Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rates have grown significantly in Australia. From 2015 to 2018, there was a 25% rise in Australians with autism, as we are learning and understanding more about the condition and are getting better at diagnosing it.
When managing and interacting with children with autism spectrum disorder, you’ll often hear about proactive strategies which are key tools in addressing challenging behaviour.
Here, we discuss proactive strategies in addressing challenging behaviour of children with autism.
What are proactive strategies for children with ASD?
Proactive strategies for managing challenging behaviour of children with autism are tools used to prevent or avoid problem behaviour or dysregulation from occurring. These proactive strategies are implemented before an autistic child displays challenging behaviour in order to minimise the risk of a trigger.
Types of proactive strategies
There are several proactive strategies that can be used to prevent the challenging behaviour of children with ASD. These include:
- Visual supports
Visual supports aid children with ASD by letting them know what to expect, increasing their understanding of instructions. This provides structure and helps them follow a routine, which is greatly beneficial to children with autism. A First-Then board is an example of a visual support that can minimise challenging behaviour. The ‘First’ section involves a task which a child must complete – for example, making their bed. The ‘Then’ section involves a preferred activity, like playing with Lego. This helps break daily routines down into a task/reward operation which helps children with autism understand instructions.
- Transition warnings
To give a child a better idea of how long a chore will take, or how much time they have for doing a preferred activity, transition warnings are a key tool. Sudden end to preferred activities can be difficult for any child, but particularly children with ASD. Timers and count-downs help children prepare for this.
- Choices
Having too much choice can be confusing for children with ASD, while having a measure of choice can give them a feeling of liberty and independence. A proactive strategy is to offer a set amount of choices with things such as food, toys, activities, games, etc. Instead of asking, ‘what do you want to play with?’, it’s better to ask ‘Do you want to play with Lego or the car?’
- Descriptive praise and positive attention
Two really important proactive strategies are descriptive praise and positive attention. Be very descriptive when giving praise to a child with ASD – details help them understand exactly what you like about what they’re doing. Positive attention while children are doing something good also promotes positive behaviour.
Managing children with autism can be challenging. Anglicare Victoria can help connect you with specialist services available through the TEACHar program.
