Introduction

Each year there is a growing emphasis on the inclusion of disabled students into the general education population. As an educator, you will be exposed to students of varying backgrounds, ability levels, and degrees of disability. The National Education Association notes that over the past ten years the number of U.S. students enrolled in special education programs has risen thirty percent, and that three of every four students with disabilities spend part or all of their day in a general education classroom.

Some of your students may come to you with a label: Learning Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, Sensory Processing Disorder, Tourette Syndrome, or ADD/ADHD. Some of your students may not qualify for services, yet, despite your best efforts, you find that some of them are not responding or attending to your instruction.

The purpose of this book is to offer tools to teachers who have a student or students in their classroom whose behaviors are impeding their learning. Specifically, we are interested in methods for working through the behavioral and academic difficulties that often manifest themselves in a child with the disabilities mentioned above. It is our hope that the content and format of this manual are clear and helpful. We understand that working with this population can at times be a trying experience, and we encourage you to develop well thought-out plans to help you through difficult times. We also encourage you to expand on these ideas and add to them as you become more skilled in working with difficult behaviors. This manual can be a tool for creating such a plan. The ideas presented here come from more than twenty years of experience in working with students with disabilities. The following chapters contain tools designed to get you through the day when difficult behaviors arise. If needed, a written and comprehensive behavior plan should be developed in cooperation with the site team, including the administrator and school psychologist.

Many of the disabilities described in this book are “spectrum disorders,” and students on the spectrum share certain characteristics:

• Time concepts present difficulty (before, after, tomorrow, last week, etc.).
• They often don’t “get” jokes or ideas behind humorous situations.
• Creativity and imagination can be limited.
• They can be slow to respond.
• They have a difficult time predicting what may happen next, or answering comprehension-type questions.
• Comments may be off track.
• They may have poor handwriting.
• They may have difficulty thinking in a sequential manner.
• They often require a great deal of clarification and one-on-one support.
• They have difficulty remembering sequences in directions or instructions.
• They may often appear forgetful or have poor organizational skills.
• Expressive and receptive language skills are weak.
• They often repeat the same errors.
• They may seem hyperactive or inattentive or easily distracted. They may find it difficult to remain on task for extended periods of time.
• Impulsiveness is common.
• They may show intolerance for frustration and problems in handling day-to-day social interactions and situations; they may overreact to situations.
• They may have difficulty organizing their thoughts for writing assignments or other projects.
• They may engage in self-destructive behavior (head banging, hitting themselves, negative self-talk).
• They may have poor self-esteem.
• They may have difficulty controlling emotions or talking.
• They may have difficulty working with others in groups.

(The behaviors associated with these disabilities are generalizations and do not fit all students on the spectrum.)

We have written this manual in four main sections, each dealing with the most commonly observed behaviors that accompany these disorders: 1) movement issues; 2) avoidance and retreat behaviors; 3) difficulty with routine and academics; and 4) social-emotional issues. We are not suggesting that all behavioral issues connected to these disorders can be neatly categorized, nor are we attempting to “cure” the disability. We are primarily interested in helping teachers get through particular problems they may encounter during the course of their day. In other words, if the child does A, we suggest that the teacher does B in order to alleviate the problem, and then continue with the school tasks at hand for the benefit of all students.

Please keep in mind that the difficulties that these students face can (and often do) change daily—sometimes with no explanation. It is our hope you will individualize the suggestions we have presented, based on each child’s needs.

Many districts are employing response to intervention (RtI) for behavior. The authors feel this manual is an appropriate grounding for tier one and tier two interventions.

While we describe many disabling conditions in this book, we hope that the suggestions can transfer to all students demonstrating difficult behaviors—regardless of whether or not they are diagnosed with a disability.