Parents' Guide: Meeting The Needs Of An Autistic Child

Autism is a developmental disorder that varies in severity usually characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication, whilst also being generally restricted by repetitive thoughts and behaviours. Autism is defined by a spectrum that needs to be explored and understood by anyone that has friends or loved ones with the disorder. This will help by making difficulties such as interaction, caregiving, and ‘normal life’ that little bit easier. 

Having a child diagnosed with Autism will forever be a powerful moment in your life and it’s joined by a myriad of emotions and worries. Addressing these as a parent will not only help you understand the life of your child slightly better but also how to move forward and progress. The pressing question, however, is how do you meet the needs of your child? 

Learn More About Your Child's Diagnosis 

Autism is often categorised as one disorder, whereas, the reality is that it’s broken down into three separate conditions that depend on an individual’s traits and thought processes. Learning more about your child’s diagnosis will help you meet their needs and largely give better care. 

If a child displays signs and characteristics of Asperger’s syndrome and Pragmatic disorder, combined with a few more traits then the diagnosis is usually Autism, the first condition.

Typically, when a child displays signs of Asperger’s Syndrome, the second of the three conditions, they will appear socially strange, naive and often inappropriate. Their speech will be long-winded, repetitive, and literal with no thought to usual conversational customs. Nonverbal communication will be poor, interests will be circumscribed and common sense tends to be lacking. 

Pragmatic Disorder, the third condition, tends to come with social and emotional delays. Language can often be a struggle and whilst they do OK with the mechanics of speaking (pronouncing words, constructing sentences), holding a conversation will be difficult. This can also lead to academic difficulties. 

Seeing where your child needs help and understanding what you might be able to do is step one. Take responsibility and learn about the conditions, think critically and be prepared for the future. 

Positive Reinforcement Is Good 

Due to several attributes, autism limits children from knowing if they’re doing right or wrong. The rigidity of thought can become a battle if the belief held by your child is that they’re right, when in fact, they just don’t understand. Reinforcing good behaviour from a young age is important for your child to understand that their actions are not abstract and merely functional, but instead real and with meaning. 

Try and combine rewards with something that will assist your child with their needs whilst being educational at the same time. It is important when looking at these gifts for autistic children to find something that will be rewarding, educational, and in helping with their disorder will make it easier for you as a parent to seek out good behaviour. Caring for a child with autism can be overwhelming at many different points throughout any one day, so remembering and holding onto the positives can allow your mind to relax a little. 

Consistency Is Key

Routine is paramount to the majority of people with autism, which is why implementing a structure and being consistent is an essential task for parents. Keeping everything within that routine will benefit your child’s learning as long as each aspect is incorporated. 

Children with ASD tend to struggle with applying learned behaviour from one situation to another. For example, using sign language to communicate with teachers in school, but never thinking it can be done at home. 

Find out how your child is learning outside of the home, whether that’s in school or therapy sessions and replicate it at home. Consistency is key. 

Nonverbal Communication Is Important 

A trait that’s widely known to those with autism is the difficulty of communication. Some don’t use language at all to communicate feelings or ideas, others won’t understand why their language isn’t working in the way they want it too, and a select few won’t speak at all.

As a parent, learning how your child wants to communicate is not only important for how you look after them, but also in how you bond with them. Learn the nonverbal cues they give out, sounds, facial expressions and gestures, and discover what they mean. This will enable you to learn more about your child and give them what they need. 

Autism is an incredibly in-depth and complex condition that can’t be truly understood. There aren’t factual walkthroughs on how to deal with living or caring for someone with autism, only rough guides like this one. Learning is the key to progression and it’s the only true way to understand how to meet the needs of our children.