Effective Behavior Strategies for Students with Autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents unique challenges and strengths in each individual. Effectively supporting students with autism requires a multifaceted approach that considers their specific needs. This article explores various behavior strategies for students with autism, drawing from evidence-based practices and expert recommendations.

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties in social interaction, communication, and the presence of repetitive behaviors or interests. It's crucial to recognize that individuals with ASD exhibit a wide range of abilities and challenges. Effective interventions aim to build on strengths and address specific areas of need.

Inclusive Education

Inclusive education, where students with autism learn alongside their non-autistic peers, offers significant benefits for all students involved. These classrooms bring a wealth of benefits to both autistic and non-autistic students. For students with autism, inclusion can lead to improved social skills and enhanced peer interactions. Inclusive education and diverse classrooms encourage differentiated instruction and personalized learning approaches, benefiting both autistic and non-autistic students.

Core Strategies for Behavior Support

Several core strategies form the foundation for effective behavior support for students with autism.

Individualized Approach

It is important to develop strategies for you to use to increase the behaviors you want to see in your child. These will need to be individualized to his particular needs and challenges. They can often be helpful in building a sense of pride in accomplishments and personal responsibility, and a sense of what is expected. This will reduce the anxiety and reactivity that results in aggression or other behaviors.

Clear Expectations and Routines

Establishing clear routines and expectations is crucial for creating an inclusive classroom environment. Visual schedules and supports are fundamental in helping students understand daily routines and expectations. Clear and direct instructions will help all young children understand and follow directions. In working with children with autism, they may often struggle with abstract language. Incorporating clear, concise instructions and breaking tasks into smaller, manageable steps also aids in comprehension and task completion.

Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement and reward systems, such as token economies, motivate students and reinforce desired behaviors. Positive behavior support interventions can reduce and in some cases eliminate problem behavior. Since the focus of this study is directed toward the most difficult and challenging behavior problems in a public school center-based program, a conclusion can be rendered that teacher's believe behavioral approaches other then PBS may need to be available as part of a comprehensive behavior intervention plan. Celebrate and build strengths and successes: Tell him what he does well and what you like. A sense of competence often fosters interest and motivation. Strive to give positive feedback much more frequently than any correction or negative feedback. ‘Great job putting your dishes in the sink!’

Collaboration

Collaborating with special education professionals and families ensures a consistent approach between home and school, enhancing the overall effectiveness of interventions.

Specific Behavior Strategies

Several specific behavior strategies have proven effective for students with autism.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is an evidence-based methodology that uses positive reinforcement to encourage desired behaviors and skills. Although sometimes controversial, research has demonstrated ABA's effectiveness for some children. A notable behavioral treatment for people with ASD is called applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA encourages desired behaviors and discourages undesired behaviors to improve a variety of skills. DTT uses step-by-step instructions to teach a desired behavior or response. Lessons are broken down into their simplest parts, and desired answers and behaviors are rewarded.

Structured Teaching (TEACCH)

In addition to the Incredible Years program, there is another evidence-based model known as Structured Teaching, developed by Division TEACCH. It is a comprehensive educational approach for individuals with autism. TEACCH is based on the idea that people with autism thrive on consistency and visual learning. It provides teachers with ways to adjust the classroom structure and improve academic and other outcomes. For example, daily routines can be written or drawn and placed in clear sight. Boundaries can be set around learning stations.

Visual Supports

Visual schedules are picture sequences, like “First, Then” cards that show a visual outline of a progression of activities. Timers and countdowns give individuals time to prepare for a change and make transitions a gradual process rather than an abrupt ending.

Social Stories

Narratives that describe social situations in some detail by highlighting relevant cues and offering examples of appropriate responding. Social stories, video footage, or at-home rehearsals are great priming tools to prepare individuals for an unfamiliar environment.

Choice Making

Providing options surrounding a particular task allows an individual to become an active participant in a situation; this increases motivation and enhances self-control as they can choose for themselves and are no longer a bystander receiving instructions about what to do. For example, although a child must do homework during homework time, you can offer choices about whether to do homework at their desk or at the kitchen table, with mom or dad, with a pen or pencil, etc. All children, including those with autism, like to feel a sense of control over their world. Many children benefit from having the choices limited to two to four options (depending on the child), as they get overwhelmed with too many choices and cannot decide. Examples of choices are: “Do you want to play a board game or watch TV,” “Do you want butter or jelly on your bagel,” “Do you want to wear the green or red shirt?” Again, children with language difficulties often have more success making choices when you show them the options or pictures of the options (e.g., hold up the red and green shirt and let them point to the one they want). A free IPAD App for generating pictures to show kids choices isChoiceBoard-Creator.

Task Modification

For instance, you can embed three challenging math problems in a set of ten or have someone take two or three bites of a preferred food for each taste of a new food.

Read also: Roots of Animal Behavior

Utilizing Perseverative Interests

A perseverative interest is an object, activity, or topic in which an individual is intensely interested. For example, an individual might practice handwriting (a task they dislike) by copying lines from their favorite movie.

Teaching Communication Skills

Teaching communication skills can help an individual with autism express what they want without resorting to challenging behaviors. Identifying triggers is the first step toward assisting individuals in learning to ask for what they need through language instead of behavior. For example: Teach the individual to ask, “Am I doing a good job?” to replace outbursts related to attention or, “I need a break” for outbursts related to task avoidance or escape. Individuals with limited speech can learn to use one word instead of several (i.e., “iPad” instead of “I want the iPad”).

