Autism spectrum disorder is a disability in the development of a boy or girl in which his or her social, communication and behavioral skills are significantly affected. The intellectual abilities of each child with this type of disorder may vary, since we can find cases that range from intellectual disability, mid-range intellectual abilities, as well as higher ones. Therefore, some will need more help than others in their daily lives.
But, How to treat an autistic child? The purpose of this Psychology-Online article will be to provide you with a series of tips that will help you know how to help an autistic boy or girl from the family and school environment.
How to treat an autistic child at home
Knowing how to treat a child with autism and, above all, putting it into practice is sometimes not a simple task. We must remember that each situation is different and sometimes what works for one will not have the same effect on the other. Therefore, it is important to know the little one very well. Identify which areas are most affectedas well as its degree of development.
If you want to be able to identify it, the prepared by the Center specialized in Postgraduate Training EDECA trains professionals to address neurodevelopmental alterations caused by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children. The training program is aimed at people interested in the subject and professionals who wish to specialize in the field.
The master’s degree allows you to master the process, elements and purpose of diagnosis and evaluation of Autism Spectrum Disorder. identify the main learning difficulties associatedknow the main theories of development, recognize the main associated symptoms, as well as master the intervention techniques and strategies in children with autism.
In this sense, below, a series of tips will be detailed that can be very useful for treating a child with autism at home:
- stay informed about this disorder: It is advisable to consult a professional and consult articles, among other things, that allow you to stay up to date with current events related to this disorder.
- Don’t try to be the perfect father Don’t even pretend to act correctly with your child all the time, because it is impossible. Remember that the more you demand of yourself and obsess over doing it well, you may end up doing the opposite. Try to do things the best you can, but also allow yourself to make mistakes.
- Don’t tell your child all the time what they shouldn’t do.: better reinforce the desired behaviors when they have them and motivate them to continue doing them whenever you can.
- Promote a favorable school and family environment for your child to feel comfortable.
- Identify the best way for your child to communicate: to improve communication with him or her, it is important to know his or her way of expressing himself, because autistic children have a particular way of showing what they feel. From there, you can establish new forms of communication adapted to their particular style.
- Change your routine daily when necessary: Try to do it as progressively as possible, since children with autism feel very anxious about changes, even small ones.
- Never compare your child with other children: When treating children with autism, remember that their development may be slower than that of others and that the changes they experience are also different.
- When you communicate with him or her, send him messages clear: Remember that the boy or girl is not going to understand things that you might be taking for granted. For example, if you want him to pick up his toys and you just tell him “you always leave your toys lying around”, the child will not understand that you also want him to tell him that you want him to pick them up. Therefore, the message would have to be: “Can you please pick up the toys? Whenever you finish playing, you have to do it.”
- Make an effort to understand the logic of their actions: Even if their actions seem strange to you, you must make an effort to put yourself in their place and discover the reasons for them.
How to treat an autistic child in the classroom
It is necessary for teachers to learn how to treat children with autism, since they will probably have to deal with one at some point and not knowing how to understand or treat it could have consequences for the boy or girl in question.
Some of the tips on how to treat an autistic child at school are:
- Promote the boy or girl to have more contact with their peers: This can be done through organized games and group tasks. It is important that respect between each person is previously promoted.
- The educational environment must be very good organized and structuredand sudden changes should also be avoided.
- Use visual aids so that it is easier to comply with the schedules and rules established in class. For example, you can make cards or signs with the rules, use timers to respect the times appropriately, etc.
- Pay close attention to the strengths and weaknesses of the autistic child: This will be very useful to be able to take advantage of those strengths to motivate him to study and/or finish tasks.
- Adapt the school environment to facilitate the child’s learning: for example, you can check if the location of your table is the one that best suits your needs, how much noise there is in that area and if it is appropriate for him or her or if you have good light in your place, among other factors. .
- Receive support from professionals in the matter to be able to offer a better education to children with autism.
- Positively reinforce the child’s behaviors or the girl in case these are positive.
- Treat the student with respect and give you support: This will help you adapt in the best way to the school environment, with your classmates and in carrying out your tasks.
- Use role plays to practice and reinforce social behaviors appropriate. It is a good method for the autistic child to constantly observe and participate in accepted social behaviors.
- Promote the use of maps and images in which the concepts you have to learn are described in an understandable way. It must be remembered that children with autism learn best through visual content.
How to treat an aggressive autistic child
When helping an autistic child, it is advisable that if parents have problems with their child’s education, they ask help from a professional. If you feel that the way you behave with them is not the most appropriate and you have problems controlling it, it is important that you ask a child psychiatrist or psychologist for help.
The professional will take care of evaluate the child’s particular situation and, depending on it, it will determine what are the most appropriate guidelines to follow to know how to treat an aggressive autistic child and ensure that they are not harmed by their actions. In general terms, these are some of the recommended strategies to improve self-control in children with autism:
- Keep him/her away from stressful situations.
- Show him relaxation techniques such as counting and deep breathing.
- Create some guidelines so that your child can tell you if something is bothering him or her.
- Validate his feelings and ask him what is bothering him.
- Model the behavior you want your child to follow. If you act calmly and express your feelings clearly, over time, he or she will try to imitate you and do the same.
- Provide him with his own quiet space to keep him away from the overstimulation that makes him nervous.
- Write down the causes of your child’s tantrums to understand their behaviors.
- If he is doing something cruel or dangerous, ask him to stop and explain why he is not doing it right.
First of all, we must remember that we cannot generalize and that many times the advice that works well with some does not work the same with others.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.