Being a parent of a child with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has many other issues to consider compared with the raising of a normal child among them is difficult behavior.
The challenging behavior of your child can create significant barriers to participation in school, extracurricular activities and social activities. They can have a huge influence on your child’s growth and their education.
They can also pose a challenge for parents who aren’t ready for them and don’t know what they could do to avoid them from happening.
What are the characteristics that make a challenging behavior?
ASD can be characterized by diverse types of behavior that aren’t typical of children with neurotypical. This may include routines, repetitive behavior repetition of words and phrases as well as obsessive pursuits.
However, not all these diverse behaviors are “challenging”.
In contrast to each of these instances the term “challenging behavior” refers to behavior that is persistent and can cause distress or physical danger to the person who is at risk or those in the vicinity. Furthermore the above examples of problematic behavior can restrict your child’s capacity to participate in everyday life.
A few examples of challenging behavior are:
- Refusing or not responding to requests
- Verbal and physical aggression
Self-injury, such as head banging
- Socially-inappropriate behaviour
None of these are intentional actions by your child. Autism sufferers experience different ways of life and can cause an immense amount of stress, anxiety and anger. For children and teens with autism, the condition tends to result in difficult behavior.
To aid parents of children with autism, here are few suggestions you can employ to handle the challenging behavior of your child and perhaps stop the behavior completely.
Tip 1: Learn the triggers
As with all behaviours the challenging behavior occurs due to reasons – it’s not appear out of thin air. Most of the time the behavior is a response to something happening in the surroundings, distress or specific events.
- Sensory overloaded
- Tiredness and exhaustion
- Changes to the routine
- Aches or discomfort
If you know what triggers your child to engage in challenging behavior and how to stop it, the behavior that causes them to be challenging can be prevented.
In identifying triggers it’s crucial to not concentrate solely on the surface. Many times the trigger that causes difficult behavior is actually one aspect of a bigger issue. It is essential to understand the root cause of the issue triggers you so that you can deal with it efficiently.
Tip 2: Remove triggers
The most effective way to prevent problematic behavior is to get rid of all possible triggers that cause it This is why it’s crucial to begin by identifying and analyzing triggers.
When the triggers of your child’s behavior have been recognized, you can set to work on ways to get rid of triggers. For instance, one method to stop challenging behaviour that arises due to sensory overload is to to minimize the effects of sensory input to the greatest extent possible. It could be as simple as providing the earplugs as well as sunglasses to block out sound and light.
An alternative is to offer alternatives that will let your child be able to shield their body from triggers. Another option is to speak to your child’s teacher and ask for the child to receive an opportunity to take a break whenever they feel they’re overwhelmed.
Tip 3: Come up with strategies to cope
Some triggers are not eliminated or completely avoided. Although it would be wonderful to be able to eliminate triggers entirely, this isn’t possible, especially when your goal is to let your child be involved in the daily activities of activities.
In these situations the best way to avoid challenging behavior is to develop the best mechanisms to handle triggers that are inevitable.
In these situations there is a broad array of different strategies your child may be able to employ to alleviate anxiety and manage problematic behavior. The most effective strategies depend on the individual child’s individual needs.
Tip 4: introduce changes slowly
The importance of routine is for children with autism. A absence of a routine or regularity can lead to anxiety. It could be from the time you pick up your child at school, or the exact ways you return to get home.
Throughout the course of childhood, there are a variety of situations where a change in routines is necessary. Although some are not predictable however, there are some that can be predicted each year: your child is raised to an entire year and gets an annually scheduled GP and dental exam.
In these situations you can reduce the effect (and thus, the chance of challenging behavior) by: Introduce the idea prior to time and allowing your child plenty of time to adjust to the concept
- Slowly introducing new individuals (new teachers, new doctors, etc.)
- Describe precisely what the changes will mean
- Designing visually-based schedules, calendars, and timetables
Tip 5: Teach your children how to safely disengage and in a timely manner.
In some cases, the most effective approach to manage an emotional situation is to stay away from the situation. This is especially true for children with autism. In many instances the best option for your child is to withdraw from a situation before it becomes a hot mess and causes a relapse in behavior.
But, there are a lot of situations when it’s inappropriate to just get up and leave. For instance children shouldn’t be able to leave the conversation. As a parent, there’s a method to help is by showing them how to handle it safely and properly.
It could be a matter of instructing your child not just the signs that they’re feeling overwhelmed as well as how to leave an argument without appearing rude.
Tip 6: Don’t be you have to tackle this by yourself
Even though you are the parent of your child but you shouldn’t have to handle everything on your own. There are things you aren’t able to handle – this is the reason you visit an experienced dentist when your child suffers from toothache. Don’t attempt to fix the problem by yourself!
If you are looking to challenge behavior, the same rule applies. A professional with expertise in positive behaviour and training will assist you with these previous steps, and help you more effectively stop challenging behavior.
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