become more abundant and more severe in later life. Nonverbal children, unclear pronunciation or children displaying difficulties with expressing themselves become easily frustrated as they’re not understood by their peers. We may therefore see inappropriate / aggressive challenging behaviour as a consequence. Alternatively, parents often report their children have excellent communications and use ‘big’ words, not requiring any SALT referral. These children may be displaying ‘echolalia’ (repetition) and appear to have a mature grasp of the language but when further investigated these are the children that struggle in the classroom due to their lack of understanding and lack of expressive speech. Interventions for challenging behaviour need to be applied with parents being the effective change agents with support from
professionals. There are many accessible parenting groups for example; Webster Stratton, which offer parents guidance. Consistency and routine are paramount. A good routine removes the unexpected, allowing the child to understand what is expected of them, thereby preventing triggers for behaviour. Relieving anxiety can also remove some of the aggressive behaviour we see. For example a visual time table in a school environment, a social story or applications of a sensory diet. Children can be very complex and need to be unpicked like a ball of wool or similarly pieced together like a jigsaw to find the correct cause/diagnosis for their presentation. Some children are not developmentally age appropriate and need time to mature. Children who have suffered an adverse childhood experience (ACE) may not have had their basic needs met
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(Maslow’s 1943, Hierarchy of needs) and therefore rather than refer for autism/ social communication assessments, the need to allow time to gain these physiological needs creating a solid foundation for development. Interestingly Maslow noted that the third level of human need is social and involves feelings of belongingness and he stated the need for interpersonal relationships motivates behaviour. In summary, autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people communicate and interact with others. It is a spectrum condition, meaning it affects people in different ways. The application of early intervention once a problem is identified will improve both the children’s outcomes and the parent’s mental health wellbeing; the child will be enabled to transition into a school environment removing the negativity which may affect the child’s ability to engage in activities and education.
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