Working with the interdisciplinary team (IDT) in a mainstream primary school setting, Southwark

“Within a few weeks we started to see a decrease in our daughter’s behaviours.”

Hannah is a funny, sociable and artistic Year 6 pupil with a love of Minecraft and drawing. Before the pandemic, Hannah was receiving provision in school from a Behaviour Analyst. Once that practitioner left, the 1:1 support was provided by Teaching Assistants and the family started to see an increase in challenging and socially age-inappropriate behaviours with teachers and peers. They knew that their daughter needed help again.

Targets for our time with Hannah included her focus on academic work (she was able to access majority of the Year 6 curriculum but would become distracted and not motivated to work), and inappropriate physical contact with others (hugging, laying head on shoulder, touching hair of peers and adults), which posed a significant safeguarding risk in the community, especially as she was starting puberty.

How we supported

Approaches were fully integrated with the school and the IDT supporting Hannah, training school staff to implement the interventions and teaching strategies.
We implemented a reinforcement system to increase attendance to work (tokens delivered for work completed and drawing time provided as a reinforcer).
A behaviour plan was introduced to teach appropriate physical contact (social story, rule card, proactive guidance from Learning Support Assistant – focus on consent: ask for a hug/high five first).
Training for the LSA to support Hannah and other autistic pupils effectively in a mainstream environment.
Class teacher and SENCo supported with planning and SATs preparation
10 days in the first 2 months, then monthly follow up sessions.

“Working with BeyondAutism was a breath of fresh air. Their approach to [behaviour analysis] integrated well within our mainstream setting, equipping staff to support the child in key areas of focus. The outreach support was reflective and flexible, forming positive working relationships with our staff and ensuring best possible outcomes for the child. Staff found training was supportive and appropriately paced and were able to have open conversations with Matt, our consultant. We were delighted with the progress the child made and feel that this support equipped her well for her transition to secondary.”

Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Inclusion

The outcome

The fully integrated approach to supporting Hannah, enabled her to generalise skills outside of school. She is no longer hugging adults immediately and is more aware of personal space. She was able to access her SATs and transitioned successfully to an independent secondary school.

“BeyondAutism recommended training a TA who was already familiar with the school. Matt became our daughter’s consultant and he went into school to observe our daughter and provide training to her TA and her teachers on the job. Matt also gave us advice on what to do at home. This integrated approach worked incredibly well, as within a few weeks we started to see a decrease in our daughter’s behaviours.”

Hannah’s parent

*learner’s name has been changed