The Truth About Aspergers and Positive Behavior Management



Posted: Monday, December 20, 2010

by Dave Angel
http://www.parentingaspergers.com

Children with Asperger's behavior problems often require different discipline practices than typical children. Asperger's children think differently than the typical child and perceive rewards and sanctions differently. Asperger's children do not respond well to negative reinforcement, as is true with typical children. Further, Asperger's children do not necessarily consider isolation to be a punishment. The usual "go to your room" method of discipline may not work. Parents have to be creative with their reward and sanction system when it comes to discipline and Asperger's behavior.

In order to correct bad Asperger's behavior, positive reinforcement, such as playing with a preferred toy, time with a computer game or watching a preferred television program, can go a long way. These rewards are considered effective for Asperger's children because these children tend to respond to the presence or absence of things more than to human praise. These rewards can and should be offered with praise at the same time. However, praise alone is rarely a big enough motivator for Asperger's children. Praise does not bolster their self-esteem in the same way it does with typical children. Possible sanctions involve the opposite of the suggested positive reinforcements, such as removing a preferred toy or television program.

Anything your child prefers will be a good currency to use in trying to correct Asperger's behavior. These sanctions, however, must be accompanied by very clear explanations to the child about why the item is being taken away, or why a reward is being given. Only then can the child correlate the reward/punishment with a behavior. Even as a last resort, yelling or smacking is not an option and can easily traumatize the child. Most Asperger's children would not be able to correlate that physical punishment with the incorrect behavior, anyway. This is just counter-productive and will not modify any Asperger's behavior in an effective way.

A few tips for helping to establish positive Asperger's behavior management:

1. Establish a set of concrete rules and consistently enforce them.

2. Describe expectations in terms of what they are supposed to do, as opposed to what they should not do. For example, say "Keep your hands in your lap" rather than "Don't push."

3. Illustrate what is expected of the child with written words, or pictures, they can reference anytime.

4. Have clear boundaries for when activities begin and end. Use a times to signal each.

5. Continue to use preferred activities as motivation for positive behavior.

I hope that you have found this article to be helpful, and will put some of these tips into practice with your child. Children with Aspergers can display some behaviors that can be a challange for parents to deal with at times, so it is important to learn strategies on this subject.

Dave Angel is the author of 3 best-selling ebooks about children with Aspergers Syndrome, and has been helping parents online for 4 years. Do you want to know more about Aspergers behavior? Get your free report 'Secrets to Parenting your Child with Aspergers' Guide - http://www.parentingaspergers.com/blog
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