I have had some great advice from this board before so I was wondering if anyone could offer any insight to this latest difficult situation with one of the students in my class?
The boy concerned has severe autism, he is 11, totally non-verbal and does not sign although his understanding is pretty good. He has a sensitivity to sound so spends most of his times with his fingers in his ears. We have just managed to presuade him to accept ear defenders and he will now wear them happily for most of the day. This has greatly increased his ability to interact with staff and peers, his attention span and focus.
The downside is that he now screeches incredibly loudly every 20 minutes or so (more often if excited). Each screech lasts between 2-10 seconds, most are about 5 seconds long. If we remove the ear defenders he stops screeching but puts his fingers in his ears (he also wants the defenders back, he will go and take them from wherever they are) and his focus is lost.
The screeching is a real problem as by lunchtime it is very draining for the staff in the class but the most important consquence is that the other students find the noise very distressing. Some have started resisting coming into the classroom/going in the playground if the boy is there with his defenders on.
How can we come to a solution that pleases everyone? wishes on a star