Teaching Autistic Children Self-Management - Teach Your Child To Be Independent

Almost all autistic children have a problem acquiring the skill of self-discipline. In addition to inappropriate outbursts, this can include potentially dangerous habits such as aggression towards others or themselves like banging their own head on walls. Self-management is one technique that teachers and parents can use to help the child avoid such behavior and activities. The key to controlling violent behavior and moving towards more positive behavior is giving the child control over him or her.

The reason self-management works is because no longer is the child fully controlled by other people. Teaching self-management to the child at specific times of the day, like when the child is in therapy or at school, will increase the chances of the child practicing self-management at other times of the day also. It is necessary to implement programs through which the child gets to monitor her or his own activities and behavior. Start with smaller amounts of time, while monitoring the child from a passive standpoint. Remind the child every fifteen to twenty minutes that she or he is in full control of her or himself and needs to be aware of the kind of behavior that is good and bad.

This kind of monitoring is a kind of self-evaluation. When the child controls his or her own behavior, he or she thinks more attentively about his or her own behavior in the present and past. Make sure that the child sets clear goals; such as a day without causing any injury to anybody. Every fifteen minutes check if the child is doing as promised. Has the goal been achieved? If the child is unable to achieve these goals, perhaps the child is not yet prepared for self-management and the goals are too tough to understand and comprehend. Ensure the goals you set are easily accomplishable initially, and then continue to increase the difficulty level according to the child's progress. As the child's progress in self-monitoring increases, he or she will automatically gain a more positive approach towards the entire experience.

The reward system is an integral part of the program of self-management. Make the children come up with their own rewards relating to their own interests. Reinforce the goals so that the child understands clearly what is good and what is bad and through the method of self-reward, the child will gain confidence in self-monitoring and self-management. Start with simple rewards, such as a sad face for every goal that is not met and a smiley face for every goal that is met. In this manner, move towards a larger goal like a toy or a special activity after a certain number of smiley faces have been achieved.

It is not an easy process to develop these programs, and they do not work overnight. It is important to ensure that the child devotes sufficient amount of time on these self-management activities. The combination of good behavior and reward, enforced by the children themselves, increases the likelihood of them practicing it even without any adult supervision. If the child is old enough, this method can even be used as a good treatment program.