Mild autism

[chaoman45]

I will try and keep this short. If you aren't familiar with dealing with autism or other disabilities, it can be a pain. Especially when having something like autism is a magnet for ridicule and bullying.

 

Bullying of one particular Scout, who has mild autism, is not a problem any more after the adult leadership cracked down hard. Scouts know they are walking in a mine field if they intentionally throw acorns at him or take his hat and play keep away. But even so, we have two problems: victim-precipitation and overreaction on the autistic kid's part.

 

One time, the troop was doing a rough outdoor game during a meeting requiring them to take off uniforms. The autistic Scout (I'm just gonna call him Smith for short) decided it would be a funny joke if he threw some uniforms onto the church parking lot in a wrinkled up mess. Of course, the Scouts whose uniforms were on the ground chased Smith. No, they weren't going to beat him up, but they chased Smith pretending to "teach him a lesson." So they were playing around basically, but Smith thought he was going to get hurt. He cried, of course. I told him he started it and I couldn't do anything about it. A week later in a meeting, the SM made a friendly reminder about an upcoming event and asked a follow-up question: "Okay, so what time do we meet here for the campout?" Curtly, Smith literally yells impatiently: "FIVE THIRTY! YOU SAID IT ALREADY SO CAN WE JUST GET THE MEETING OVER WITH NOW?" Absolute silence and shock. His patrol members ages 12-14 ragged on him for being disrespectful. His mom after the meeting also reprimanded him for the disrespect, which is always nice to have parents do! He is beginning to cause problems rather than problems coming to him. Leaders are not sure how to deal with the fact that he's inviting criticism AND overreacting to nothing.

 

We have arrived at the conclusion that he is intentionally self-destructing as a way to be kicked out of Scouts since he does not want to be there. He is also very dependent on parents and begins to cry if they are gone for more than a day. His parents want him to stay in Scouts so that he can learn to become more independent. With that basis, we don't want to remove the Scout. Smith is smart, but his irregularities still attract negative attention from his peers, especially patrol members. If you have ever dealt with an autistic Scout, I would like to hear how you handled any and all problems associated with it.

[Cambridgeskip]

At the moment I have 13 year old with Aspergers syndrome. If you are not familiar it is a particular type of Autism (in fact Autism is a bit like the term Cancer, it is a catch all term for a range of similar but related conditions). The lad is work in progress but he has gone from being very difficult indeed to now just a bit of hard work. So a few tips.

 

1. You can't do this on your own, neither can his parents, neither can his school. All the adults, and indeed his friends, have to work together. So get talking!

 

2. You need to see his diagnosis which his parents should have. This will give you a better idea of what the specific issues are and will help you develope ways of handling it.

 

3. Some behaviour will be as a result of his condition, other times it will simply a teenage boy being a teenage boy. Understanding his condition will help you distinguish the two. When it is him just acting up make sure you treat him the same as everyone else.

 

4. Keep it simple. When explaining something to him think carefully first and keep the instructions as short and clear as possible. When talking to him whether in a group or individually make sure he realises you are addressing him, use his name, make lots of eye contact, ask him questions. Often someone with autism will be completely unaware that they are being spoken to especially when in a group. Equally they are some times unaware that what is being said is being said to someone else and not them, so be aware of that as well!

 

5. Find what he is good at and encourage it. Our lad is very practical. On occasions when he has had temper tantrums he has been taken off by one of the leaders to do some repairs on the building, his bike, some camping gear. For your lad it might be something else, but find what that thing is and use it when times are tough.

 

6. As for all kids, plenty of praise when he has done well, especially when he is clearly trying to tackle his own problems. Our last summer camp I gave lots of praise when I saw him walk away from an argument when 6 months before he would have turned round and punched someone.

 

7. Be honest with him. Tell him what you find hard. Our lad doesn't give many signals in his body language. Most kids you can tell when they are bored or confused or frustrated as they fidget, mutter etc. This lad does nothing until he explodes. We told him clearly that we need to know when he is feeling bored or confused. It took a while but now he has learned to ask questions.

 

All the above are examples but what will work with your lad may be different as every case is different. Be warned though it wont an easy ride.

[Tampa Turtle]

Hey skip so does my 13 year old. (and Tourette in the equation!)We should form a club!

[qwazse]

We have a kid with Asbergers (similar to Skip's). I also had an autistic kid in Sunday School class -- it's a miracle the young man (now in his 20s) can stand our rather noisy church. Yes, everyone has to adjust. But, you all have a right to expect good behavior.

 

By now you understand that by definition, the disorder amplifies everything -- literally. Where your brain circuits will actually dampen the nerves that fire in response to any stimulus that comes along, an autistic kid's brain just keeps 'em cranking. So, "overreaction" is par for the course.

 

You also have to explain to Smith that we need to help other kids. Sometimes that means putting up with SM's having to repeat themselves. Compliment him on getting the message the first time. Tell him that at meetings he can expect to hear it repeated because other kids brains aren't working as efficiently as his. (They need to have a stimulus a couple of times to bump the important parts of messages into long term memory.) Explain to Smith that we need to work with everyone's brains -- not just his, and part of courteous is learning to respect that. If he understands that his fellow scouts' brains need "special treatment" too, it might help him get less irritated the next time.

 

On the bright side, Smith might be helping the SM realize when he's getting a little long-winded!

 

Is it easy? No! Can it be rewarding for adults and boys? Yes!

[infoscouter]

A resource for all of you:

 

https://sites.google.com/site/autismandboyscouts/

 

Also - the Scout's ISAP (Individualized Scout Advancement Plan) should include behavior. The Scout, parents and leaders should all be involved in writing this document. http://www.wwswd.org/individual-plan.htm Leaders should be able to remind him, that his plan includes proper responses to social stresses, and redirect him to an appropriate activity.

 

Individuals with autism sometimes don't realize that their behaviors scare/disturb the neuro-typicals in society. They generally can't read other's facial expressions and body language to know that something is a joke or a serious threat. Teasing goes right over their heads (or into their hearts and wounds them).

 

What kind of guidelines has the Scout been given for appropriate behavior? Does he have a buddy to whom he can turn if he doesn't understand what how he's being treated by the other Scouts?

 

Is he mainstreamed in school? How does the school help him deal with similar treatment? He probably has strategies he uses there to cope, but because of his autism, can't generalize those same strategies to the Scouting context.

 

Have any of the other Scouts pursued the Disabilities Awareness merit badge? Do they understand or have they had any training on autism spectrum disorders and how to kindly interact with this Scout?

 

Its lots of work, but its worth it. He may not want to leave, he just is frustrated because he doesn't know how to be succesful in this type of social situation, which is much less structured that home and school. If his ISAP and some peer support can help him create that structure, his experience and behavior will likely improve.

[shortridge]

A week later in a meeting, the SM made a friendly reminder about an upcoming event and asked a follow-up question: "Okay, so what time do we meet here for the campout?" Curtly, Smith literally yells impatiently: "FIVE THIRTY! YOU SAID IT ALREADY SO CAN WE JUST GET THE MEETING OVER WITH NOW?"

 

He probably wasn't the only Scout thinking that.

[Tampa Turtle]

Good advice infoscouter. I have to remind the other boys not to bait or tease my boy --he takes everything so literally that he is easy to get his to fall for stuff.

 

We have another asberger boy --quite severe. I have to continually remind new ASM's that for those boys (and a few straight up Autistic ones as well) that the challenge of dealing with the change of routine of a camp-out us a pretty big challenge all by itself. To say nothing of a last minute change of plan.