I’m not an expert in autism. Nor do I have a degree or teaching credential in special education. I write only from the perspective of a classroom teacher.
This article is a response to the many questions we’ve received here at SCM about autistic students in regular education classrooms.
Before we get there, however, I believe that the SCM approach—with its focus on responsibility, intrinsic motivation, pursuit of excellence, and kindness and respect—is best for all students.
The learning environment it creates allows even the most unique students to thrive.
The questions have centered on how to handle a student who disrupts the class but may not have the ability to curb their disruptions. In other words, what if they’re unable to follow your class rules?
Do you still hold them accountable? If so, how?
These are great questions, but first let me say this: Every autistic student is entirely and wonderfully unique, which is why I don’t answer specific questions about specific students who I’ve neither met nor observed.
But I can answer these questions generally. For the sake of clarity, what follows is a numbered path to follow with autistic students who are struggling to follow your class rules.
1. In the beginning of the school year, you must give every student the same opportunity to follow your rules and consequences just like everyone else. This underscores the importance of teaching and modeling the hows and whys of your plan from A to Z and checking for understanding.
In this way, your students are able to internalize that your plan is for them and their benefit and right to love and enjoy school. This is key.
2. The best thing you can do for all students and whatever behavior quirks, habits, and proclivities they may bring with them, and that might disrupt the class, is allow your expert classroom management and the good-behavior role models it produces have its influence on the rest of the class.
It’s not you and your individual interventions that make the difference. It’s the SCM classroom climate and culture itself that is most impactful and best helps each student improve.
3. Once it’s clear that there is an autistic student who isn’t able at the moment to keep from calling out or making noise, for example, then the best response is your compassion.
Speak to the student and their parents and together decide if your classroom management plan might be better adjusted to them. Perhaps two warnings instead of one, for example, or only half time in time-out.
4. If the student is not ready for anything other than reminders from you, which can be the case, that’s okay. It underscores the critical importance of excellent all-around classroom management. Again, it’s your class as a whole that will make the greatest difference.
There may be a day when this particular student is ready for your classroom management plan, which you’ll again implement in consultation with their parents. In my experience, over time and in response to the heavily shaping influence of your polite and well-behaved environment, many if not all disruptions disappear and there is no reason to do anything more.
5. An autistic student only disrupts the class if you and your students are disrupted. In other words, as long as the class is well-behaved and on-task, then a calling out or other noise is just that. Keep teaching. Let it go. It’s okay and your class will understand.
Even as young as kindergarten, students are able to grasp why one student isn’t being held to the same standard. There is no reason to explain or worry that it’s a reflection of your consistency. It’s not.
6. If the student is behaving dangerously, you’ll continue to use your class and their good habits to influence as much as possible. The better the class, the less chance this will happen. As for your reaction if it does, calm, soothing reminders and kind requests work best.
Guiding them gently where they need to be is the most effective strategy. Threatening, bribing, questioning, and pressuring are the worst. (We can discuss why in a future article).
7. If the student continues to act dangerously—running out of the room, climbing on cabinets, hitting others, etc.—then you must call for help, document the behavior, and then seek direction from your principal. This now becomes their (the principal’s) responsibility.
Parents must also be contacted. Once something like this happens, all you can do is the above and, most important, make sure you notify your administrator and call for help immediately and every time it happens.
8. If you follow 1-6 above, number seven should be exceedingly rare. It has happened to me, early in the school year, but once the sway of your class takes hold, a lot can change. I haven’t had a time where it didn’t.
If it doesn’t, however, and the student is a danger to themself and others, then it’s up to your administration and leadership team, parents, resource department, etc. to as a group decide the best placement or whether an aide is needed. Your responsibility is to document and keep them informed. That’s it.
9. There is no magic wand. Resist the urge to try to get tough with your words or raise your voice or spend time reasoning or begging with any student. These will not work. Nor will amateur counseling or trying to manipulate students into behaving.
If you need help, then call for it. If your administration ignores you and you’re being hung out to dry, then you should consider changing schools. Really. If you can’t ensure your own safety and that of your students, then you need to get out of there.
All Thrive
The overarching answer to autistic students who may not be able to follow rules is compassion combined with excellent all-class classroom management. It can do wonders when applied day after day.
With this approach, it doesn’t matter who your students are or what their abilities happen to be. All can thrive.
However, if you struggle with classroom management generally, and in particular have difficult and disrespectful students you’re unable to control, then the experience having an autistic student in your class will be daunting and potentially traumatic for the student.
The answer, then, is to become an expert in SCM.
As for how to best handle the challenge of having an aide in your classroom, and other questions about autistic students, please leave a comment below or email me. I’ll include my answers in a future article.
PS – Comments that misrepresent the article or are meanspirited will not be approved.
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This is my second year teaching with SCM. I have found it very helpful and much better than my first year of teaching years ago before I had my own kids, when I was less confident about my expectations and consequences. I had stopped teaching to be home with my own children. It is going well. It makes a big difference. Thank you.
A insightful article, but not the reality in classrooms today. SPED students and their parents hold all the cards and rights. Unfortunately, it is their way or the highway. Admin rarely supports any thoughts or suggestions you may have as a classroom teacher. The only thing that matters is the autistic student.
Great article Michael L. I’ve had so many neurodivergent students over the years and they all come with such different needs. I’m glad to hear you support adapting your plan to individuals. I’ve had to, many times (sometimes the only thing you can do is gently remind, over and over), and I felt like I wasn’t staying with the heart of the plan.
YES. Special education teacher in two states and this is my 37th year of teaching. The symbol for autism is a puzzle piece because we have some general ideas but each student is different and what works with one doesn’t always work with another – except for a calm classroom that relies on routines and clear instruction. Kids are wonderfully adaptive at all grade levels when they know someone has a disability and they learn compassion and kindness when they see the adults stay regulated and keep everyone safe. I am going to share this article with our staff.
Thank you for this, Michael!
This is very well-timed for me. I have a number of students in my class who are autistic or have some other significant exceptionality, and I’m blessed to have 2-3 aides in the class to support them and the other students in my class.
Question: Is it a good idea to ask my aides to implement my consequences system? It is a large class with a vast variety of needs, and not all students are following the same curriculum, so I have to check-in individually with students often. I would like the aides to be my eyes and ears around the classroom when my back is turned. Thoughts?
I found a hand signal, agreed privately between me and the student to work quite well. A code word, in which the class got under their desks if the child got wildly out of control and was throwing things. Once a kid started, I called the code word and he too sat down on the floor and got under his desk. Seating a child like that close to the door, made getting help and getting them out much easier.
This is all solid advice! I think your proposed modifications make a lot of sense. Generally, autistic students really want a quiet and predictable atmosphere, so having a calm, well-managed classroom is the #1 path to them being able to be regulated within the room.
There is one piece I’d add: make sure your classroom rules allow them to get what they need as long as it isn’t disruptive to others. Too many teachers/aides will take away an autistic student’s drawing (or other non-disruptive stimming) or demand they make eye contact etc. to make them seem more “normal.” Demanding that makes everyone’s lives harder, and the demands have nothing to do with learning (Autistic kids will generally listen and learn better if they can stim and don’t have to look people in the eye).
I know you didn’t mention this because the SCM plan would avoid this anyway, but it is something I’ve seen teachers do to autistic students a LOT, so I thought it was worth mentioning!
I have a first grade student with an autistic-like disability who cannot stop calling out and making noises. I mostly ignore these but his aide has a behavior plan she uses with him. For this reason I have not really tried implementing my own behavior plan so I focus on the rest of the class. Does this sound reasonable?