How can we teach children and young people to learn how to be safe?

One would have to live completely in isolation to be unaware of the significant number of incidents being uncovered about the abuse of children and young people by adults in powerful positions, using those positions not only to cover up their crimes, but also to create a sense of disbelief.

We suspect that many adults, like ourselves, were shocked to hear names such as Jimmy Saville, Rolf Harris and more recently Sir Clement Freud on that list.

As co-authors of ‘Teaching Protective Behaviours to Young Children First Steps to Safety’- an easy to use practical manual to teach children how to develop an awareness of personal safety and identify, express their feelings and empower them to learn skills to help them stay safe- we asked ourselves why we felt this way. As authors of this book and professionals in education - a speech and language therapist, a social worker and an advisory teacher -we were well aware of the staggering statistics on child abuse and neglect. 

There is a lot of research and evidence about how children are at risk of harm or abuse. This research indicates that abuse and neglect are both under reported and under recorded. One in four young adults was severely maltreated during childhood and one in seven young adults has been severely maltreated by a parent or guardian. One in nine young adults has experienced severe physical violence at the hands of an adult and one in nine has experienced contact sexual abuse during childhood. (Child Abuse and Neglect in the UK Today, Radford et al, 2011).  Where cases involve celebrities and politicians this often makes sensational news, however sadly the statistics reflect that most abuse is carried out by people already known to children and young people, often trusted adults in their lives. 

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This knowledge, as well as our collective experiences in education, are the factors that drove us to collaboratively design a practical manual for teachers to educate, support and empower children to help them understand their bodies and their feelings and take control over situations where they find themselves feeling uncomfortable, or where something just doesn’t 'feel right'. These skills, understanding and knowledge can be learned when children are very young and continue to develop as they face different challenges in adolescence and as they develop into young adults. 

Often the question is asked: ‘Is there more abuse, or have we just developed better pathways of reporting that abuse?’ We would ask: ‘Does it really matter?’ What’s more pertinent is that abuse is still occurring despite the amount of money that has been spent on security systems and advanced police checks on adults working in settings that contain children and young people. And even more so that reported abuse levels are not diminishing despite these interventions, surely demonstrates that we are concentrating resources at measures that are not having the required effect. 

This is why it is so important to develop an early intervention tool which focuses on giving children the skills they can learn to prevent possible abuse. This is the aim of First Steps to Safety- a practical easy to use step by step guide to teaching children from 4-7 years of age, as well as older children with special educational needs, the early skill sets they will need to help them become knowledgeable about how their thoughts, feelings and bodies are all interconnected and to help them know about practical strategies they can use in everyday life to help stay safe.

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Many years ago as a newly qualified teacher in Sydney Australia I went on a pioneering training day all about teaching very young children of 3 and 4 something called ‘protective behaviours’. The concept behind this was that children as young as 3 can be taught how to identify and name feelings and learn how to say ‘NO’ assertively when they recognise their discomfort.

In the UK today ‘The Protective Behaviours Consortium’ (PBC) has become the national organisation for Protective Behaviours. PBC provides courses and resources with up-to-date research and information.

In our day-to-day work in schools, we find that most staff are still unfamiliar with the concept of ‘Protective Behaviours’ and think that ‘safeguarding’ is primarily about keeping children safe through the use of sophisticated technological systems or locked doors. (We often joke that one needs a PhD to gain access to some schools because their systems are so complicated!).

This seems to be the case despite the Ofsted framework which specifically states that ‘children should be taught to keep themselves safe’ (Section 30, p.9 ‘Inspecting Safeguarding in Maintained Schools and Academies’, April 2015).

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This needs to, and can start from a very early age, through the use of games and songs that reinforce body parts (e.g. Simon Says and Heads, Shoulders, Knees & Toes) and identifying and naming what has been traditionally called ‘private parts’ such as penis and vagina. If we as adults can’t name those body parts, how are children ever going to be able to see them or talk about them in some kind of normalised way? We are setting up systems that fail children if we are asking them to talk about things they feel uncomfortable about, but we don’t support them to identify and name the very body parts which are the underlying focus of safe-guarding concerns.

