Reward and Punishment

Reward and Punishment

One of the most difficult challenges of dealing with
an autistic child is determining how to reward them
when they’ve done a good job and how to punish them
when they exhibit an undesirable behavior.

Parents of autistic children are often reluctant
to use any form of punishment and the usual reward
systems don’t often work for autistic children.

As an example, autistic children don’t respond as
well to praise or hugs as other children do.

Instead, they might respond to things like a
favorite treat, a favorite toy or preferred music
as a way of showing them they’ve done something
good.

While the natural response is to lavish a child
with praise, it may be over stimulating to an
autistic child and may not alter their behavior.

It’s up to the parent to determine which things
are preferred by the child so that those can be
used in a sort of reward system.

The usual punishments tend to be those that don’t
work for autistic children.

Things like “time out” work well with children
who thrive on contact with others but don’t
work on autistic children who don’t have the
same drive to be with other children.

Taking away a preferred toy or preferred item
may be the best way to show your dissatisfaction
with something the autistic child is doing.

Because this may lead to further unwanted
behavior, the parent needs to explain to
the child what the preferred behavior is so
that they can begin to shape their behavior
toward what is expected of them.

Corporal punishment, like spanking, etc., tends
not to be very helpful to autistic children.

Not to mention a very morally and legally
unethical practice for parents in the 21st Century.

They have skewed perceptions of sensation
and may either respond not at all to this kind of
punishment or may have an exaggerated response
to corporal punishment, which only serves to
upset the child without giving them an idea of
what behavior is expected of them.

Punishment and reward systems are a part of
raising children, autistic or not.

With autistic children, the punishments and
rewards have to be geared toward the
developmental state the child is in and to
which things are preferred or not preferred
by the child.

While this takes some trial and error,
finding the right way to show appreciation
or dissatisfaction are worth the effort and
will go a long way toward getting your child
to behave in a positive way.

The Parenting Autism Resource Guide: A Complete Resource Guide For Parents Who Have Children Diagnosed With Autism.