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Autism/Discipline in autism

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Expert: - 11/25/2008


Question
Hi, i work with a child who has been diagnosed with autism. I'm finding that whenever he is told he cannot have something or go somewhere he becomes violent, hitting and punching and screams. I try to distract him with something else that he would like, but it often doesn't work. Have you any suggestions? When he is aggressive, i sit him in his chair for 2 mins, and do not give him attention.

Answer
You don't mention how old this boy is, but since you're using two minutes for his time out, I'm presuming that he's quite a young child.

You're definitely on the right track to be concerned about discipline. Life is a group affair and no one fits well into a group if he's aggressive. And decreasing the aggression while he's young is so much easier than starting to tackle the problem when he's a teenager.

Since I'm just guessing at your child's age and don't really know about the circumstances of when he aggresses, instead I'll point you to some answers I've given to similar questions. Hopefully if you read what other people have asked, some of the ideas will sound like they fit with your child.

When you go to the links below, you'll first read the original question. Then there's a bit of advertising but scroll down and you'll see the more detailed response.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Autism-1010/Aggression-2.htm

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Autism-1010/positive-discipline-HFA-asbergers.htm

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Autism-1010/2008/2/Agressive-Autistic-Teen.htm

If you feel that none of these apply to your situation, please feel free to write again.

Sincerely,

Sharon A. Mitchell, B.A., B.Ed., M.A.
www.autismsite.ca  

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Dr. Sharon A. Mitchell

Expertise

Sharon can help with parenting and educational concerns. She has worked in teaching, special education, counseling and consultingfor over thirty years and gives workshops to educators and parents on working with kids with autism spectrum disorders. Sharon speaks from both the education and parent points of view, having a son with Asperger's.

Experience

Sharon is a special education consultant with a school district and autism consult for the province's Department of Education, giving workshops and individual consults. She is also the parent of a son with Asperger's who is away at university. Together they have a website at http://www.autismsite.ca that offers strategies for home and school. Sharon's Master's thesis looked at the long-term outlook for persons with high functioning autism and Asperger's. Her Doctorate focused on strategies to help those with autism spectrum disorders

Organizations
Website at http://www.autismsite.ca and sits on Autism Today's Panel of Experts (www.autismtoday.com)

Publications
Author of "School Daze" ebook - a novel about autism, available on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/School-Daze-ebook/dp/B0085HN9HQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337999263&sr=8-1). Download a free sample at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/156913. Co-author of Amazon.com bestseller, The Official Autism 101 Manual (http://autism101manual.com/).

Education/Credentials
B.A. in Psychology, B.Ed. in Special Education, M.A. in Educational Leadership PhD. in Psychology Management, specializing in autism.

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