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As the authors of the teaching manual, 'First Steps to Safety' our experience leads us to know that despite our growth in knowledge and research, practice supporting safeguarding still relies largely on external systems. ‘Teaching Protective Behaviours to Young Children First Steps to Safety’, goes some way to laying the foundations of supporting children to be able to identify, name and take ownership of their own bodies. They learn to name, identify and understand, that what they think is related to how they feel emotionally as well as the physical sensations in their bodies. They learn that situations that might feel scary might be good for them or fun, like a trip to the dentist or a ride on a roller coaster. They also learn that some things might feel good, like eating lots of sweets but may not be good for you. The programme also helps them to identify their own support network to ensure that no matter what the situation is they can also tell someone. The manual is divided into 10 sessions with all the activities and resources needed to plan and deliver the session provided in the book and on a CD.

- Carolyn Gelenter, Nadine Prescott, Belinda Riley
Speechmark authors of Teaching Protective Behaviours to Young Children

Victoria Honeybourne answers the burning questions on girls and autism

Many thanks to everybody who attended my webinar, ‘Educating and supporting girls with Asperger’s and autism in mainstream settings’. I didn’t have time to answer all of the questions that were submitted on the day, so I’ve had a go here at answering some of the other questions that were asked. 

Ruth: With regards to learning is there an issue with doing work as in "homework" as compared to completing work in school. Home is for relaxing?

Yes, homework is often cited as an area of difficulty for some students on the autism spectrum.  There can be several reasons for this. Firstly, some students may have difficulties with aspects of their learning which makes homework difficult – they might not have understood the topic or the task they have to do. Other students on the autism spectrum can have difficulty with ‘executive functioning’ – basically the skills required for planning, organising and problem solving.  Some might become very anxious about not knowing what to do. To combat these issues you can ensure that written / visual instructions are given which are clear and explicit. Teach students explicitly how to plan and organise themselves (lots of templates are included in my book) and check that students have understood the work. 

The main difficulty, however, is often the one you have mentioned – the fact that school is for learning and home is for relaxing! This can be difficult for some students with fixed thinking styles to understand. Also remember that some students might be exhausted after being around people during the school day so need time to recover from this.  Schools could try proving homework clubs where homework can be completed in a purposeful atmosphere and at a set time. Also remember only to set homework when it is needed and relevant. Autistic students in particular will not respond well to being given homework which is irrelevant, meaningless or not even collected in!

Thildie: If girls with high functioning ASD are able to copy social behaviour in certain contexts, and therefore "cope" socially, do we as professionals need to try and identify them as having ASD?  Will a diagnosis help?

This is a really interesting point.  I think it is important that a distinction is made between ‘social skills’ and ‘autism’ (i.e. connecting differently to other people and interpreting the world differently). Autism is not simply a lack of social skills.  There are many people with poor social skills and weak social understanding for a variety of reasons.  These skills can be taught and, as discussed in the webinar, some girls on the autism spectrum can appear to have good social skills and appear to be able to cope socially.  It is, to a certain extent, important to teach effective social skills as this can increase an individual’s confidence if they know that they have the tools to cope in various situations.  However, autism goes far deeper than this, and just because some girls may be able to cope ‘on the surface’, does not mean that they are coping inside, or connecting in the same way as others. It might be that interventions which focus only on developing ‘social skills’ are not the most important for some girls on the autism spectrum.

For some females, gaining a diagnosis can support them to achieve the self-acceptance which is necessary for them to gain a sense of wellbeing and to be able to cope ‘on the inside’ as well as ‘on the outside’.  That said, seeking a diagnosis is a personal choice, and some individuals choose not to. I think the most important thing for schools to take on board is the fact that we should look beyond the labels. If a student needs support with their self-esteem, or social skills, or learning, or friendship skills, or whatever, then give them this support as early as possible. Please don’t wait until a formal diagnosis of something has been given. Meet the needs, not the label.

Tonia: Is there a link between autism and school refusal particularly with girls?

Some girls on the autism spectrum do end up as school refusers and various reasons are given – being bullied at school, overwhelming anxiety, and having no friends are some of the most often cited. School can be a difficult place for some students on the autism spectrum (and for many other students too!) so it is very important for schools to deal with any issues at a very early stage.

