quiet rooms

[sky]

Hi,i haven't been on here for a while but i am confused and would like some thoughts.....

I have a severely autistic boy of nearly 15-non verbal apart from sonme echolalia.He goes to a special school .He has a "green " room which is used for transitions -in between different tasks-which he can get out of(so i'm told-there are 2 flat d-ring locks inside the door),is padded and has sensory toys inside.There is also a "quiet" room leading off the classroom which is bare(not padded)which is used if it is felt my son is a threat to others and if he lashes out.

He has become more aggressive recently and less happy to go to school,also more withdrawn.I have written in his book that i feel so9 much use of the "quiet"room could be adding to his aggression as he is lashing out as he can't communicate his feelings-then put in his "room",comimg out to lash out again,and so on.

I would appreciate any thoughts /guidance on this.

Thanks so much.

[justine1]

Sorry nobody has replied..not sure I can be much help. I do understand where you are coming from,I witnessed when working at a special needs school the "overuse" of the quiet room(very similar to what you describe) often because the staff where not well prepared to be honest. I also know with my son on the few occassions he lashed out whilst still in a mainstream setting it was usually as a result of not being understood,for example when he had an eye infection and nobody would listen.

 

What methods are they using to communicate with your son and are they effective? Is there consistency with the staff...like does he have a key worker?this was one thing I noticed at the school I mentioned above,I noticed the staff members who were more familiar with particular students could communicate more effectively as they knew what they wanted and met their needs efficiently. If they are unable to do so prehaps they can do a communication book which every staff member should read before caring for your son. They definatly need to establish the reason for an outburst rather than just "shutting him away" as this does not work. Also I noticed that some students don't like noise and were in a class with one or two who love to make noise again maybe see if this is the case,prehaps he can be relocated to a class with students more like him.