Questions to ask yourself when helping children with autistic spectrum
disorders (ASDs) who demonstrate behaviour which challenges us
When faced with a child who is engaging with behaviour such as; screaming,
kicking, smearing faeces, self-harm or not co-operating with requests we often
experience feelings like, frustration, panic and fear. Sometimes we don’t know
where to start to try and discover the cause of the behaviour. Years of working
with pupils with ‘challenging behaviour’ has taught me to take a deep breath and
work through a series of questions to help make the situation clearer.
1. Does the child understand what I am expecting of him/her?
Often when I have thought a child was refusing to co-operate they have
simply not understood what I want them to do. Once I have found a way to
enable them to understand then the child has carried out the request. Using
objects or pictures (if a child can recognise pictures) often helps to make it
clearer – for example, showing a photograph of all the children sitting down
for group time can make it clear that the child is to leave the current activity
and move to the group area. Alternatively, you want the child to stop playing
with the cars ready for drink time, have a beaker with you when you make the
request so that the child understands why it is time to move from one activity
to another.
2. Is what I am asking of the child reasonable – is the request too difficult?
If a child only understands language at a very simple level and finds it difficult
being physically close to others it is too much to expect them to sit for long
periods for ‘carpet time’. Often a simple incentive can be introduced such as
allowing the child to hold a favourite object at these times, e.g. a toy car, shoe
lace or dinosaur. This will give the child with an ASD a reason for sitting. This
is not giving the child with an ASD a privilege over other children – they are
given the richness of the language content as their motivator for sitting. The
rewards being given for sitting are simply different.
3. Why else might the child feel the need to resort to this type of behaviour?
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Nick Hodge
feeling too confined
feeling unwell
uncomfortable, too hot, too cold
always has to do what the adult
wants, can never engage with own
interests
avoiding a task
seeking an angry reaction from the
adult?
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Remember: there is always a reason for behaviour. We might not always be
able to identify what it is but there will be one.
4. How am I reacting to this behaviour?
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giving an angry or excitable reaction
paying attention to the child
ignoring
remaining calm and objective
We always need to examine our own reactions. If we are looking red in the
face and yelling this may be of great interest to a child with ASD who may
not be understanding emotions. In this instance ignoring the behaviour to
take away the reward of the funny face and loud noise may well be the
most effective way of dismissing unwanted behaviour.
5. Am I consistent in my approach?
-
do the rules change
do I allow something one day when
feeling relaxed and not on other days
is one key person allowing the child
to behave in a different way to
another
A consistent approach is vital to ensure clarity and security for the child.
Children with ASDs do not like uncertainty. If the rules are not consistent then
children feel insecure and will test the boundaries with challenging behaviour.
6. Am I rewarding the child when he/she does well?
Frequently when a child who demonstrates challenging behaviour is suddenly
calm and occupied productively we seize the chance to get on with our other
jobs. It may be only when the child does something negative that we reward
him/her with attention. Children who seek attention need to be shown that
positive behaviour rather than negative behaviour is the most effective
method.
7. Does the child know what to do instead?
However hard we try we are not going to stop the child becoming angry or
frustrated every time. While we try to identify the underlying cause we may
need to modify the child’s reaction. For example, if the child breaks windows
when angry, give him/her a close but safer alternative; punching a cushion,
Nick Hodge
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yelling, ripping old newspapers, stamping their feet, whatever is the most
manageable in the situation.
8. Am I a positive role model for behaviour?
Yelling ‘BE QUIET’ at a noisy child, or playing ‘rough and tumble’ with a
child who is finding it difficult to be gentle at other times may not be the
best examples of desirable behaviour!
Working with challenging behaviour can leave us all feeling deskilled and
incompetent as parents or professionals. Most of my ideas of ‘doing it right’ come
from my experiences of ‘doing it wrong’. Try always to stay calm, look at the
behaviour objectively, pick yourself up when it all goes wrong and try again.
Challenging behaviour is usually the reaction of someone who is confused and
fearful. All we can do is try our best to find the method that will help the child with
an ASD to feel secure enough that the challenging behaviour will disappear.
Nick Hodge
Nick Hodge
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