Strategies for Managing Challenging Behaviors in Children With Autism

When children act out, it’s easy to chalk this down to ‘misbehaving’. However, this is not always the case. For example, among children with autism and related conditions, challenging behavior is often their way of responding to feeling anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed.

As such, whenever your child begins to act out, remember that this is not intentional on their behalf. They’re simply trying to find a way to regulate their emotions or express their discomfort relating to what is happening to those around them – not to get a reaction out of you.

What are some of the challenging behaviors associated with autism?

When caring for a child with autism, you may notice that they begin to exhibit challenging behaviors whenever they feel overwhelmed. This could include stimming and actions typically associated with a meltdown.

Stimming refers to “self-stimulating”, repetitive behaviors that help autistic children “manage excess energy and self-soothe.” Mostly, this involves gestures such as arm or hand flapping or rocking, which are generally nothing to worry about. However, there are scenarios in which stimming can become dangerous, as it leaves your child at risk of hurting themselves or others.

Meltdowns refer to a series of behaviors that individuals with ASD may showcase when their emotions reach a particular peak. While this will look different for each child, “this loss of control can be expressed verbally (e.g. shouting, screaming, crying), physically (e.g. kicking, lashing out, biting) or in both ways.”

How to manage the challenging behaviors associated with autism?

Fortunately, there are many steps that you can take to manage the challenging behaviors that are typically associated with ASD.

• Avoid Triggers. One of the easiest ways to help reduce challenging behaviors, stemming, and meltdowns among children with autism is to avoid putting them in situations where they may feel overwhelmed or triggered. For example, if your child shows particular sensitivity to noise, you may want to avoid crowded, noisy environments or be sure to bring noise-canceling headphones along with you.
• Redirect. When your child is acting out, you mustn’t attempt to “tell them off” or shout at them. After all, this could only heighten their stress and anxiety, making the situation worse rather than better. Instead, you should focus on redirecting them by turning their attention to something else. For example, if they are overwhelmed because there’s too much going on around them, offer them a few different options: Would you like to wear your headphones? Would you like to go somewhere quieter? Would you like to go back to the car? This helps your child to feel more in control, which can aid with emotional regulation.
• Look into interventive therapies. Interventive therapies, such as ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis), can also play a key role in reducing challenging behaviors among children with ASD and related disorders. This is because their therapist will help them to develop a wide range of skills and coping mechanisms that they can use to regulate their emotions and better process what is happening around them.

If you’d like to find out more about the range of in-person and online therapies, we have no offer; please do not hesitate to get in touch today.