Autism, Stimming and the RPM letter board

When the Letter Board is Used for Stimming

Stimming, for Aiden, is like having a best friend. It helps calm him down when he's anxious, giving him something to do when he's bored. I've noticed he uses the letter board to do stimming is well.  Always on the lookout to gather information to help him, I decided to ask on and about it with the letter board.

ML: “Aiden, I've noticed that sometimes when we are working on spelling with the letter board, your fingers move over the board before pointing out the letter you wants. What's happening when you do that?  How does it feel when your fingers move across the letter board?”

Aiden: “Sometimes I get caught up in the shapes of the letters in the textures. I like moving my fingers over the letter board.”

ML: “What helps bring you back to focus on spelling the word?”

Aiden: “When you ask me a question like, ‘is that letter ‘A or B’, or when you say, “focus Aiden, what's the next letter?’”

I then thank him for sharing with me, letting him know it's easier for me to understand what he needs when he shares information with me. I tell him, “It helps my brain to become smarter so I can become better at helping you learn. This way, we are helping each other to become smarter.”

Changing up my pace and vocal variety also helps keep his interest from stimming.  What works for you?

Autism, RPM and Handwriting

Aiden and I were beginning our day together when I spoke. “Your mom tells me you hate writing sentences. Tell me about it.” I handed him the letter board and he spelled, “its hard work.”  I answered by stating, “Do you want to know why I have you write sentences?” He nodded a yes.

“Soma wants you to write sentences because it helps your brain work better and makes it easier for you to remember things we go over with your studies.” I then write down some of the reasons why hand writing is important:

1.      It can have a calming effect as it keeps your mind focused on doing something rather than feeling anxious.

2.      It balances the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

3.      It strengthens your cognitive, thinking skills.

4.      It inspires creativity.

5.      It improves memory.

6.      It uses more part of your brain, like a muscle to make it stronger.

After that, he was quiet and calm, doing his academic work with me.

Autism, RPM, Communicating Feelings

In order to have a sense of how Aiden is feelings, I usually begin our day with checking in to see how he’s feeling emotionally and where his anxiety level is when presented a number line from 1-10.  He’s given a laminated card with colors on one side and numbers on the back.

The colors are:

·         Black—melt down time

·         Red—I’m angry and mad

·         Yellow—I’m a bet frustrated

·         Green—I’m happy

·         White—I don’t know how I’m feeling

I place the card in front of him and he chooses which color he’s feeling in that moment.

I flip the card over to show the number line. It gives him a chance to show me how anxious he feels. He often chooses 5.  After that, I present the number board and ask him to tell me how anxious he’s feeling right now.  After he chooses a number, I ask, “What would make you feel less anxious?”  Then, I show him the letter board and have him either spell a word or a sentence. If he wants to go to the gym to walk, I tell him that’s a great idea.  “Let’s do some work first and then we can go for a car ride to the gym.” If he’s in a fairly good mood, we’ll begin our RPM lesson.

            I often check in with his feelings and anxiety a couple of more times during the day to see if there are any changes.  If his mood fluctuates, showing anger and/or anxiety, I back off and give him more space.  Even when he’s walking around the house or in the garage, we can discuss a history or science lesson. As long as he’s answering my questions, I know he’s listening and processing. 

Autism, Distractions and RPM (Rapid Prompting Method)

            Last week I arrived at Aiden’s house to find him agitated.  Him and his body was tense, he was making noises and muttering instead of using his words, and he was walking briskly around the garage space with a frown on his face. I reached for the feelings chart and placed it in front of him.

            ML:      Aiden, look at the feelings chart so you can show me how you're                            feeling. What  color are you right now?

            A:         He sits down on a large exercise ball and hits my legs. My dad!                              I'm standing more in front of him and behind him. I move my                                body behind him, pointing to the color chart. He points to the red                          letting me know he's mad. When I turn it over to the anxiety                                  number line, I asked him what level is his anxiety from 1 to 10.                              He points to the number 10.

            ML:      Holding the letter board in front of him, I asked him, “What is it                            that's making you feel mad and anxious today?”

            A:         He spells the sentence, “I want to go for a walk.”

            ML:      I write this sentence down on a sheet of paper and then hand it to                          him to write it down as well using my words as a model. When                              he’s done, I ask, “If you do go for a walk, will your mad and                                  anxious feelings go away or become smaller?”

            A:         He softly replies, “Yes.”

            ML:      As I placed the letter board in front of him, I respond with,                                    “Great! What do you need to do before you can take a walk?”

