Dan and Autism

Day 2

Day 2 of training was today, and I brought my notes out of my car so I can remember stuff.

Today we talked about the Decision Model (EDM). It's a 5-10 day long observaion without intervention of behavior in a person so we can figure out how to deal with the problem.
Then we talked about the importance of reinforcement. To learn correct behavior, the students/adults need consistent reinforcement. First start with primary reinforcers (like food and drink), then try to move toward secondary reinforcers (congradulations, high fives, tokens).

But lets talk about the fun part. Today we learned about adverses, aka physical restraining techniques aka takedowns. Let's go over them.

The finger squeeze: Take the offender's finger and squeeze between the first and second point and it causes a quick, sharp pain. I wasn't doing it right so the trainer did on me, and I almost screamed like a little girl. I don't think I have the hang of it yet, because I tried it on my roomate and it just looked like I was trying to hold his hand. If you do it to someone's thumb, you'll break it, so don't do that.

The arm squeeze and calf squeeze: Grab the upper arm or calf, and apply pressure with your hand. Don't squeeze with your fingers.

Hand flick and cheek click: Flick the hand or cheek of the offender. It startles them and is annoying.

Cheek squeeze: It's that move your aunt or grandma does to you when you're a little kid and they haven't seen you in a while. You know what I'm talking about.

Lip prompt: Just touching their lips with one or two fingers. Just startles them.

Lip squeeze: Squeezes the lips together.

Lip tap: Taps the lips real quick. Another startling technique.

Hair pull: Quick tug that can either be done up near the temples or down at the nape of the neck.

Waterspray: On soft stream, hold 12 inches away and spray. Don't offer a towel.

Noxious spray: This one's nasty. It's a bottle filled with a substance you spray in the offender's mouth. The botter can be filled with Crest Mouthwash (no more Listerine becuase that has alcohol), vinegar, baking soda & water, black coffee, unsweetened Kool-aid (that doesn't sound that bad), diluted hot sauces, or various sour juices. It's good to use a variety so they balance eachother out, and so the people don't get cavities.

Rubberband snap: Two methods. Either snap them with the band around your fingers, or put the band around their rest and pull it back to snap.

Crisis Management
Here's what I was waiting for. Unfortunately, there weren't any cool judo throws or pro wrestling related maneuvers. We just learned the basket hold, and how to take them down if they get out of control. If someone comes swinging at you, you grab their arm, spin them around so their arms cross and you're holding the arms. You're behind them, then you sort of push them with your hip, and then you make yourself fall in that direction. Make sure your head isn't directly behind theirs, because then they can just headbutt you and break your nose. You don't to come home and tell your friends you were beat up by an autistic guy, do you? Keep your head away. When you both fall, roll so they're on their stomache. Then you straddle them, but not on their lower back or else they can't breathe. Go a little lower, and then bring their hands behind them, like they do on Cops. It's no Russian Leg Sweep, but it will do.

Congradulations, now you know how to safely subdue an autistic person.

posted by Daniel @ 7:06 PM