It is important for a parent/caregiver to understand this “bad” behavior. Labeling something as “bad” behavior does not help reduce the behavior. Children with Autism often engage in excess behaviors that serve no function. These behaviors can be classified into two categories:
-Harmful behavior: behavior that will hurt the child or others around him. Such behaviors are dangerous and as parents, these behaviors are of most prominent concern—E.g., aggression, pica (putting non-edible things in mouth), self-injurious behaviors, etc.
-Interfering behaviors: behaviors that are not harmful, but they interfere with all other functioning of a child. These behaviors take away attention and time from learning “good” behaviors. They impede the learning and progress of a child. E.g., motor or vocal stereotypy, throwing objects, etc.
Things to remember when attempting to fix “bad” behavior:
Ø First, list out all the “bad” behaviors.
Ø Divide these behaviors into the two above-mentioned categories. This is important because our method to fix the behavior will depend on the category it falls under.
Ø For harmful behaviors, we want to completely eliminate these behaviors.
Ø For interfering behaviors, we want to reduce them or teach the child to put these behaviors on HOLD when engaging in appropriate behaviors.
Ø Not all behaviors can be modified, so decide which behaviors are more harmful or interfering than others and try to deal with those first.
Ø Children often engage in the behavior for a reason, sensory satisfaction, self-defense mechanism, etc. try to understand that too.
Things to do:
Ø Reinforce/reward good behavior.
Ø Use negative reinforcement/punishment for bad behavior.
Ø Teach them ways to communicate if they cannot speak. Often bad behavior is a result of the inability to express.
Ø Find out the reason for bad behavior and teach them appropriate ways to satisfy their needs.
Ø Few things are needed for the cooling period/time off, we cannot completely eliminate them.

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