Goodafternoon All, First of All Im a Male School Teacher in the Uk.

As the mom of someone on the Autism Spectrum, I would speak with my son's psychologist or his Occupational Therapist or possible his Speech Teacher.

When my son was in a traditional school, his classroom teacher sought advice from the special ed teachers. He now attends a different school, so his classroom teacher is a special ed teacher.

This is an area where you really might need to talk to an expert. It's likely not going to be as simple as another child (not on the spectrum) being afraid of a fly.

A great thing you can do would be to start a lunch group with him and some other children. I would include him and other pupils with disabilities, along with some other good, kind peers. Have them all eat lunch in a separate room away from the flies. You could also include a bowl of questions in the middle of the table to answer or some board games to play. If there are some kids who wouldn't be willing to spend every lunch day with the lunch group, you can have many children on a rotating schedule. You should recruit well-rounded students with good grades and a good behavior record. This would both get rid of the fly issue, as well as create a beneficial environment for children with disabilities so that they will have an opportunity to be social and make friends. Why is it that I am 14 years old and solving a grown man's problem? And why is it that I have better grammar than you? That I do not know. However, I hope I have helped. Please update me and let me know how things go!

As a teacher, I expect better writing from you. If you can't write better than this, why would we believe you are a teacher and take your seriously?

IF you are really this child's teacher and not trolling this board, talk to the parents about it.

ETA: Sophia-- thank you for your kind and reasonable suggestion. I think it would be a great thing for all schools to implement. Kind of like a middle or high school version of the Buddy Bench ion playgrounds.

---------------------

Your profile says you're from New York. But you teach in the U.K.?

Have you addressed the issue with your head teacher? How have teachers handled it in prior years?

If it were me, I would talk to resources at the school or that the child sees regularly - each child has unique needs. Someone familiar with working with the child will be able to guide you.

Fly strips?

You have a better chance catching the flies than convincing the child they are harmless.

I would have a real problem with this because flies are everywhere. They are so small one can't keep them out entirely.

If he has such a phobia I would address it with the school counselor, perhaps have him/her come in and observe the boy as soon as possible after he's seen a fly. They can spend some time one on one with him and see if he'll tell them why or how he feels.

Then the counselor can address this issue with the boy's parents. They would likely need to consider some quick therapy for him, maybe once per week for a couple of months.

By the time school starts up in the fall he should be over this phobia or at the very least better able to handle it when he sees a fly.

As for not eating in the same room where he's seen a fly? I imagine he had a fly on his food at some point and mom or dad swatted it and it landed where he could see it, maybe even on his food and now he associates dead fly guts and food.

if he wont eat in the room where the fly was will he eat it if you take him to another room?
i would try to keep all flies out of the room and talk to his parents about how they handle this situation.