Imagine that Emily is a 4-year-old girl with ASD who attends your centre. Emily typically uses words and short phrases to communicate her needs, and she is aware of, and interested in, other children. She enjoys play with cause-and-effect toys, and with objects that can be spun around, or that make sounds. She will entertain herself during free play with a hula hoop, ball or rainstick, but has difficulty giving up these objects to others, or when it is time to do something else. During circle time, Emily tends to leave the circle and wander, looking for an object with which she can occupy herself. Lately, she is becoming more and more upset when a teacher attempts to redirect her to the circle. She has begun to throw herself on the floor and scream when this happens. You suspect that Emily is spending more time on her own in solitary, repetitive play. She is also starting to resist coming to the table for snack, instead grabbing her food and eating it while pacing the room. Other children are finding Emily’s behaviour distracting. Staff are agreed that something must be done to address the problem before it becomes worse.
How would you begin to examine the problem?
What observations might you make, and what information will you need in order to develop a plan to address the problem?
What are your initial suggestions for changes?
If your initial plan does not produce an improvement in the situation within about two weeks, whose assistance (i.e., what professionals) might you consult? What would you expect their roles to be?
For example, if Emily's communication challenges appear to be an issue, would it help to ask the Speech Language Pathologist to come in and observe Emily to help you identify some key words to teach Emily or to create visual supports that might be helpful?