Sorry for the late reply, was a really tough end to last year, inspections, staffing etc..! :)
@Spider LAW (If still around or Dragon if it's his alt account!)
Stress is most def an issue for me but I feel I manage it quite well.
It mostly comes from the paperwork, staffing and regulation side of things, not really from working with people with profound learning difficulties.
I tend to follow the mantra: "Ignore the behaviour, not the person." This sentence will usually hold you in good sted.
Some behaviours can be very difficult, self harm, aggression etc... and it can prove difficult to see the person behind these. I've always managed to keep the individual in the forefront when dealing with challenging behaviour.
I kind of see it like a new language, i.e. They are just trying to communicate something I don't understand.
I think that kind of works for a lot of situations in life, although the interactions I can be involved in are maybe more extreme.
The guys here are all great though, and as I said earlier, being active is a great way of building positive relationships.
@Orbit
I think a Young adult with Autism can face some great difficulties in life. I think the formative years (early childhood), are extremly important as I deal with a lot of behaviours now that have become "ingrained" from that period.
You can't really "stop" behaviours, as they tend to just get replaced (It can become a routine, sort of like OCD), but trying to ignore them as much as possible in early childhood and redirect them im sure would help a lot.
Re-direction is a huge part of it I think. The amount of times i've got someone out of a tricky situation by changing my approach completly, it really does help.
I kind of liken it to a baby crying (not being patronising, just an example of re-direction):
A mother holds a baby that won't stop crying. She's trying to soothe it, nothings working.
Some stranger walks up and says "hello", the baby instantly stops crying.
The Mother says to the stranger; "Wow, you must be great with kids!"
Now, i've heard that happen alot!
In my opinion, all thats happened is the Baby has been 're-directed', the attention and surroundings have changed slightly and the distraction has stopped it crying.
Maybe wrong, but this is definatly how it seems to me.
So, re-direction helps a lot when dealing with complex behaviours too. Also, getting to know people well always helps i.e. trust etc...
Social situations can prove very difficult, lots of weird rules and dogma's that may just not make sense to someone with Autism.
But, when you actually analyse a lot of what we do, a lot of it's weird and doesn't make sense! :)
We tell white-lies, disguise our true feelings, have strange beliefs etc...
People with Autism generally just "see-through" this and ask "why"?!
"Why shouldn't I tell you, you look fat?!" for example! :)
Logic over Emotion. This can be very tough, especially going through adolescence when your thoughts and the people around you are changing naturally.
These examples are mainly from a high level (Aspergers) point of view.
Something that can also help is routine. It may sound basic, but knowing whats coming next and how long it's going to last can be very helpful to someone with Autism.
Lists, structure etc... Really good tools to help.
Have activities got a: Beggining, Middle and End?
i.e. When I play football with you, is it forst to 5 goals or are we going to be playing for the rest of all time! :)
I hope some of that helped, sorry for any typo's etc...! ;)
Also, Temple Grandin's book is worth checking out. She is very high level Aspergers and gives a good personnal insight into Autism.
http://www.templegrandin.com/
Lot's of video's on there too! :)
