Learning Better Ways to Cope: Teaching Individuals with ASD Skills to Replace Challenging Behaviors

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Isaac Brice Heath
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1 Learning Better Ways to Cope: Teaching Individuals with ASD Skills to Replace Challenging Behaviors

2 Objectives 1) Identify reasons why it might be appropriate to teach coping skills to individuals with ASD. 2) Describe different techniques to assist individuals on the spectrum with anxiety and problem-solving difficulties. 3) Identify/make at least one strategy that could be taught to your child and used in both a home and school environment

3 ASD and Coping Symptoms of ASD may make the world a particularly stressful place Difficulties communicating feelings, wants, needs Trouble understanding social situations, rules, faulty information processing Possible differences in sensory experience

4 Autism and Anxiety Recent research suggests 47 to 84% of individuals with ASD experience clinically significant levels of anxiety Increasing clinical and research evidence that therapies to treat anxiety in children and adolescents with ASDs are effective

5 ASD and Coping Some common coping behaviors include : Self-isolation Biting and or motor stimulation Repetitive patterns in play, communication and familiar daily events Vocal stimulation (humming, echolalia self talk, whistling) Intense attachment to favored objects Excessive avoidance or intense seeking of particular sensory experience

6 Adaptive and Maladaptive Coping Model (Groden et al., 1994)

Common Setting Events that Lead to Challenging Behaviors (Ladd, 2007) Biological - (e.g., medication side effects; feeling frightened, worried, anxious, agitated; feeling hungry/thirsty) Activities/Routines - (e.

7 Common Setting Events that Lead to Challenging Behaviors (Ladd, 2007) Biological - (e.g., medication side effects; feeling frightened, worried, anxious, agitated; feeling hungry/thirsty) Activities/Routines - (e.g., transitions between activities/settings; termination/lack of access to a preferred activity; activities/routines that are difficult, frustrating, disliked, boring) Social - (e.g., denial of access to what the student wants; lack of attention; being disciplined or reprimanded)

8 Mitigate and Cope (Ladd, 2007) After determine contextual variables around problem behavior can develop intervention MITIGATE - the adult (e.g., parent, teacher) makes environmental modifications to context COPE - the student is taught skills to cope with the context

9 Mitigate and Cope (Ladd, 2007) Example BIOLOGICAL: Austin is likely to have problem behavior when he is hungry Mitigate teacher schedules an extra snack time for Austin during the day Cope Austin is taught to indicate on a visual when he is feeling hungry

Mitigate and Cope (Ladd, 2007) Example ACTIVITIES/ROUTINES: Cameron is more likely to have problem behavior when she has to end a preferred activity Mitigate parent provides access to a new preferred

10 Mitigate and Cope (Ladd, 2007) Example ACTIVITIES/ROUTINES: Cameron is more likely to have problem behavior when she has to end a preferred activity Mitigate parent provides access to a new preferred activity/object In addition, parent gives/uses visual timer to indicate when preferred activity is going to end Cope Cameron is taught to use her communication skills to request the new preferred activity that is appropriate

11 Mitigate and Cope (Ladd, 2007) Example SOCIAL: Hunter had more problem behavior when told No, that s wrong Mitigate teacher/parent said Try again instead of No, that s wrong Cope Hunter is taught to ask for help when he faces a difficult problem

Recognizing How You Feel Often the 1 st step is having the child recognize what they are feeling Learning to recognize what their body feels like Understanding when their

12 Recognizing How You Feel Often the 1 st step is having the child recognize what they are feeling Learning to recognize what their body feels like Understanding when their feelings may be getting worse Recognizing other behavioral indicators of their internal state Identifying situations that make them feel a certain way Can be done verbally or nonverbally

13 GOOD BAD VERY BAD

15 Identifying Situations

16 Expressing How You Feel Appropriately communicating how they feel can be an important part of the process Can be done verbally or nonverbally Alerts the adult to when intervention may be necessary Can be difficult for children with ASD may require frequent labeling May not be a necessary step for all individuals

19 Coping with How You Feel Once a child can recognize how they feel it is important for them to know what steps they can take to cope with those feelings Can include relaxing their body, distracting themselves, taking actions to change the situation, changing the way they are thinking about the situation

20 Teaching Relaxation

21 Progressive Muscle Relaxation HANDS & ARMS FACE & NOSE ARMS & SHOULDERS STOMACH JAW LEGS & FEET Koeppen, A.S. (1974). Relaxation training for children. Elementary School Guidance and Counseling, 9,

24 Autism 5-Point Scale App By The Autism Society of Minnesota

25 CHOICE BOARDS

26 Cognitive Restructuring Flipping the Pancake * Facing Your Fears - Group Therapy for Managing Anxiety in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders -(Reaven, Blakeley-Smith,Nichols,& Hepburn) Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Kids Curriculum App - CBTReferee

28 Common Worries Feeling/Action Helpful Thoughts Feeling/Action I m horrible at math! Anxious Fail Test Math might not be my best subject, but I try hard. I m better at Calm Give it a try; ask for help. What if someone laughs at me in the lunchroom? Anxious Eat in bathoom/don t make friends No one has laughed at me during lunch before and if they do I can ignore them. Calm Go to lunch I can t make any mistakes on my homework. If I lose, I must be dumb. The dog will bite me. Worried Don t do homework Anxious Avoid playing games Scared Won t go places where there are dogs Mistakes help me learn. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has a turn at winning and losing because everyone is good at different games. Most dogs I ve seen have been friendly and didn t bite me. Calm Do homework; get help. Calm Try to play game; make new friends. Calm Go to places where there are dogs Adapted from Managing Anxiety in People with Autism Chalfant, 2011

29 Problem-Solving Situations

30 Social Behavior Mapping Michelle Garcia-Winner

31 rk.net Speech Therapy Today

32 ark.net Speech Therapy Today

33 Graphic Organizer

34 Solution Organizer What is the problem? One solution is: Another solution is: Consequence: Consequence: Action:

35 TEACHING COPING SKILLS

36 What to Teach Remember to first consider the function of the behavior - why is it happening? Goal is to move from adult-driven skills to more child-driven skills INCREASE INDEPENDENCE!

37 When to Teach Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) aining_preschool.html

38 Where/Who to Teach May need to practice some skills outside of the situation Important to also practice skill in actual context that behavior occurs in plan time or set up scenario Also need to generalize individuals that person uses skill with

39 How to Teach Have a plan! Small steps Break plan into small steps Collect data Use reinforcement! Functionally equivalent behavior Pro-social behavior

40 Put Your Skills to the Test Matthew exhibits challenging behaviors related to dentist appointments Where do we start? How should we MITIGATE? What should we TEACH?

41 Summary The world for individuals with autism spectrum disorders may be more stressful It is important to not just modify the individual s environment to make things easier but also to TEACH COPING SKILLS Teach individuals how to recognize and express how they feel, and cope with the situation or problem-solve it The goal is to increase the individuals independence in using these skills in multiple settings

42 Make and Take Make at least one support to be used at home Velcro Boards Picture cards

1535 Western Avenue Albany, NY 12203 Phone:

43 Questions? The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities 1535 Western Avenue Albany, NY Phone: (866) Fax (518) Website:

Objectives. Learning Better Ways to Cope: Teaching Students with ASD to Recognize and Manage Their Emotions

Objectives. Learning Better Ways to Cope: Teaching Students with ASD to Recognize and Manage Their Emotions Learning Better Ways to Cope: Teaching Students with ASD to Recognize and Manage Their Emotions Objectives 1) Participants will describe the difficulties individuals with ASD may have in regulating their