The Absence Relapse Phenomenon

I love my job (working with a Non-Verbal student) but there is one serious downside to doing this kind of work--those inevitable absences (and their impact). Not his--mine.

Hardly a school year has ever gone by when somewhere around October, I come down with whatever crud the kids seem to have. You'd think by now I'd have some immunity built up to this sort of thing--but no. I get it every time. I'm also supposed to be doing some trainings (which of course only tend to happen during the regular school day). Lovely.

Last week, I was out for two days (with the plague), and boy the aftermath that was waiting wasn't pretty. As you might suspect, what I'm dealing with is one of the inevitable traits of Autism--severe dislike of any changes in a routine. Two days of subs is definitely a change in routine...and as a sub, I know full well how kids normally act in this situation (even neurotypical kids have a hard time coping with changes like having a sub for a few days, much less our students with ASDs for whom any change in the "way things are" is devastating). As a sub, I often saw kids who weren't at their best, and knew not to take things personally when they weren't optimal. What I'm talking about here, though, isn't just some off-behavior, but rather an almost total regression.

When I left, school had been on for about a month and Bob* was making tons of progress, and I was very pleased how well he was going through the day and transitioning a lot more independently, and I felt really good about where we were going with things. Now a lot of that progress will have to built back up--it's almost back to square one in many respects. We're going to have to go back a few steps...

The teacher's absence may or may not make the heart grow fonder, but it sure shakes up the world of students with ASDs. These guys need continuity like the rest of us need air to keep on breathing. It's a funny thing--a lot of kids on the spectrum appear very detached/uninterested in the people around them (to the casual observer), but if you pay attention and know what you're looking for, it's pretty obvious that your students miss you when you're gone.