AUTISM AND DISCIPLINE

AUTISM AND DISCIPLINE

It can be hard to know when and how to discipline your children, especially when they are autistic. Understanding the difference between behavior that needs correcting and the effects of autism is key when disciplining your child on the spectrum.

Stephanie talks about her methods for disciplining her autistic son, Noah.

Autism and Discipline
By: Our LANDing Crew
Initial Air Date: Apr 20, 2018
Source: YouTube

What We Learned from this Video:

  • Discipline will not always be the same for any two children, even neurotypical children. They do not all react the same way to the same punishments.
  • Spanking a child with sensory issues can be traumatizing.
  • It may be tempting to not discipline an autistic child, but this will hurt them in the long run as they grow up and enter the real world.
  • Stephanie never disciplines her son Noah for meltdowns. She believes that his actions during a meltdown are beyond his control.
  • They do not punish Noah for saying socially inappropriate things; they instead treat it as a chance to teach him.
  • If Noah does something wrong outside of a meltdown, then he will be disciplined.
  • Studies show that stacking punishments when a child refuses to obey is not effective.
  • Stephanie will take away something that Noah is focused on for the day as punishment, but she understands that these are his ways of coping and getting through the day. She will usually leave him at least something to do to occupy himself.
  • Cussing is normal for verbal autistic children.
  • Sometimes a timeout is not just discipline, but also a much-needed break from whatever they were doing.
  • Determining what might be causing your child to act out can help you prevent problem behaviors before you need to punish your child.

Learning more about how autism can affect behavior can help you create your parenting strategy. Look through our Free Video Library to learn more about managing behaviors.



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