How to Understand Your Autistic Child's Behavior

Autistic children can represent some of the most challenging behavioral problems.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Stay as calm as you possibly can. Autistic children startle easily due to their neurological challenges. Over 65% of them have subclinical (just below the radar) epileptiform brainwaver activity which only very diligent brainmappers can detect. Consequently, any sudden movements or demands on them can push them over the edge and drive them into further isolation or self-protective and even aggressive behavior.

2. Give them two or three options. Autistic children have great difficulty transitioning. They need to manage and navigate through their environment at their own pace. Feeling they have options gives them the chance to prepare and move through time and space at their own rate which is usually much different than our own.

3. Praise the right behaviors liberally and as often as you can. Using positive reinforcement is the very best way to work with this group. Punishment is the worst. These kids love to work towards goals. They are exquisitely sensitive to negative reinforcement such as punishments and time outs which make them feel worse when they are already feeling pretty badly. Keep it light and positive around them!

Tips & Warnings

• Build success into your behavioral management program by rewarding for small things first until your child gets the hang of your new behavior managements program. Small steps work best and lead up to bigger ones eventually. Always ask for suggestions if you can on how to do things better. You can learn a lot about your child's individual needs this way.
• Many people are starting to work with autism now. It's good in some ways and tricky in others. Always go to someone who has many many years of experience with these issues. They are much more likely to really understand how to work with this delicate population. Very few people really do despite the dramatic increases in the incidence of autism.
• There is hope for turning things around. Windows of opportunity exist but ignoring them makes it much harder to rehabilitate as their systems get hard-wired as time goes, on making it much harder to take advantage of the brain's natural neuroplasticity.

Resources

• autism information and consulting nationwide
• behavioral management strategies that work
• try to understand what it feels like to have autism
• autism as described by an autistic adult