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Top 5 Questions: Tackling Autism Tantrums and Other Common Problem Behaviors

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Decrease Tantrums

in Young Children with

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Community Manager, Kelsey General and I are starting a series in which we will answer top questions in various areas. Today, we have our top 5 questions related to common problem behaviors and autism tantrums. We share a variety of information and resources going back to previous episodes, videos, blogs, and more.

Biting and Chewing

First, biting is very different from chewing and is incredibly important to prevent because it can create numerous health and safety concerns. Biting can be related to stress, pain, and many other factors while chewing can be related to nutritional deficits, medical conditions, or even attention seeking. Kelsey and I provide some examples in this episode on how to identify the cause behind both biting and chewing and put new habits into place to prevent future incidents.

Accepting “No”

The most important answer to this question relies on the age of the child, both the chronological age and the developmental age. No is a very difficult concept to understand for younger children, they might not understand “No but later”, “No not now”, “No it’s not yours”. It’s important to set yourself up as a yes man, provide more opportunities to say yes and remove the reasons to say no from your routine and environment. This way, when you have to say no, it’s less frequent and easier to handle. Additionally, always try to have alternatives to provide. Try the Sush, label, give procedure and once the child is calm, identify what you can say yes to and give that to them. Learning to accept no for most young children with no tantrum at all is not developmentally appropriate, even for typical developing children.

Autism and Eloping

If you’re finding your child trying to run in public spaces, ask yourself what skills they have and what commands they listen to at home. If your child isn’t following basic instructions at home, they are not going to listen when out in the world with so many distractions present. Start working on these skills in a safe environment and adjust your routines. This may mean only taking your child to fenced in areas, utilizing a second person for assistance, or restraining your child in a stroller or even harness. Just remember this is temporary until you teach them the skills needed to keep themselves safe.

Throwing

What are they throwing? Are you providing them with safe, appropriate items that they can throw? Whether they are throwing for cause and effect, a stim, or maybe they are clearing desks and throwing food. If it’s dangerous, emergent behavior, intervention needs to be immediate. Kelsey and I go over some of the table time learning activities that are available through my book and through the courses, that can get children engaged and learning the skills that will prevent this behavior.

Unsafe Jumping and Climbing

This is closely related to throwing. Are you providing safe and appropriate opportunities to jump and climb? Are you keeping the child engaged throughout their day? Are you creating a safe environment by anchoring furniture and removing dangerous climbing hazards? Providing safe alternatives is going to prevent unsafe behaviors. Additionally, working on table time activities outlined in my book and courses are going to create opportunities for learning and engaging in safe behavior.

Many of the questions Kelsey and I discussed today were worded with “how do I stop” language, the focus for most of the answers revolved less around stopping behavior and more about prevention. Kelsey receives 20+ questions a day on important topics like this. We will be back soon to tackle more and get these answers out.

Please remember, reviews are so important for getting this information to other parents and professionals who need it. If you found this podcast helpful, please leave a review wherever you listen!

autism tantrums

Kelsey General on the Turn Autism Around Podcast

Kelsey is a single mom to two boys, living in BC, Canada. In 2016 her oldest son was diagnosed with autism at 25 months old. After learning he would not qualify for the support he needed, Kelsey began her journey of learning how to help him. Since then, Kelsey has continued her education in the field in order to provide her children and others in the community the direct intervention they needed. Now, Kelsey homeschools both her kids with support from a team of consulting professionals while also working with other families providing behavior analytic services and parent coaching services. Kelsey and her boys enjoy spending their free time exploring and in nature hiking, biking, camping, and snowboarding. You can follow her adventures and learn more about getting children with autism outside safely on her Instagram page, www.instagram.com/littleadventurefamily.

You’ll Learn

  • How to prevent problem behaviors
  • What are the top 5 common problem behaviors we get questions about in the online community
  • What the difference is between biting and chewing
  • Why accepting no is usually not a developmentally appropriate skill
  • How to keep kids safe when they try to elope
  • How to prevent throwing, jumping, and climbing.

Resources

Free Workshop

Increase Talking &
Decrease Tantrums

in Young Children with

Autism &/or Speech Delays

Register for Free Training