Jemma: What are the best intervention to help girls and young women open up and express their emotions or learning emotions?

Individual students are likely to benefit from different interventions. There are several commercial programmes available which help to develop emotional intelligence.  Some students may enjoy expressing and managing their emotions through art, drama, music or journaling – all of which have been shown to have therapeutic benefits.  There are other ideas and resources detailed in my book.

Anna: Any advice on how best to fit direct input into the school day, while not letting them miss out on mainstream lessons?

This is a very important point. Girls on the autism spectrum may need additional input such as counselling, speech and language therapy or other intervention.  You do not want to take them out of too many mainstream lessons as they may resent missing favourite subjects, and missing out on work and falling behind might increase their school-related anxiety even further.  The ideal scenario would be to integrate some of  the additional work needed into mainstream lessons – there are often many opportunities in the mainstream curriculum and in everyday teaching, for example, which can be used as opportunities to develop social and emotional understanding. Ensuring that all staff are aware of students’ individual needs can support this taking place.  Alternatively, some schools use tutor time or assembly time for interventions to take place.

Planet Autism - Are females are more likely than males to mask their autism difficulties in environments they do not feel comfortable in? What can schools to do better support and identify the growing needs to girls with autism? How can schools better support girls with autism in social situations?

Yes, research suggests that females are much more likely to be able to mask their difficulties, as was mentioned in the webinar. As for what schools can do, the first thing is to raise awareness among staff, particularly SENCos. There are many things schools can do to make their environments and learning more autism-friendly (see my book for a more comprehensive list). Then schools also need to support students to develop their self-esteem and self-awareness, as well as teaching things like social understanding and conversational skills explicitly if this would help.

Noushka: Will you release a second edition of your book covering puberty and coping in later years of primary school?

I would love to write more on autism! You are right, there are so many other topics which can affect girls of this age. In this book I’ve prioritised developing self-esteem and self-awareness (as I consider this to be fundamental to every aspect of wellbeing) and then focussed on various aspects of academic learning and school life. There are definitely many more topics that could be covered in a sequel!

In case you missed the webinar, you can watch the recording here.

-Victoria Honeybourne

Speechmark author of Educating and Supporting Girls with Asperger's and Autism

5 essential pre-verbal skills parents and professionals need to know about for early communication

The learning of a young child’s first word is an exciting moment for both parents and professionals, and especially so for those with communication difficulties. There are many skills which precede the acquisition of language, and for those with special needs, it may take a little longer to get there. 

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It can be disheartening for parents waiting for the first words, but a little knowledge of pre-verbal skills and their importance in laying the foundations for later speech and language can help to set small learning goals and recognise progress in communication before language takes off.

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1. Eye contact is needed to maintain social interaction between two people, and communication can break down if eye contact is only fleeting . It can be encouraged through everyday interactions such as waiting for eye contact before giving children something they want, or setting up motivating activities such as blowing bubbles or peep-po games.

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2. Attention is needed to understand language and concentrate on one activity. Children with communication difficulties may have a short attention span but this can be developed through playing with the same toy in a variety of ways such as building towers with bricks, lining them up to make trains, playing peep-po games, hiding bricks, making animals or people, making shapes and patterns.

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3. Breath control is needed to control the use of breath combined with mouth movements in producing speech, and those with speech and communication difficulties may have poor control of the muscles used for speech. Breath control can be improved through blowing games such as blowing on the hair or the skin, blowing bubbles in the water or on the hair.

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4. Copying is needed to observe or imitate speech or signs, but some children with communication difficulties may be engrossed in their own world. Copying can be encouraged by playing alongside children and joining in everyday routines, as well as fun and easy activities such as copying funny faces and sounds in the mirror.

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5. Turn taking is needed for understanding of the rules of conversational turn taking. If two people talk at once, communication can break down. Games such as rolling balls and wind up toys to and fro can help encourage turn taking as well as everyday turn taking and sharing with siblings.

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Over 100 fun and practical activities to encourage pre-verbal skills and early communication can be found in the third edition of the popular resource ‘early Communication Skills’ by Charlotte Lynch and Julia Kidd.

- Charlotte Lynch 

Speechmark author early Communication Skills 3e