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Stimming or self-stimulatory behavior is repetitive or unusual body movement or noises. Stimming might include:
Stimming seems to help autistic children manage emotions like anxiety, anger, fear, and excitement. It helps them to calm down because it focuses their attention on the stim or produces a calming change in their bodies.
Stimming varies a lot among children. Some children just have mild hand mannerisms, whereas others spend a lot of time stimming. It can also vary depending on the situation. For example, some children stim, or stim more, when they’re feeling stressed or anxious.
Sometimes autistic children wander aimlessly or they want to get somewhere in particular. Many autistic children wander or run off, even when adults are supervising them. Autistic children wander for many reasons. For example, they might want to:
Autistic children sometimes express their emotions through aggressive behavior toward others. Sometimes their aggressive behavior can be directed toward themselves. This is called self-injurious behavior. They might hit, kick, throw objects or hurt themselves, for example, by head-banging.
Autistic children might behave aggressively or hurt themselves because they:
Understanding a child’s communication skills is also an important step in identifying the cause of aggressive behavior. Children may behave aggressively and communicate when they are unable to express their feelings or ask what they need or want.
It’s common for autistic children to behave in challenging ways that are difficult to manage. For example, they might refuse or ignore requests, behave socially inappropriately or behave aggressively and hurt themselves or other children.
They might behave in challenging ways when they have trouble understanding what’s happening around them. Because they feel difficulty communicating their own wants and needs, which can lead to frustration, anxiety, and stress.
Difficult or challenging behavior might also have some specific triggers like they can get very upset if they can’t follow familiar routines or too much is happening around them. Moreover, an Autistic child might have other conditions as well as autism, like epilepsy, mood disorder, or ADHD. These all can cause difficult behavior and medical assessment will help you to identify and manage these conditions.
Meltdowns are a sign of distress and happen when autistic children feel completely overwhelmed, lose control of their behavior, and find it difficult to calm themselves. Meltdown behaviors might include rocking, crying, hitting, or withdrawing and make it hard for autistic children to take part in everyday activities.
Immediately after a meltdown, the child might feel embarrassed or exhausted. If the child is given time, space, and calming and familiar activities to do, that can help him to recover.
Cooperative behavior helps children succeed in school, relationships, and extracurricular activities. It is also important for a happy and harmonious life. However, parents of children with autism and adolescents often find that their child’s reluctance to cooperate interferes with their daily lives. There may be several reasons for uncooperative behavior like
Children with autism are particularly at risk of bullying, especially in mainstream schools. Bullying can negatively affect self-esteem, mental health, social skills, and academic progress.
Recognizing bullying can be difficult, especially for children with autism because they either have limited language or don’t know how to communicate their experiences. Children with autism may not always realize that they are being bullied especially when it comes to indirect bullying. Children with autism may also think they are being bullied when they are only thinking about talking or playing with them.
There is no one way to tell if a child is being bullied. A child’s reaction depends on the degree and nature of the bullying.
