Critical incident reflection Critical incident date: 17° of November 2015 Description Today there was a fire drill, which was unplanned and immediately the staff lined up the class and left the building. However one student, who has been diagnosed with autism (student 1), hid under a table and refused to come out. After a few moments they calmed down enough to let me know why they were so scared. I told them that it was only a drill, that their family (particularly their sister who attended the school) were fine and that we needed to 20 as if it were a real fire hazard. Eventually they agreed to leave and they joined the rest of the class. Interpretation This event is critical to me because it is an important scenario to consider when children with autism are in my classroom. It is important that I know that in case of an emergency, such as a fire, that I need to change the way I respond if a child with autism or high anxiety reacts in a way that puts themselves or the class in danger (Debbaudt, D., 2006) . It is important to know that children with autism do not react the same to those without, they require direct commands to avoid confusion in a high risk situation, they could hide in a stressful situation and important to remain with the child, in case they decide to run. ‘These risks are prevalent as those who have autism have so ferences and are commonly unable to communicate their needs effectively (Debbaudt, D., 2006). According to Dennis Debbauat, it is important to speak calmly, to make low gestures, be patient with responses, be direct with questioning, maintain a positive body language and to always remember that those who have autism are unique and may respond differently to various stimuli (Debbaudt, D. and Legacy, D., 2009) . Overall, it is very important that you know how to react in an emergency situation especially adapting your reaction when there is a student in the classroom who has autism and is very unpredictable. Outcome From this experience and the research I have learnt about how important it is to know how you should react when children how have autism are in your classroom. The majorinsights that I have gained from this experience is of the unpredictability of the child who has autism and the danger it poses for the entire classroom when there is an emergency. Some goals that could be set to be confident in this situation for the future would be to attend Professional development days surrounding the topic and to have a response procedure in place to ensure that other teachers and students are aware of what to do for the child with autism in the case of an emergency. Word Count: 468References Debbaudt, D. (2006) Autism and Emergency Preparedness Tips and Information for Emergency Shelier Staff and Trainers. Published by Debbaudt Legacy Productions, Debbaudt, D. and Legacy, D (2009) Autism, fire rescue and emergency medical services. Published by Debbaudt Legacy Productions,