Why do ASD kids get Anxious ? 6 Core Strategies

                                                      

14-year old Jack diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome came to attend Occupational Therapy (OT)  session in school's OT room. Jack loves OT as he feels that he doesn’t have to study in this lesson and he can learn and do fun activities. However, this time, when he came to attend a lesson, he was seen worried and unfocused while carrying out tasks. On being asked,the reason of consistent worry, it was found that he has to come to school by public transport (bus) whole next week along with his class friend, as his father has gone on an official tour and mother doesn't know driving.

A thought of travelling in the bus made Jack extremely anxious because of which he couldn’t focus even on tasks he like. Waiting for the bus, getting on it, asking for a ticket from bus driver (new person), standing along with new unknown people, being touched by people which creates defensiveness while bus is moving, hearing different sounds (people talking, vehicles on road, baby crying, music), smell of various deodorants, are some of challenges which made Jack so nervous! 

Above mentioned experiences are just so normal for anyone of us and do not affect any typically growing adolescent, however, for a child like Jack they are big reasons of worry!

Children with or without autism display anxiety during the day to day situations. Getting separated from the parents (separation anxiety) is most common cause of nervousness among typically and atypically developing children. Recent research at the University of Amsterdam suggests that 40% of children and adolescents with ASD have anxiety issues.

Every day most of us face situations that can cause anxiety or nervousness such as getting late for school or office, getting stuck in traffic jam, before examination or interview or even not being able to understand a simple joke that others find funny. 
We simply know how to cope with such situations, either by informing office staff that we are running late or ignoring joke that we do not understand. However, for autistic or learning disabled adult and child coping with stress, anxiety or frustration can be a great challenge.

“My 5-year old son with Autism gets nervous easily in school and public places. He often starts crying in malls and I feel embarrassed. Is there anything I can do to help him?"

This is a common question heard from parents of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Learning Disabled (LD) and ADHD. Anxiety is not uncommon to anyone of us, however, atypically developing children display extreme nervousness in ordinary situations too.
As per anecdote reports, many children with autism will receive the another diagnosis at some point of development. The additional diagnosis is mostly related to (Simonoff, et al). 

So what triggers anxiety in children?             Dr Chuck Edington (2010) suggested common triggers of anxiety at home and school setting are, Unstructured Timing, Academic situations, sensory issues, social situations and Routines. Other factors of anxiety can be homework, examination, meeting a new person, fear of rejection from peers, or health concerns. 

Children with autism commonly display self-stimulatory behaviours (stemming) such as hand flapping, finger flicking (hand mannerisms), chewing and mouthing things, watching spinning objects, rocking body back and forth while sitting, nail biting or hand biting which, if not stopped can be self-injurious in nature.
Stemming helps them to calm down and reduce anxiety. Children having under-responsiveness (hypo-sensitivity) towards touch or hearing lack danger awareness which can lead to self-harming behaviour. 

For highly anxious children sensory stimulation (stimming) as a way of shutting down their thoughts, anxiety and related stress. It works as a medium of shifting one's own attention to physical stimulatory behaviour that is more engaging.

There is no causal relationship between anxiety and over-responsiveness (hyper-sensitivity) established through researchers, however, it is commonly observed, that children with over-sensitivity often react negatively to noisy and visually complex environments. 

Shutting their ears in public places, displaying temper tantrums, meltdowns during recess, trying to avoid hair cutting or dental check-ups by any means, being avoidant to bathing or tooth-brushing are some of the behavioural patterns of ASD child with anxiety.

To resolve the problem, parents need to be carried out some ‘detective’ work to find out possible reasons for anxiety.

5 key support strategies to express thoughts and feelings among aggressive children!

Usually young ones and teens show anger or aggressive behaviour due to fear of disapproval or rejection. It is essential tackle them very carefully during aggression and emotional outbursts. Here are some tips to support kids in expressing their emotions through different mediums!!

Journals

 Journals: Writing journals or simply using diaries to express thoughts is a simple but very expressive way of communication to your child.Personalised diaries can be used for self-expressing thoughts and feeling.Writing poetry sometimes is very calming medium of self-expression and innovation. This helps in distracting the child from aggression and promotes creativity however can be applicable in teens and adults. Through this medium of communication he/she can express himself/herself without shame and guilt. Key Note: Written Expression supports child to release anger without involvement of any other person. This can be child’s individualism.

White Boards-Great source of expression

White Boards: One more medium of expression can be through white boards! This can be something new and altered source of communication for the young kids. Expressing thoughts, emotions and gestures on white or blackboard can also support in vertical writing practice (Good for core hand strengthening and precise writing). It also improves handwriting difficulties among young ones. Encourage kids to write whatever new they learn in school or other social situations. Using colourful marker pens for drawing or writing can make self-expression more interesting and revealing. Key Note: Great resource for expression for young ones and adults!

Building rapport with yout child!

Winning the Trust: Most essential aspect of thought expression is winning the trust. Usually children hide their feelings since they do not consider parents or caregivers trustworthy to share any perceptions and classroom experiences.

It is important for the parents to spend time with children and listen to his or her words wisely without interrupting or discouraging him or her. Additionally, parents should be capable enough to make child understand marked difference between right and wrong.

Let the child express him without any fear of rejection, guilt or shame. This is parent’s responsibility to understand own child’s behaviour in co-correlation with the given situation.

On contrary, sometimes children pretend to express their whole trust on parents expressing themselves as innocent in particular situation to win parent’s trust. However, parents should be able distinguish when child is guiltless and when manipulative. Key Note: Read between the lines!! Analyse when child is expressing right facts and when he is being manipulative in his thoughts.

Quiet Space Area

Give free space: Concept of free area or space is extremely effective. Provision of quiet space area in classrooms and homes support children to calm down and pacify themselves.

            Space and time to think about own mistake helps them act more wisely next time. During these times they can also be given inanimate objects like a stress ball or sand tray to alleviate the anger. Key Note: This resource acts as self-calming.

How do you feel when Angry?

Emotion Chart: Introduction to emotion’s chart is important. Sometimes children are baffled about self-emotions. Show them pictures of different emotions such as anger, being sad, happy etc. so that they better understand the connection between feelings and self-expression.Lack of understanding of feelings is common among teens also. Therefore, imparting education about different emotions is essential part teaching expressions. Key Note:Understanding of different emotions is imperative!

Aggression among kids and teens!