Physical Education
Many students on the Autism Spectrum find an activity, a toy or a place that they are comfortable with and many students may have an obsession with the particular (Raising Children Network, 2006-2016). In relation to Mike the transitioning from the classroom to Physical Education lesson is good but once he makes it to the sheltered area he takes it upon himself to walk to all the drains in the surrounding area and results in no participation in PE. When Mike is asked to join the class for PE he scream at his Teacher Aide and says ‘no don’t want to’ and if the teacher aide tries to include Mike in the activity at all then it results in a meltdown whether it be Mike running away from the class or the Teacher aide which poses a risk to his well being as there is a road within the school grounds and regular delivery trucks frequently entering the school grounds. The key issue is that Mike needs to learn to participate in PE and the behaviour of running away is a safety issue as the wellbeing of Mike may be at risk if he thinks this behaviour is acceptable. the drains are of interest to Mike and participating in PE is an activity that are effecting Mike anxiety and stress levels as the PE lessons are generally unstructured and usually the students learning new skills in different arrangements each week whether it is them practicing bouncing a ball one week and then throwing a ball in partners the next week, the structure of the lesson is changing and Mike is not prepared for the change which results in him going to a place that he feels comfortable with and is a safe place being the drains, as identified on the (Raising Children Network, 2006-2016), obsessions, routines and rituals help children with ASD cope with their surroundings and reduce their stress and anxiety by allowing them to control their environment. This issue can effect Mike fellow class members PE time, the most crucial part is the safety of Mike and and others in the school grounds ensuring Mike knows that he is not allowed in certain areas in the school especially near the pickup and drop off area that is open to cars and trucks all day.
Strategy and Artefact
The issue with this concern is the safety of Mike and working towards the inclusion of Mikey in Physical Education (PE). The intervention that would be best utilised is allowing Mike to have his obsession as well as including him in PE. The use of visual aids would be appropriate as giving Mike warning before he goes to PE that he needs to join in with his fellow class members.
According to Ali Frederickson (2006), “social stories were developed in order to support individuals with autism to better cope with social situations”, through the use of social stories with Mike it can assist him in acknowledging his expectations throughout PE and joining in with the class. The use of visuals can be taken on the Ipad and the teacher aid and Mike could make the social story together using the app ‘social stories creator and library’ allowing Mike to have input into the story so he can better gain understanding. The social story could include the drains on the way to PE, Mike can see the drains on the way to PE and again on the way back to the classroom from PE only if he has tried to join in the lesson whether it starts off distant from the class so the social interaction is overwhelming initially. This allows Mike to get a reward at the start and end of the lesson as he has an obsession with drains.
According to Ali Frederickson (2006), “social stories were developed in order to support individuals with autism to better cope with social situations”, through the use of social stories with Mike it can assist him in acknowledging his expectations throughout PE and joining in with the class. The use of visuals can be taken on the Ipad and the teacher aid and Mike could make the social story together using the app ‘social stories creator and library’ allowing Mike to have input into the story so he can better gain understanding. The social story could include the drains on the way to PE, Mike can see the drains on the way to PE and again on the way back to the classroom from PE only if he has tried to join in the lesson whether it starts off distant from the class so the social interaction is overwhelming initially. This allows Mike to get a reward at the start and end of the lesson as he has an obsession with drains.
Accompany each page with a picture allowing Mike to take the picture on the ipad to create the story together.
Outline of the school map, yellow outlining accessible to Mike and red outlines out of bounds.