Coping Skills

Coping skills refer to exercises or steps that help an individual manage an uncomfortable or stressful situation. When introducing communication skills, it is important to honor an individual’s request immediately and consistently. Otherwise, the challenging behavior will continue to be more effective than the replacement strategy. For example, if a child asks for a break, ask them to finish one minute of a given task first. Then, slowly build on this by gradually increasing the waiting time. Provide access to breaks: Teach the individual to request a break when he needs to regroup (e.g. use a PECS card that represents “break”). Be sure to provide the break when he asks so he learns to trust this option and does not have to resort to challenging behaviors. Promote the use of a safe, calm-down place: Teach him to recognize when he needs to go there. This is a positive strategy, not a punishment.

Extinction

Extinction is a strategy that avoids drawing attention to the problem behavior to avoid reinforcing it. In situations where specific behaviors are attention maintained and are not dangerous - such as blurting out or intentionally dropping an item, instructors can ignore the behavior when it occurs. If self-injury or risk of harm to others occurs, calmly intervening is required; when more complex behaviors happen, it is crucial to identify the specific cause of the problem.

The Role of Positive Language

Use positive/proactive language: Use language that describes what you want the individual to do (e.g. ‘I love how you used a tissue!’), and try to avoid saying ‘NO’, or ‘don’t’ (e.g. For example, “After you finish the puzzle, it is time to brush your teeth”, or “In five minutes it is time to turn off the computer and start your writing assignment.” For some children it is helpful to set a timer so the child can keep track of how much time is left. So in the example above “In five minutes it is time to turn off the computer and start your writing assignment” you would set the timer for five minutes. Visual timers can be purchased on Amazon or other online stores. You can even get a free visual timer app on your IPhone, IPAD, or Android device. Some children respond better to a visual countdown chart, than a visual timer. An example would be a piece of laminated construction paper with the numbers 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 Velcroed on. When there is 5 minutes left you show the child the countdown (e.g., we have five more minutes of computer time). At four minutes you pull off the number 5. Side Note: *Children who have difficulty understanding language may respond better to pictures telling them what is expected, rather than verbal directions. Just like the timers, you can also find IPAD, IPhone, and Android First/Then Apps. These apps have libraries of real photos to create first /then boards right on the screen.

Addressing Challenging Behaviors

Challenging behaviors depend on context - that the behavior is not an isolated event but is a function of communication based on surrounding environmental factors. Contemporary behavior intervention strategies focus on understanding context to create a personalized treatment plan. There are three general types of strategies used in treating behavioral issues related to ASD: prevention, replacement, and response. Prevention strategies are used to alter the events leading up to an outburst or other challenging behavior. These strategies help make the environment and activities more predictable and less overwhelming, thereby reducing stress and anxiety. Prevention strategies build on an individual’s strengths to help prepare them for a transition or a disliked activity/task. This makes the transition/stressful situation a gradual process instead of an abrupt change. Replacement strategies teach an individual how to cope with unpleasant situations. They allow individuals on the spectrum to gain a desired outcome via social, communication, self-regulation, academic, and daily living skills. As individuals learn new skills and become more active agents in their own lives, their self-confidence and success will increase. Response strategies are consequence-based strategies used to reinforce constructive behavior; these center on altering consequences following a challenging behavior.

Functional Behavior Assessment

If you think you or your loved one with autism struggles with challenging behaviors, talk to your clinician or practitioner about a functional behavioral assessment. These assessments include interviews, observations, questionnaires, and functional analyses to assess the causes, consequences, and responses to challenging behaviors.

Additional Considerations

Self-Advocacy

Self-advocacy and independence are also encouraged to help students develop essential life skills and confidence that promote their long-term success.

Social Skills Training

Group or individual instruction designed to teach learners with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ways to appropriately interact with peers, adults, and other individuals.

High-Leverage Practices (HLPs)

High-leverage practices (HLPs) are practices often used by teachers that have been shown to increase student performance. HLPs that can be used with students with ASD include small-group instruction, functional behavior assessments, peer-assisted strategies, and organized and supportive learning environments. There are some areas of overlap between the high-leverage practices and these evidence-based practices. The field is not completely decided on what the high-leverage practices are for special educators, but draft documents have indicated that understanding and using functional behavior assessment, FBAs, is key, and that’s also an evidence-based practice. Peer-mediated strategies is both an HLP and an EBP.

The Importance of Training and Development

By investing in ongoing training and development through the IY programs, educators can stay abreast of the latest research and best practices in supporting students with autism. Continuous training is vital for adapting to the evolving needs of all children and ensuring interventions remain practical and relevant.

UMass Global offers a CTC-accredited Added Authorization, Autism Spectrum Certificate program for teachers who want to better understand students with autism and learn effective teaching strategies. UMass Global also offers a CTC-accredited Preliminary Special Education Credential, Mild to Moderate Support Needs and a Preliminary Special Education Credential, Extensive Support Needs, which teach SPED foundations. You can add a Master of Arts in Teaching to your credentials with just 3 additional classes. The Master of Arts in Special Education program at UMass Global allows teachers to plan and implement accommodations for the diverse needs of students with disabilities, including ASD. It will provide teachers with knowledge of federal special education laws, compliance issues, and practical experience writing IEPs and other documents.

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