You may be wondering what is functional protesting.  When a student has no way to communicate that they don't want something or they are finished with a non-preferred activity or maybe need a break, many children learn to “say” it by displaying negative behavior.  Unfortunately, due to lack of education and training, many educators and parents unintentionally reinforce this negative behavior and comes to the point of just survival.  When you have a child that is tearing up your classroom, or becoming so aggressive that nothing else can get done and you are pulling your hair out, you need to teach the skill of functionally protesting.

What is it?  When you have a student who is non-verbal or even low verbal, they need to be able to communicate in an appropriate way, how to say “I need a break” or “I don't want to do this anymore”.  Because we, as educators, don't want them to take a break, we want them to be able to push through it, we forget that we NEED to teach them how to also say “I don't want to”.  Typical peers are already able to do this.  Just because some of our kiddos don't have words, doesn't mean they don't get to protest either.

What should I use to teach this?  There are many different ways that you can teach this skill.  But first, you have to identify the form of communication that your child is currently using.  Whether they are using a PECS books, an AAC device, verbal language or sign language, you need to first teach them that they can ask for a break.

STEP 1:  Identify the form of communication (picture symbol, break card, verbal words, button in AAC device, or GoTalk Button

STEP 2:  Identify a break space- this can be a separate room, or location within the classroom to be able to take a break from the preferred activity.  Typically when they ask for a break, they should have nothing “fun” in this area.  No games or toys.  Typically you would want maybe some sensory items, some soft lighting, and low playing music.

STEP 3: Teach the new vocabulary, ” I need a break”.  This can look different for each child.  For example, I have a student in High School who is low verbal, meaning that when she needed a break, she would tear the room upside down for 7 hours straight, until dismissal time at the end of the day.  We created “break” cards that had written words, and a separate break room.  She was able to verbalize ” I need a break” with the picture prompt.  You could also program this button in the AAC device, or put a “break” symbol on the front of the PECS book for easy access.  Another way to teach this is by video modeling.  You can have you and another teacher model this skill using a cellphone or tablet and show the student.  You can create a social story with how to use ” I need a break”

STEP 4:  Honor it!  Every time they actually say “I need a break” you need to honor it immediately.  Even if the child asks for a break 50 times in one day, this needs to be honored.  They are learning a new way to communicate and it may take a while for them to understand that they actually have a voice.  I can't stress enough, that they need to immediately take a break.  When they do “ask” the teacher needs to say, “oh you want a break” and lead the child over to the break area.

STEP 5: Set a time.  Whether you use an egg timer, a cellphone alarm, or a time timer as pictured above, you need to let the child know that when the timer beeps, back to work.   There are many times, when I will go back to the child when the timer beeps, “okay it's time to go back to work” and the child will use the skill again and say “I need a break”.  I will honor this every time, as long as they are using communication functionally.

STEP 6: Teach the team. Everywhere the child goes this, they should be able to request a break and have it be honored.  It is really important to be able to be consistent across the board.  If you can't be consistent, the child may not learn the new skill.

Visual Aids for students with Autism

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