Teaching special needs

DWx · Black Belt

Does anyone have any tips for teaching speciall needs students?

I have 2 students I have in mind that I'd like to adapt things for. The first has autism but is high functioning. His parents haven't highlighted any specific adaptions I need to make and he seems to cope with the classes really well. I'm wondering if there is anything extra I should be doing with him?

Then there's one of my other students... His parents haven't brought up that he has additional needs, however it is very clear that there's something going on. It's not my place to diagnose but this child does seem to have additional requirements in that I struggle to get him to respond or react when I call his name and even have gone so far to pair up with him personally when doing exercises but it's 50/50 whether he will engage. He also struggles to understand what's being asked of him or even acknowledge my direction ls
For instance when I did some relay races last week, he really didn't get what he had to do when the rest of my 5 year olds had no issues.

Any suggestions for strategies to make training easier for these students? At the moment I try to pair them with more advanced students or myself but it can take focus away from the rest of the students. Just wondering if there is anything else I should be doing or if there are ways to modify the training or my teaching to accommodate.
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"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it." ~ Confucius

JR 137 · Black Belt

Regarding autism...
During my graduate physical education training, we had to take an adapted physical education class. The teacher was an expert in autism. Her wisdom imparted to us: “if you know 100 people with autism, you know 100 autistic people with different needs” or something like that. Autism is all over the place, and as such there’s no universal way of teaching autistic students. It’s pretty much all trial and error. Sorry to give such a generic answer, but it’s definitely what I’ve found in the many autistic children I’ve taught, academically and physical education.

I can only say a few things that I’ve seen in just about all of them...
1. They don’t like being out of their comfort zone at all. Many people don’t, but autistic people shut down in a unique way. Finding that comfort zone is trial and error, and it’s typically easy to tell once you’ve crossed it. Physical contact is a common thing they don’t like, but it’s definitely not universal.

2. Once you’ve earned their trust, you’ll be able to get them further out of their comfort zone. Not as far as non-autistic people by any means, but you’ll be able to challenge them an appreciable amount.

3. They most often don’t understand social cues. They have a very difficult time relating to people and don’t understand relationships very well. They know roles, but beyond that is a mystery to them. I they take things far more negatively than most people.

4. They are extremely logical rather than emotional, bringing us back to number 3. Explain things to them like an adult rather than like a child. Don’t end up unintentionally talking over their head, but definitely don’t talk to them like a little kid. Show positive and happy emotion, but definitely don’t over do it. When they’re going into a fit (the more you know the kid, the easier it’ll be to tell when it’s starting), be very matter of fact and show no emotion. I have one kid with autism in particular in my science class from 3rd-5th grade (presently), who has severe anxiety over what he perceives as failure; if he gets a question wrong, verbally in class, a test, homework, etc., he’ll immediately start with “I’m a failure. I’m so stupid. I’m going to end up washing dishes in a restaurant my whole life.” I just look at him with zero emotion on my face and in my voice and say “John, you know you’re smart. You know getting one question wrong isn’t going to change your whole life. Take a few deep breaths and relax. When you’re ready, you can rejoin class.” It works. Other teachers have coddled him, gotten upset with him, ignored him, etc. None of it worked. The key is to know when they’re on the verge of a meltdown and use logic and show no emotion before it goes too far. Once it’s gone past a certain point, there’s pretty much o coming back for quite some time. The more they trust you, the easier it is to get them back to where they need to be.

Another example, the same student refused to leave the room during a fire drill one day. He ran around the room screaming he wasn’t going to leave because he didn’t finish the question he was working on. I looked him right in the eyes and said “John, there’s no way you’re staying in this room. You can walk out like everyone else, or I can carry you out, kicking and screaming like a baby. Which one is it going to be?” He looked at me, and I said “which one, John, I’m not going to ask you again.” It was so hard for me to do, but I showed zero emotion, and didn’t raise my voice beyond a level he could hear it over the fire alarm. He walked out like he was supposed to. Had I coddled him or showed him I was upset, I definitely would’ve had to chase him down and drag him out. For the record, I would’ve had to carry him out if he didn’t leave willingly.

Just some things to think about. The best thing you can do is speak with the parents and ask them what typically works and what doesn’t. Focus more on what doesn’t work and avoid that stuff at first. As you gain trust, you’ll be walking on eggshells less and less often.

tallgeese · Black Belt

Bulltahr · Brown Belt

We have a mild autistic boy in our club, took him a while, but now he's like family to all of us and us to him. He definitely doesn't handle surprises well, loves using the Japanese words. He enjoys being accepted and the comaradare. Push him too hard tho and he shuts down. Very rewarding to have him as part of the club tho......
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"We don't have any money, so we will have to think" - Ernest Rutherford

JR 137 · Black Belt

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

It sounds like you've got lots of good advice in regards to your autistic student. As for the other student, you might look into doing some private, one-on-one classes with the child. He could get nervous in the group setting, and shut down.

I'd also get one-on-one with the parent(s) and ask them about it. It could be that they didn't want to say anything initially, and just see if the child would participate.

Lastly, and I don't want to say this and make it sound like giving up, but not all five year olds are the same, and it may be that this particular five year old might need to wait another year or two before giving the MA world a go. Try all other options first, but don't rule this one out.
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singularity6 · Pre-Black Belt

I think the US and the UK have different laws around how this should be handled. The US can be particularly litigious, so my gut says you should find out:

Are you allowed to ask? Or does the student have to self-identify as special needs?
What are you obligated to do?
When are you obligated to do it?
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5th Geup Jidokwan Tae Kwon Do/Hap Ki Do

(Never officially tested in aikido, iaido or kendo)

DWx · Black Belt

JR 137 · Black Belt

singularity6 · Pre-Black Belt

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