Parents of autistic children: behavior modifications?

Question

What behaviors does your child exhibit, and how do you correct them? I'm finding discipline to be much different with my autistic tot than for my other two children. She bites, kicks, scratches, punches, anything to inflict pain. She frequently bites herself or bangs her head on the floor or wall. I'm afraid she's going to harm herself, but she seems to feel no pain, and takes joy in others' pain (that she inflicts, that is.) She is also still non-verbal at 32 months old. What has worked for you?

She is enrolled in Easter Seals, and we have a discipline plan in place that is the same for home and school, but 2 months into it, and it's not working. She's been at ES for 2 years now, she's been delayed almost since birth. She does get PT, OT, and Speech. Her birth mother has Fragile X, and my daughter will be tested for it at the genetics clinic in February.

Answer 1

I'm not a parent of a child with autism, but I have worked with children with autism for over 8 years, doing behavior modification and teaching their parents about it. It is suggested to ignore the behaviors you dont like such as kicking, hitting, etc.. Children with autism usually do not respond well to discipline because they dont understand it very well. They do however understand what does and does not get them attention. Try to stop the behavior before it happens but if you get hit, just ignore it and walk away. At first the behavior will increase, it's called an extinction burst, but then the behavior will dwindle away. Make sure to give a lot of positive reinforcement for behavior that you like so she learns what gets her attention is the good behavior.

At 32 months she should be involved with an early start program either through the school, or someplace else. Part of her IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) should include a behavior modification plan to address your concerns. Once she is three she will be switched to an IEP (Individual Education Plan) where that would include a behavior modification plan.

Answer 2

I'm a therapist for an autistic child. When he starts to do something wrong, I just immediately bring him aside and say in a firm voice, "no mouth," because he sticks everything in his mouth. Being firm with him helps me a lot. He eventually understood, and now when I say, "no," he quickly stops. But his attention span isn't long, so after a while later, he does it again.

But I still praise him when he stops. So just tell your daughter in a firm voice, "no kicking, biting, or no scratching." And if she stops, praise her. Even if you have to physically stop her from doing that, praise her anyway, cause she'll learn that stopping will get her praise or a reward.

At 7 years old, my little guy has the IQ of a 3 year old. He can walk fine, just needs help with playing and certain easy stuff like shapes, colors, and turn taking,

If you have any other questions, email me, I'll try to help you out. Good luck!

Answer 3

i am sure that someone has spoken to you about auditory training, but if they haven't.... my stepmom is a star in her field. alot of autistic children can be retrained through their auditory skills. it was invented by dr. guy berard (sp?) it is specifically designed for autistic shildren that react severely to sound issues. it may be that your daughter is showing signs of behaviour problems because of her certain auditory difficulties. it's only an idea, but it might be worth a shot. i've seen the benefits for over 10 years of my stepmom's work. she works at the McLeod Regional Medical Center, but she's not the only person trained in this field.

Answer 4

Behavior modification .. . .maybe she's trying to tell you something