            A:         He spells out the sentence, “I have to do my work.”

            ML:      “And why do we do the work?”

            A:         He answers on the letter board, “So I can learn new things and                              help my brain gets smarter.”

            ML:      “That's a great answer! Let’s go upstairs to your desk and do you                           work for 45 minutes and them will go for your walk.”

            A:         He looks more relaxed as he gets up to walk to his room.

Autism: Why Eye Contact is Difficult

Autism is known as a complex developmental disability. It usually presents itself during the first three years of a person's life. The condition is the result of a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function, affecting development of the person's communication and social interaction skills.

Autism is a wide- spectrum disorder. This means that no two people with autism will have exactly the same symptoms. As well as experiencing very varying combinations of symptoms, some people will have mild symptoms while others will have severe ones.

We know from research  there are abnormalities in both the structure and function of the brains of individuals with autism. We know that children with ASD often inspect objects and people in an unusual way with their peripheral vision. It seems that there are neurological reasons for lack of eye contact and individuals with autism.

During the past few years there have been a number of adults having autism who have begun writing about their experiences whether it be through a keyboard or a letter board. When a person uses a letter board, they write each word letter by letter spelling it out. Through these writings we have learned to better understand the world through the eyes and mind of an autistic individual.

Historically, when autistic children enter the school system, they are subjected to Adaptive Behavioral Analysis (ABA); a system that requires them to repeat the same task over and over and over again. Is assumed that these children are developmentally disabled and cognitively impaired so they don't understand what's going on. That couldn't be further from the truth.

A 13-year-old Japanese boy with autism wrote and published a book in 2007 that was translated in 2013. The title of the book is ,The reason I jump: the inner voice of a 13-year-old boy with autism.  In his book, Naoki Higashida, wrote one letter at a time using a letter board. In it he answers simple questions that people asked about autism.  When he was asked, “Why don't you make eye contact when you're talking?” He said he resented all the times he was told to look people in the eye for him he couldn't do it; it made him too uncomfortable. He shared that he was actually looking at the other person's voice. Voices may not be visible things, but were trying to listen to the other person with all of our sense organs. What bothered him for a long time is the idea people have that keeping eye contact while people are talking to us means we’re having communication. This is so not true!

 Ido Kadar published the book, Ido in autism land: climbing out of autism silent prison when he was 15 years old. Like Naoki, he wrote the entire 166 page book using a letter board, one letter at a time.  When he was 12, he wrote the following, “Eye contact is hard because the light reflecting off the eyes is not calming. It's hard to explain because I'm not aware that I don't look at people until someone tells me to look at them. It's a strange habit. I can listen better if I don't look at the person. I can look, but it's not pleasant. ABA had me look in people's eyes with the timer. It was so tortuous; I did it, but with terrible anxiety.

RPM: Following the Leader; how it works with autism

I just read the most amazing blog article written by a professional explaining the dance of doing RPM with our students.  The author's name remains anonymous.
If you're a parent seeking help for your child having ASD, the description will answer some of your questions pertaining to Rapid Prompting Method (RPM)

RPM: Following the Leader

Autism, Aggressive Behaviors, Becoming a Detective

Aggressive Behaviors; Becoming a Detective

Working with Aiden has helped me become a better detective at figuring out what his behaviors are telling me about how he feels in a given moment. I know, in my head, when he grabs aggressively or hits me, to silently turn away and give him space.  If I’m physically close to him, I become an easier target for him to use to vent his feelings of anger, frustration and/or anxiety.  During these times, I may forget and respond with words, such as, “where are your hands supposed to be”?

While he’s calming down, I’m reviewing the last interactions in my mind, looking for the triggers of his aggressiveness.  How could I have behaved differently? What was his behavior telling me?

·        His anxiety and frustration were higher, noted by his facial expressions. I could have changed the subject and done something more spontaneous and playful with him through song or rhyming words.

·        I could have checked for this feelings and anxiety level before beginning the lesson.

·        I need to remember to stand behind me to the side to protect myself more efficiently when he’s upset.

·        Whenever he’s upset, remember to back away silently for a few seconds. Then, I can ask him if going to his quiet place would help him calm down.  If he says yes, then he’s back in the thinking part of his brain.  I give him that time and space. He’s getting better at calming himself down when he’s alone.

·        If he grabs me, I usually freeze, turning away from him slightly. After a few moments of my silence, he usually lets go and we move forward.

I gladly welcome any comments about what I could have done differently or any other ideas on how to help Aiden feel less anxious in the future.