Hi ladies! Sharing a center success story ahead of tonights meeting- see you soon!
Last year, one of our four year old students began preschool at The Center. He is an engaged child who loves participating in all school activities and has many friends. Like many children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory issues were an area of concern for this student. Loud noises upset him and made him very anxious, triggering socially concerning behaviors. His first fire drill at The Center was difficult; he started screaming and crying and ran to a teacher. In the days that followed the fire drill, this student did not want to enter the classroom he was in when the fire drill began, covering his ears and repeating "No!". His teachers, teaching assistants and family worked together to create a plan to address this fear. His teachers created a step-by-step narrative, called a social story, to read to him daily. Social stories are used to teach individuals with ASD particular skills such as identifying important cues in a given situation, understanding rules, routines, upcoming events, and understanding expectations. His social story focused on what happens when the fire alarm goes off and what he can to do to stay calm and safe. He was given headphones to wear, showed the blinking fire lights and cued when a fire drill was going to happen. While he made progress, he was still very upset and anxious about fire drills. For his first year at The Center, his teachers had to take him out of the classroom before the alarm went off in order to avoid extreme behavioral reactions.
This year, the student's second year at The Center, his teachers continued to read the fire alarm social story and put headphones in his cubby, which he could use at any time. The first fire drill of the year resulted in the same reactions as the year before. His teachers continued to work with him and his family, reading the social story, speaking with him calmly, and reiterating that he was safe. He was again cued on the day of the drill and his teachers would sometimes take him out of the classroom before the alarm went off. Throughout the year, his reactions began to improve. He learned to go get his headphones out of his cubby and put them on all by himself in preparation of a drill. By mid-year he could stay inside the classroom when the alarm first went off, get his headphones on his own and walk outside with the class. By the end of the school year, he was even able to express that participating in a drill was “easy peasy, mac and cheesy”. His teachers and his family were so proud of him. As with many stressful situations for children with ASD, his teachers and family continued to reinforce that he was safe, establish his routine, and build trust with those helping him through his steps so he could be successful. It took a team, established routines, and hard work, but he was able to overcome this hurdle just in time for kindergarten this fall!