Understanding Your Autistic Child: Shifting Perspectives RDI style

Understanding your autistic child is key to building a strong and nurturing relationship, and to promoting learning. When you dig deeper into a child’s behaviours, you gain valuable insights into those moments when they are trying to communicate (even if it goes sideways), what works for them, what doesn't, and potential responses. 

Understanding the WHY behind the behaviour is the foundation for developing a meaningful connection with your child.

Having worked with numerous families, I've witnessed their consistent desire to cultivate relationships that can guide their children through the complexities of the world. I always advocate for a proactive approach rather than a reactive one because reactive responses are more likely to lead to disconnection than connection...and that’s not what we want! We want to be connected to our children. 

Approach Behaviour as a Tool for Understanding

Traditional services and ideas around autism and behaviour often focus on responding to behaviors and working to modify them through rigid structures and systems that try to “train” behaviours away. But this type of approach doesn’t work, and if it does, it often causes trauma for the child!

I’ve seen that if you prioritize understanding first, looking at behavior as a way to gain insight, and then create a comprehensive plan from the perspective of understanding, the results are better. Starting with observation and understanding empowers parents to establish genuine connections with their children and then employ effective strategies to support their child.

Change Perspectives & Focus on Strengths

To support connection and understanding, start by identifying the strengths of the child, rather than solely focusing on their challenging behaviour. It’s important to remember that every individual has likes and dislikes regardless of neurotype! We need to adopt a strength-based approach instead of having such an intense focus on on deficits and obstacles.

Constantly highlighting deficits perpetuates a perspective that something is inherently wrong and needs fixing. I choose to reject this mindset. I firmly believe that parents want the best for their children, and that children want to do well! It's so important to consider what brings joy and fulfillment to the child.

To shift our perspective, we need to shift our attention from challenging behaviour to instead focus on the beauty within the child, what makes them happy or sad, their interests, and approach all behaviours with curiosity. 

Embrace Curiousity & Collaborative Problem Solving

Curiosity provides us with opportunities to discover valuable information, which can be used to support collaborative problem-solving. Curiosity opens up possibilities to create a world that accommodates and celebrates your child for who they truly are. It allows families to build the life they have always dreamt of.

Let's change the way we perceive autism and behaviour by focusing on a proactive approach that encourages understanding, connection, curiosity, and collaboration. By doing so, we can unlock the true potential within all children and pave the way for a brighter future.

Join me in shifting perspectives and embarking on a journey of proactive parenting that celebrates the uniqueness of each autistic child. Together, let's create a world that nurtures and empowers them to thrive