Positive Respectful Support for People with Autism

Feb 28, 2011
Frances Williams

Positive Support for People with Autism - By United Nations [Public domain, Public domain or Attribution], via Wikimedia Commons

If the autistic individual can make sense of his/her environment it will reduce stress and anxiety and enable learning to be effective.

The environment designed for the person with autism should be structured and predictable. However, some flexibility should be designed into the structure to prevent the individual becoming too rigid in their thinking and experiences.

The Autistic Person May Experience Time Differently

As we grow and develop we have a feel for the passage of time. We know what a minute, hour, day ‘feels like’. This may not necessarily be the case for people with autism and they could feel ‘lost in time’. Telling an autistic person to ‘wait for five minutes’ can cause enormous anxiety and an increase in incidents.

Consequently it is stressful for people with autism to spend unstructured periods of time waiting for things to happen. Activities should be organised so that waiting periods are kept to a minimum. If there is a waiting period it should be structured – the person may like to carry a pack of cards to shuffle or a photo album to look at depending on their interests – perhaps a timer could be used or a transfer to a relaxation space - but ‘empty time’ should be avoided.

Structuring a Task for a Person with Autism

Support staff will need to remember how difficult it is for the adult with autism to organise time, read intentions, and plan a course of action towards a goal. Tasks should be presented using the following structure:

Where should I be?
What should I do?
When should I do it?
When will it finish?
What will I do next?
Who will I do it with?

Structure with Respect

I have heard this sort of this phrase on many occasions: “If you don’t behave you won’t go out.”

What is wrong with this?

The term ‘behave’ is far too vague for a person with autism to understand. What does it mean? You have told the person to do something they can’t understand and then threatened them with a restriction.

Never ever say ‘If you don’t….you won’t…

If you don’t tidy your room you won’t get a drive.

If you don’t eat your dinner you will only get a shower.

This can be categorised as abusive – both as bad practice and as an abuse of power.

Think Certainty

People with autism need certainty. If you put uncertainty into their schedule they will become frightened, heightened and challenging to themselves and others. Why do that to the person?

They need lots of nice things in their lives in order to maintain a sense of well-being. If they lose their sense of well-being they will be unable to function, become ill and challenging to themselves and others. Why do that to the person?

Do Not Try to Modify Behaviour without Expert Input

Support staff are not authorised to bring in our own mini behaviour modification schemes. For instance ‘This person has been challenging so I won’t give them their cd in case I reward their ‘bad’ behaviour’. This will have no meaning to the person with autism, it will thoroughly upset them and – if we are all doing own uncoordinated amateur schemes like this – it will send the person into a downward spiral of confusion.

Accentuate the Positive

Many people with autism experience negativity and failure in services. It is crucial to the person’s mental health and learning to promote successes, to praise and change negative comments to positive comments. Staff members should listen to their speech – they will usually discover that their negative comments hugely outweigh the positive. Change that around and encourage the team to work together to promote a positive instead of negative living environment.

Staff members go home at the end of their shift and can always change their job if they don’t like it. Remember that the quality of the lives of people being supported in services depends on the quality and commitment of support staff. They can only experience the world as a positive and enjoyable place if supporters can enter into their world and see it through their eyes.

Sources

Clements, J. & Zarkowska, E. (2000) Behavioural Concerns and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Peeters, T. (1997) Autism From theoretical understanding to educational intervention. Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Frances Williams - Frances is an Autism specialist with post graduate qualifications but has had to take a career break. She is now a freelance writer. ...