Visuals to Support Behavior Regulation When individuals with autism do not have the skills necessary to communicate their thoughts, wants, or needs, they might get frustrated and engage in behaviors that are potentially harmful or dangerous. These behaviors may interfere with their own learning and safety, or the learning and safety of others within the classroom. Therefore, it is extremely important to address behaviors when they occur, and provide students with the necessary supports so that these behaviors can be kept to a minimum. Information will be provided in great detail about behavior support and interventions throughout Section 4, however an overview of visuals that can be used to support behavior regulation can be found below. One use of a visual cue to support behavior regulation is the implementation of a break card. During the school day, students may feel overwhelmed with the amount of work they are presented with. If students can not communicate this feeling, they may engage in behaviors in order to escape the demands of work. Therefore, it is important to provide the student with a break card, and teach them to use it appropriately. It is not be used too frequently, and the student must be sure to complete some amount of work before they are granted a break. It is also important to try to recognize when students are beginning to get frustrated, and teach them to use the break card at this time, before behaviors occur. Some examples of break cards can be seen below.
Another visual cue that can support behavior regulation is the use of a feelings board. Occasionally, students with autism engage in behaviors because they overwhelmed with feelings, but do not have the communication skills to tell the teacher exactly what they are feeling. Therefore, when a teacher can tell that their student is overwhelmed in some way, they can present the student with options as to identify the appropriate feeling. When the student identifies that feeling, the teacher should do their best to provide therapy or intervention to provide them with relief, and allow the student to return to a state of normalcy. These therapies or interventions may involve sensory integration, allowing access to reinforcing items, or the opportunity for communication to occur. No matter what the cause, it is important that students are able to identify when feelings are bothering them and to eventually learn emotion regulation. A common tool for students with autism to regulate their behavior is through the use of behavior charts. Functional behavior assessments can be conducted to determine why students are engaging in behavior, and specific and individualized behavior charts can be created based on student s behavior function. Reinforcer assessments should also be conducted to determine what students are likely to work for. Functional Behavior Assessments and Reinforcer Assessments are discussed in greater detail in Section 4. Some examples of common behavior charts include stoplight systems, in which students behavior is categorized in three areas (green
meaning good behavior, yellow meaning mildly inappropriate behavior requiring warnings, and red for severely inappropriate behavior violating classroom rules). Another common type of behavior chart is a token economy, in which students receive some tokens or representations of tokens, and must earn several tokens in order to gain access to a reinforcing item. Examples of behavior charts can be seen below. Visuals to Support Transitions Transitions occur many times throughout the school day as students move between different activities and environments. The frequency and complexity of transitions only increase as students continue on their educational path and attend middle schools and high schools that require many different and fast-paced transitions throughout each day. Therefore, as a teacher of elementary school students, it is important that you begin early in providing your students with the skills necessary to transition between activities successfully. Learning these skills is extremely important in promoting independence, and will help these individuals greatly throughout their school career and into adulthood and the workplace.
Students with autism typically have difficulties when transitioning from one task or environment to another. When students have difficulty transitioning, they may engage in behaviors that may be disruptive or dangerous to others in the class. There is little research surrounding possible reasons why these transitions are so difficult, however, Flannery and Horner (1994) proposed a predictability hypothesis, stating the importance of predictability for those individuals with autism. As educators, we must ensure that students are aware of when a transition will occur, what they will be transitioning to, and that successful transitions are reinforced. Visual cues are an excellent way to incorporate these important factors into daily practice. First, visual cues can support transitions through the use of picture schedules. Visual schedules (described in sections above) can vary greatly, from simple to complex. Real pictures of environments can be used, or cartoon picture symbols, such as those found in the BoardMaker software. It is important that picture schedules use some sort of concrete visual symbol to show the student what is taking place in the moment, and what will be coming next. They help the student stay organized, help sequential memory, minimize anxiety, and increase independence. Some examples of visual schedules can be seen below.
Additional visual schedules and templates can be found at: http://polkdhsd7.sharpschool.com/staff_directory/p_b_s_behavior_intervention/tier_2_interventions/individual_visu al_schedules/ Another important visual cue that can aid in transitions is the use of visual signals. Visual signals can include a flickering of the lights to indicate when a transition will occur, or a picture symbol indicating that students only have a few minutes left to complete a task (seen in the red, yellow, and green symbols below). One effective example of a visual cue is the use of a visual timer, which shows students exactly how much time they have to complete a task by a red line fading away with time (as seen below).
A third example of a visual cue that can aid in transitions for individuals with autism is the use of a finished box. As students complete assignments or tasks and move to new ones, they may place a picture of the item or task into a box. This allows for a visual representation of the student s progress, and that they are nearing finishing or some reinforcing item. Some examples of different types of finished boxes are shown below. Visuals to Cue Social Behavior It is now known that one of the defining characteristics of an individual with autism is deficits in the area of social interactions. These individuals do not typically initiate conversations, engage in joint attention, or participate in social activities and play with their peers. Therefore, it is important to consider the possible benefits of using visual and concrete systems to encourage social behavior for your students. Some examples of ways that visuals can cue social behavior include the use of greeting and conversation cards, Comic Strip Conversations, and Social Stories.
A student can be provided with a visual cue to initiate a social interaction through the use of a greeting or conversation card. These cards can be shown to the student as a prompt for them to say hello, or the student may show or give the card to another individual as a way of initiating a greeting. The specific use of the greeting card will depend highly on the student s level of functioning. Conversation cards are also available containing different questions or statements that a student could read to a conversation partner to communicate with them. Examples of greeting cards or conversation cards can be seen below. Another example of items that may be used to initiate social interactions are Comic Strip Conversations. These were created by Carol Gray, and incorporate simple characters and typical comic strip style (speech bubbles and thought bubbles) to illustrate social situations and appropriate responses (Volkmar & Weisner, 2009). They emphasize skills that students need to behave appropriately in a variety of school situations. They also communicate perspectives, feelings, and ideas. They should contain information regarding events that caused a problem, individuals thoughts and feelings, and solutions to the problem (Gleaser, Pierson, & Fritschmann, 2003). Comic Strip Conversations are ideal for students with limited
communication skills because they use simple language and rely heavily on pictures. An example of Comic Strip Conversations can be seen below. In addition to Comic Strip Conversations, Carol Gray also created the Social Story, which is a written narrative eliciting appropriate social behaviors in a variety of different situations. Social stories can be written by teachers to tell students what they should do or how they should act when difficult social situations arise. The Social Story follows a specific format of four different types of sentences in a particular ratio (Gleaser, Pierson, & Fritschmann, 2003). Social stories should be reassuring and descriptive, rather than directive, and should be catered to the individual audience and the social skill being targeted (Hutchins, 2012). Some examples of social stories are provided below.
Additional Social Story templates can be found at: http://www.positivelyautism.com/free/09social.html The defining characteristics of individuals with autism revolve around deficits in communication and social functioning. When students can not communicate effectively, or engage in typical social interactions, they may become frustrated or engage in inappropriate and potentially harmful behaviors. It is extremely important as a special educator to understand these deficits, and how to use different strategies to support them. One extremely effective strategy used to help students with autism is the use of concrete symbols. Specifically, concrete pictures or symbols have been proven to help children with autism in the fields of behavior management, transitions, and engaging in social interactions.