This section deals with all blog posts and articles related to behaviour issues in those with autism, ASD ( formerly known as Aspergers). From which medical conditions may be causing specific behaviours, to how animals might be used to stop them, to how certain behaviours in infants can predict autism.
Monotropism is a theory of autism which was first developed by autistics Dinah Murray and Wenn Lawson. Dinah and Wenn independently formulated the key ideas of monotropism, then later worked together for years developing, explaining and applying the theory. Their work has helped people to make sense of autism and how it manifests in themselves and others. There is an…
Low demand parenting or the low demand approach is often spoken about in the context of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA); however, this can be helpful for a person who experiences high levels of stress and anxiety. This is a low arousal approach because it prioritizes the reduction of stress and anxiety and is based on trust, flexibility, collaboration, and a…
Not everything in life goes according to plan – when change happens, we need to be able to adapt. While autistic people need predictable and consistent routines, it’s still important to be able to cope with changes both planned and unplanned. Having flexibility will build resilience, problem solving skills, and help a person to overcome changes and challenges. In order…
Atypical eating behaviors are common in autistic people. According to a study by Mayes & Zickgraf, 2019, 70.4% of autistic children have atypical eating behaviors as compared to 13.1% for other disorders and 4.8% for typical children. They found that only autistic children had pica or pocketed food. For 92% of autistic children, the most common preferred foods were grains…
Autistic masking, camouflaging, or compensating is a conscious or unconscious suppression of natural autistic responses. It is hiding or controlling behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that may be viewed as inappropriate in situations. Autistic people may feel the need to present or perform social behaviors that are considered neurotypical or may hide neurodiverse behaviors in order to be…
Kelly Mahler, regular speaker/presenter at Autism Awareness Centre Inc., is our guest writer for this post. In this post, Kelly talks about interoception, self-regulation and the detrimental impact that compliance-based approaches can have on the development of these critical areas. Compliance often teaches someone to ignore their own body signals/needs in order to comply with a demand and receive a…
COVID-19 has touched every aspect of our lives – the workplace, home, leisure activities, health, social life, and the family unit. For children and youth, their childhood experience has been anything but typical with online schooling, lockdowns, school closures, loss of extracurricular activities and separation from friends and extended family members. School opportunities disappeared that can really make a difference…
This article was written by Aylish McFarlane, Studio 3 Assistant Psychologist. It was reprinted with permission from Studio 3 UK. ‘Trauma-informed practice’ is a phrase we hear more and more in our work, but what really is trauma, and how can we learn to recognize it? This simple guide illustrates how trauma can affect the body, and how to support…
Low Arousal Approach training, developed over 30 years ago in the UK, has been offered in Canada through Autism Awareness Centre Inc./Studio 3 Canada for 6 years. This training is for professionals, support workers and EAs, carers and family members. The Low Arousal Approach emphasizes a range of behaviour management strategies that focus on the reduction of stress, fear and…
Death and loss are a natural part of life. All of us will have this experience at different times in our lives. Because of the pandemic, families may be experiencing more loss and changes at this time. There have been so many challenging situations – death of a loved one, long term illness, job loss, unavailability of favorite activities, shut…
November is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Canada. COVID-19 has caused a spike in domestic violence and abuse worldwide. The pandemic has disproportionately affected women. It has also affected the autism community in different ways due to loss of supports, suspension of some services and in-person visits, loss of income, additional health issues, and changes to how we live…
Crisis situations have escalated since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The questions and requests for help from families in crisis prompted me to do some research on this topic. I came across an excellent paper that was written for Autism Nova Scotia entitled In Crisis with Autism Spectrum Disorder – A Review of the Evidence. I would like to share some…
Every week, I receive detailed e-mails describing various aspects of challenging behavior. The person has made a list of everything the child has broken, what they said, and the advice and strategies they have tried to help the child. When talking about challenging behavior, we have to go deeper and look beyond the behavior itself. Think of the behavior you…
Have you ever experienced challenging behavior like a meltdown, hostility, anger, or aggression when supporting a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Did the incident seem to come out of the blue? More than likely, there was a trigger that you didn’t notice or something that was building for a period of time. That “something” could be anger rumination. What…
I recently participated in a UK study on using the Low Arousal Approach at home. Answering the research questions and talking about the positive impact that the low arousal approach has had on our family got me thinking about how we’ve adopted this practice and made it work for us. I also hope by writing about it answers some of…