Among Schoolchildren

I've been subbing of late in elementary schools. Less of an assumption that substitute is Latin for moron, usually fairly good lesson plans for the day. More of a presumption that learning will go on in the regular teacher's absence.

So I'm stepping into someone else's lesson. On Friday I was in a self-contained kindergarten class for the entire day. The class was something like a 6:1:2, though the aides were only together at the end of the day. One little boy seemed mostly to have some anxiety issues, one girl wasn't entirely socialized to school and was having trouble with the math but otherwise seemed appropriate, one boy had obvious OCD and anxiety issues but was well ahead of the curve academically. One boy seemed somewhat slow academically and required direct interaction to stay on task. One boy was clearly autistic, had all kinds of stims and was noticeably off in his own world, chuckling to himself, turning his chair around, etc., but he was right on track academically and seemed well able to follow directions (I saw a behavior plan that looked remarkably sketchy, and a daily sheet that the aide didn't seem to understand how to fill out).

And then there was the last kid: I'm not sure what his issue was, though I suspect he fit somewhere on the spectrum, but he seemed absolutely incapable of paying attention to anything for more than a few seconds. He was even more in his own world, constantly giggling and laughing, just out of it. He played with the glue on his fingers. The aide pulled him out of the class and threatened him with an inappropriate consequence (no free time) if he didn't stop laughing--he understood that a punishment was in the offing, but I had to wonder if he understood what he was doing to warrant the punishment. I'm told a bunch of the kids don't even have IEP's yet. They appear to have been identified through the kindergarten screening.

The autistic boy apparently has major behaviors, spits, tantrums, and sometimes lunges at the other kids (I saw one boy flinch, leave his seat and move away when this boy got up and began wandering the room). The aides were thrilled that he made it through the day without a meltdown. He is learning some things, which I suppose means he's not wasting the day. I wonder how much his behavior will change in that classroom, though.