How Do You Teach Kids With Autism To Be Gentle & Stop Hurting Others?
Repeatedly saying “Stop” and “No” when kids with autism hurt someone else, often doesn’t work. Instead they need to learn:
specifically what they did which hurt their peer, teacher, sibling or parent, as they may not know what they’ve done wrong
how they should have behaved instead- teach alternative/replacement behaviors
how to get attention and communicate their needs other than grabbing or pulling others- teach them communication strategies
how to use their hands gently- teach them how to use their hands to help not hurt others
Because of sensory processing difficulties some kids with autism actually don’t know their own strength, so they accidentally hurt their peers, siblings, teachers and parents. Then we react in a big way because someone is hurt, they become confused and upset ans the whole situation escalates. In this situation you need to work on proprioceptive activities, with the help of an OT (if available) to assist the child or young person with autism to feel where their own body is in space and to understand the force they need to apply for various actions. (You can check out my post on Sensory Processing in the Autism Classroom HERE ).
For younger kids who hurt their classmates and sibling because they just don’t know yet how to use their hands to help others, it is more effective to teach them how to have Gentle Hands than to keep saying, or even shouting “Stop!”. That’s why I have created a Gentle Hands positive behavior pack for your classroom or home school. It contains visual prompt cards, tokens, charts, badges & even a Gentle Hands song.
Best Wishes,
Kirsten