How to Help Children with Autism Thrive

If you’ve recently learned that your child has or might have autism, you’re probably wondering and worrying about what comes next. No parent is ever prepared to hear that a child is anything other than happy and healthy, and an ASD (autism spectrum disorder) diagnosis can be particularly frightening. You may be unsure about how to best help your child, or confused by conflicting treatment advice. There are many things you can do to help children with autism overcome their challenges, however. These parenting tips, treatments, and services can help.

Tip 1: Provide Structure and Safety
Learning all you can about autism and getting involved in treatment will go a long way toward helping your child. Additionally, the following tips will make daily home life easier for both you and your child with ASD. Firstly, be consistent. Children with autism have a hard time applying what they’ve learned in one setting to others. Creating consistency in your child’s environment is the best way to reinforce learning. Find out what your child’s therapists are doing and continue their techniques at home. Explore the possibility of having therapy take place in more than one place in order to encourage your child to transfer what he or she has learned from one environment to another. It’s also important to be consistent in the way you interact with children with autism.

Additionally, it is helpful to stick to a schedule. Children with autism tend to do best when they have a highly structured schedule or routine. Again, this goes back to the consistency they both need and crave. Set up a schedule for your child, with regular times for meals, therapy, school, and bedtime. Try to keep disruptions to this routine to a minimum. If there is an unavoidable schedule change, prepare your child for it in advance. You should also try to reward good behavior, as positive reinforcement can go a long way with children with autism. Praise them when they act appropriately or learn a new skill, being very specific about what behavior they’re being praised for.

Tip 2: Find Nonverbal Ways to Connect
Connecting with children with autism can be challenging, but you don’t need to talk—or even touch—in order to communicate and bond. You communicate by the way you look at your child, by the tone of your voice, your body language, and possibly also the way you touch your child. Your child is also communicating with you, even if he or she never speaks. You just need to learn the language.

Look for nonverbal cues. If you are observant and aware, you can learn to pick up on the nonverbal cues that autistic children use to communicate. Pay attention to the kinds of sounds they make, their facial expressions, and the gestures they use when they’re tired, hungry, or want something. Figure out the motivation behind the tantrum. It’s only natural to feel upset when you are misunderstood or ignored, and it’s no different for children with ASD. When children with autism act out, it’s often because you’re not picking up on their nonverbal cues. Throwing a tantrum is their way of communicating their frustration and getting your attention.

Additionally, it is essential to pay attention to your child’s sensory sensitivities. Many children with ASD are hypersensitive to light, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Some children with autism are under-sensitive to sensory stimuli. Figure out what sights, sounds, smells, movements, and tactile sensations trigger your kid’s “bad” or disruptive behaviors and what elicits a positive response. If you understand what affects your child, you’ll be better at troubleshooting problems, preventing situations that cause difficulties, and creating successful experiences.

Tip 3: Find Help and Support
Caring for children with autism can demand a lot of energy and time, and there may be days when you feel overwhelmed, stressed, or discouraged. In order to be the best parent you can be, it’s essential that you take care of yourself. Don’t try to do everything on your own–you don’t have to! There are many places that families of children with ASD can turn to for advice, a helping hand, advocacy, and support:

ASD support groups – Joining an ASD support group is a great way to meet other families dealing with the same challenges you are. Parents can share information, get advice, and lean on each other for emotional support. Just being around others in the same boat and sharing their experience can go a long way toward reducing the isolation many parents feel after receiving a child’s diagnosis.

Respite care – Every parent needs a break now and again. And for parents coping with the added stress of ASD, this is especially true. In respite care, another caregiver takes over temporarily, giving you a break for a few hours, days, or even weeks.

Individual, marital, or family counseling – If stress, anxiety, or depression is getting to you, you may want to see a therapist of your own. Therapy is a safe place where you can talk honestly about everything you’re feeling—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Marriage or family therapy can also help you work out problems that the challenges of life with an autistic child are causing in your spousal relationship or with other family members.

Allison Green
Boston Tutoring Services