on board any training, or visits to other schools with good grace and enthusiasm.
To be consistent in your approach, building a relationship.
An ability to see the consequences and then work out what triggered them, either good or bad. Then to use that knowledge to plan better for the future.
To be genuinely interested in the child you are working with, and not let them underachieve because of low expectations by yourself or others.
To enable the child to access as much of the curriculum and learning as possible, adapting and tailoring the support as appropriate.
My son has AS, is currently in his GCSE year and off to 6th form in September. He's never had 1:1.
Without the accommodations, adaptations and continuous support of all the staff at his school, he'd not have survived in MS, so you may also end up being his advocate to others who do not understand.
A good 1:1 is worth her/his weight in rubies.

Thank you both very much. I've got somewhere to start now. I didn't want to come across as patronising or does he take sugar. The problem I see is my previous experience has been with adults (I am a trained general nurse) or physically disabled people.
Again, many thanks.

A key thing for me would be the understanding that behaviour is a form of communication - even when that behaviour may be challenging. Not all children with autism have challenging behaviour but DS does and it has included physical aggression against a TA - I'm not excusing it but it is part of the job.

The best people who have worked with him have made efforts to get to the root of his behaviour (which is usually anxiety) and helped him work through it; the worst have dismissed it as manipulative or bad parenting.

I'd only say ONE thing. Have high expectations, extremely high expectations, of learning ability and behaviour, and then strive for them. Be determined to find a solution to each problem systematically rather than dismiss the possibility of a solution due to the disability.

Hi Kreecher

It really is no different to working with anyone, you must get to know the child ands see the child first and the autism/disability second.
You will need time to get to know each other, work with the parents.

Don't assume they are not listening and learning just because they don't answer or respond.
My ds2 has a real problem with not realising that other people don't know what he is thinking, this is very common with autism & is one of the reasons he & many others struggle with social communication, they don't see the point of "chit chat" as they think everone knows what they know, think & feel.

I'm making huge generalisations here, I know.

What makes my ds2's a LSA great is that she is.
Flexible, understanding, open approachable (& we are too) she also allows ds2 to be independant where he is able to be & allows him to make mistakes & be a child first & foremost. Good luck!!

I think, as a parent of a DC with ASD, that it is important to realise that the parents know their child best, what may work and what may not. They are the experts on their child's unique brand of autism. Not that DC don't sometimes behave differently at school than they do at home! But if you are having a problem that you can't get to the bottom of, use the parents as your partners. Most are desperate to help.

As a TA to a DC with ASD, I'd echo some of the above advice. Get to know the child and build a relationship with them. Have high expectations, understand the iceberg principle, the reasons for the visible behaviour may be hidden. There may be sensory issues you need to know about. Try ABC analysis if you get challenging behaviour. Make sure you know what's in the statement and IEPs. Don't let yourself be used as a general TA unless it happens to be appropriate for the DC to have some independence at that point. Teachers will find you all sorts of jobs to do!

Of course, what I really meant to say was "Me, me!"

My DS would say 'One who doesn't keep interrupting while I'm trying to think!' but then he does have a bit of a bee in his bonnet about that.

He's working on inventing an electronic display board that lights up to show (a) that he's THINKING, not just ignoring and (b) how pissed off he is, on a scale of 1 to 5, about his TA keeping on talking at him while he thinks.

More helpfully, one who doesn't mind representing every single topic in terms of the current obsession. Usually trains, in this house.

Meant to add: one who doesn't take it personally that the child is so bloody unappreciative of all their hard work!