There are never hard and fast rules about discipline with any child, and most parents struggle with it, at least at first. There is a fine line between wanting to show your children love by letting things slide and by loving them by making sure they grow up to be good people. When it comes to autism and discipline, it can be even harder to navigate.
Parents of autistic children can have a tough road ahead, and they generally have to be even more thoughtful about their discipline. When dealing with autism and having to dole out punishment, parents have to remain positive, be timely, and they absolutely have to be consistent.
There are a few different ways to remain positive about discipline. It is important to reward the positive and good moments as often as possible. Using a reward system for the good moments by giving stickers that add up to get them a treat works well. Though all children will respond to this, those with autism will be helped greatly by this type of system.
Another way to remain positive is to watch for the root reason for why the child might be acting out. Some children may have motor skills problems or trouble communicating how they feel, and they can often act out from frustration. If this is the case, a parent should try to redirect the child with relaxation techniques. It might take a while, but they might be able to learn to soothe themselves in time.
Parents must be consistent with all discipline if they want it to be effective. The child must be able to predict what will happen when the are doing something they should not doing. Consistency will help parents remain in control at all times, and might help sway the child from bad behaviors.
When counting to three to warn a child to stop something or they are going to be punished, it is important to always follow through. A parent cannot count to two and then start over again with the counting or the child will think they can get away with what they are doing.
Timeliness comes when there needs to be swift action. Some parents like to wait until their spouse comes home so they can 00001B32deal with the child together, however, this rarely works for autistic children. The punishment must be immediate. If they break something on purpose at lunchtime, and then they are punished for it four hours later, the child may not connect the two events and they will be confused and might think they are being punished for a good behavior.
When it comes to discipline, both parents have to be fully involved in the process or the child will not get the most from it. It’s important not to leave the disciplining to just one parent.
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It is also important for parents to keep their cool when anything happens. Yelling is never a good idea, but it will be very counterproductive when dealing with autism and discipline. It is okay for one parent to leave the room if they think they are overheating so that they can calm down. It is important to keep a level head. Parenting autistic children can be difficult, but having a consistent and timely plan for dealing with problems is essential.
By Rachel Evans. Sign up for a free newsletter for more information on autism and discipline. In the newsletter you’ll find out more about the signs and symptoms of autism.
Autism genetic research has shown that it is one of the most heritable disorders. Despite an increasing amount of autism genetic studies being performed each year the researchers are still trying to discover the multiple genes believed to be the reason for autism.
There have been numerous studies, completed and ongoing, on twins and siblings. Identical twins, who share one hundred percent of their nuclear DNA, where one has autism, have about a sixty percent chance of the second child having autism and a ninety percent chance of the identical twin having some type of autistic spectrum disorder. With fraternal twins, where the genes shared number only fifty percent, the chance of the second twin being autistic lowers dramatically to four and half percent, just like it would with any sibling. For the average person the chance of having autism is .2%. These numbers speak strongly in favor of evidence that links autism with heritability.
Autism genetic studies of twins have been going on since the middle 1970s. Of nine studies conducted worldwide between 1977 and 2004 all of them came to relatively the same conclusion regarding identical twins and the chances of a second twin having autism. One study felt that the delivery highly influenced the chance of an autistic child, but overall the conclusions were very similar.
Many family studies have been conducted as well. A Danish study in 2005 looked at risk aspects of the entire family. If the autistic child had Asperger’s syndrome the risk for other children to have some type of autism was believed to be 1.04% while if the child had other forms of autism the feeling was a risk factor of 1.76%. These risk factors were double if the mother had ever been diagnosed with any form of psychiatric disorder. These conclusions were formed after a thorough study of the entire family including collecting information on the parent’s place of birth, their age, the location the child/children were born, and the family history for depression or psychiatric difficulties. Although paternal age seemed to be an issue, maternal age was not.
These studies have left almost as many questions unanswered as they have answered. If identical twins show such an increase in heritability why don’t fraternal twins? Why are parents of autistic children almost always people who do not have autism if heritability is so definitely a factor in this disorder? Some researchers question if autism has become the word of its time and perhaps too many children are being lumped into this group for ease of diagnosis. All these unanswered questions will only be answered once more studies into the heritability of autism are conducted and results are known.
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You may hear autism referred to as a PDD. This stands for Pervasive Development Disorder, and is a blanket term for the many different autism types.
When talking about autism most people think of an autistic child in the classic sense, but that is only one of the types that are used to diagnose children with this condition in today’s world.
Though the film Rainman is probably the most well-known source that most people base their understanding on, there is more to this condition than what was depicted in the movie. Some children are very similar to Dustin Hoffman’s character, but there are many more different autism types and levels of function known today.
The Rainman type of autism, or classic autism, is otherwise known as Kanner’s, and was named for the doctor who studied it in the 30s and 40s. This is a lower functioning type of autism characterized by severe communication and socialization problems. These children are hard to reach, and do not interact with most people. They can be clumsy due to poor motor skills, and are prone to repetitive motions and actions. They might have tantrums when the smallest changes in their environment or schedule are made. Some do not speak, and others speak on a limited basis.
Rett’s Syndrome is also one of the lower-functioning types of autism. This happens in girls only for some reason, and is often paired with mental retardation. These girls are greatly impaired when it comes to movements, and they rarely speak. This autism type has been classified as a genetic defect. There seems to be no explanation as to why it only affects girls. All other types are attributed to males 75% of the time.
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder is something that is very shocking for parents, perhaps even more so than children who are identified early 00004000with Rett’s or Kanner’s. This is something that happens after a child has appeared to develop quite normally. They have the usual range of speech and motor skills for their peer group. Then at some point, usually between ages two and four, they regress into a severe form of autistic disability. No one is sure why this happens though some believe surgery or illness can bring it on. That is not true for all of these children, however, so nothing concrete has been proven.
The higher functioning form of autism is known as Asperger’s. These children can often be misdiagnosed in the early years. They have better communication and socialization skills, but they are still somewhat limited. However, many of these children aren’t diagnosed until they are in school when the difference their peers and themselves become more apparent. They often respond well to behavioral treatments, and can have a very ‘normal’ life if they are put through these programs and therapies at the earliest possible age.
There is another type of autism called PDD-NOS. This is when a child is thought to have autism, but their condition does not seem to be associated with the other four more definite types. They have autism, but they seem to fall out of each category. They may have symptoms or behaviors that fall within all of the other different autism types, but do not fit one type exclusively.
Most children with any of these five autism types will be diagnosed before the age of five, and the prognosis will depend on the function of the child, and how early they can begin to go through therapies.
There is no cure for autism, and because the reasons why some children develop this condition are so unclear, there is no way parents can prevent it from happening. More research is needed to find the origins of the condition. Once that can be found, perhaps a cure or more effective treatments can be administered, tailored to the different types of autism.
Grab your free copy of Rachel Evans’ brand new Autism Newsletter – Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you and your family find out about autism strategies and for information on high functioning autism please visit The Essential Guide To Autism.
