Behavior Help and Ideas (By Topic)Help increase independence with routines at school and home and make transitions more smooth by supporting the visual learning style of children and adults with autism.
Children with autism often thrive on routine and predictability. They also often taken a keen interest in a particular activity (such as trains, lining up toys, spinning, and so on). It can be difficult for a child when it is time to transition away from one of these favorite activities to a different activity. In this section, you can find suggestions for making transitions easier and less stressful.
People with autism are often visual learners, so giving them visual cues can be a helpful strategy. Visual cues can help a person with autism understand situations, upcoming events, and the thoughts and feelings of others. This category contains lots of info, books/resources, and freebies on how you can use visual supports to help improve problem behavior.
The idea behind priming is to preview activities or information with a child before the child participates in that activity. Since we know that many students with autism are more comfortable with routines and things that are familiar to them, one goal of priming is to help the student become more familiar and comfortable with activities that will take place in the future. Priming has three main parts: (1) it is conducted prior to an activity and should use the same materials as the activity, (2) priming should focus on tasks that are easy for the student, and (3) priming should incorporate frequent opportunities for reinforcement. Learn more about easy ways to use priming here.
An important step in improving problem behavior is to make notes (A.K.A., take data) about the places, times, and situations in which the problem behavior occurs. This helps us to discover what the person is trying to communicate through the problem behavior. Find free sheets and tips here!
Reinforcement-Based Approaches
"Catch your child being good!" Although it has a precise scientific definition, reinforcement generally refers to providing rewards for "good" behaviors. The idea behind reinforcement is that behaviors that are followed by something good happening are likely to be repeated. As an example, a child with autism may be taught to say or sign the word "break," and is immediately given a break from a task that he or she doesn't like. This gives the child a way to communicate his or her needs without problem behavior. Another example would be a child with autism being given a small reward each time he successfully completes a matching task or participates in a social game with a peer. There are many ways that reinforcement can be used to teach new skills and improve problem behaviors.
Helping your child manage stressors and sensory issues can help with the ability to keep calm and regulate their own behavior.
Social Stories - COMING SOON!
Social stories capitalize on the visual learning style of many people with autism. They share social information in the form of a story, using clear, explicit words and pictures to convey the information. Social stories can help children learn what to expect in new situations, how to handle difficult situations, how behaviors impact the feelings of others and so on. Social stories are ideally written specifically for each individual, and can be customized to individual interests and behaviors that need improvement. Social stories are designed to be a supportive strategy for the person with autism that respects them as a unique individual. Social stories are not a punishment; they seek to give the person with autism information in a way they can understand. They can use this information to make positive behavior choices. The information provided on this website is for instructional purposes only. If you need assistance for the purpose of diagnosis, personal counseling, or help with problem behavior, it is advised that you contact a licensed therapist in the appropriate medical or therapeutic field. The information provided on this website should not be construed as professional advice on any subject matter. No readers of the content from this website should act or refrain from action based on any content included in this website without seeking relevant advice from the appropriate professionals, such as a BCBA, medical doctor, or LPC. The content of this website contains general information and may not reflect current developments. Some links are provided to other websites operated by third parities. We do not necessarily recommend or endorse any site linked to. We are not responsible for any transmissions users receive from linked websites.
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