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How Can Parents Support Their Child with Autism and Anxiety to Have a Better Start to the New School Year?
The start of a new school year can be overwhelming for any child or teenager. However, it can be distinctly challenging for those living with autism and anxiety. As a parent, it’s natural to worry about how your child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may handle their transition into a new school season. In fact, many parents may find themselves considering the best ways they can support their child with autism and anxiety to have a better start to the new school year.
Fortunately, there are steps and strategies caregivers of neurodivergent loved ones can take to support their loved ones throughout their educational experiences while helping them establish confidence in school readiness and attendance.
In this blog, ABA Centers of Delaware, we’ll explore some ABA strategies to help your ASD child or teenager feel better about starting a new school year despite obstacles like anxiety. We will also discuss the link between autism and anxiety. So, keep reading to learn more about this critical topic that affects many with ASD each upcoming school year!
For more information about ABA Centers of Delaware, visit us here. To read other blogs about autism, ABA therapy, and applied behavior analysis, click here.
Understanding Autism and Anxiety
Before we dive into the strategies for school readiness for children and teenagers on the spectrum experiencing anxiety, it’s essential to define what autism and anxiety are. By understanding their criteria, caregivers can more deeply understand how these experiences and conditions may affect their child’s school experience.
Autism Speaks defines autism and anxiety as the following:
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects communication, social skills, and behavior. Children with ASD often struggle with social interactions, understanding emotions, and adapting to changes in routine.
Anxiety: Anxiety is a mental health condition presenting symptoms including excessive worry and fear that can hinder life. For children with autism, different variables may trigger anxiety, including sensory overload, difficulty communicating an individual’s needs or feelings, or challenges with social situations, causing behavior changes and other challenges.
Caregivers, educators, and allies should recognize that every child with autism is unique, and each neurodivergent student may face different challenges in the classroom. Still, they should keep these core criteria in mind.
The Link Between Autism and Anxiety
Research shows that 40% of individuals with autism experience also anxiety. Anxiety in autism can present due to several reasons, including difficulties with heightened socialization, sensory sensitivities, and problems adapting to change. These challenges can lead to feelings of uncertainty and unpredictability, which can trigger anxiety and the demonstration of complex behaviors that can be common for those with autism.
Here are a few examples of how anxiety can present in children with autism:
- Meltdowns: As described by the National Autistic Society, some with autism may experience meltdowns when feeling anxious or overwhelmed. These meltdowns may include intense emotional outbursts, physical aggression, or self-injurious behavior. Parents and educators must do their best to understand these behaviors and their triggers, as well as ways to support a child during a meltdown to help them overcome it.
- Avoidance Behaviors: Children with autism may also engage in avoidance behaviors to cope with their anxiety. These behaviors may include avoiding certain activities or situations that trigger anxiety through various forms of escape, including but not limited to elopement behaviors. These actions can lead to missed opportunities for learning and even danger in some cases.
- Communication Difficulties: For children with autism who struggle with communication, expressing their feelings when they are having anxiety can be difficult. These struggles with communication can lead to misunderstandings and frustration, further exacerbating their anxiety and increasing avoiding communication. In other cases, communication struggles can lead to actions that also earn unwarranted attention from others, which can further hinder communication.
The Impact of Anxiety and Autism Around School Time
Managing anxiety in the classroom is crucial for children with ASD. Anxiety can significantly impact a child’s ability to learn, socialize, and participate in daily activities. It can also affect their behavior, leading to disruptions or behaviors that limit their and their peer’s academic progress in the classroom.
The following are a few examples of how autism and anxiety can directly impact a classroom environment:
- An ASD student may refuse to participate in group activities or presentations due to social anxiety. The child may scream or demonstrate aggression to avoid circle time or other similar programming.
- Struggling with transitions between subjects or classes, like choir to lunchtime, can lead to outbursts or meltdowns that can be exhausting for the students and educators.
- Experiencing sensory overload in a noisy classroom may lead a student to escape the classroom environment and wander when the educator isn’t looking, leading to danger.
Understanding how autism and anxiety can impact your child’s experience in the classroom can help you better support them and advocate for their needs. Additionally, when triggers happen, or problems arise, you can provide educators with helpful information to avoid them from happening again or at all.
How ABA Can Help
ABA therapy is an evidence-based model that focuses on understanding and shaping behavior through the principles of ABA to improve independence and skill acquisition in many with an ASD diagnosis.
ABA provides the framework necessary for understanding and managing complex behaviors in ASD. Ultimately, ABA helps children develop essential skills that benefit them throughout their lives. As a model, ABA is very beneficial in early intervention, leading to more clinical progress for many who receive it.
5 ABA Tips for Conquering the School Year with Confidence
Here are some ways ABA providers and caregivers can help children with autism better manage their anxiety while working toward school readiness to ensure a better school year. Caregivers should ask their ABA providers for help applying strategies to the child’s distinct needs, and only under the careful guidance of a licensed BCBA.
1. Develop Coping Skills
Parents and ABA providers can help children with autism learn appropriate ways to cope with their anxious feelings in and out of ABA sessions. While coping skills are often unique to the person, they may include helpful options, like deep breathing exercises, calming tools like fidget toys or spinners, or learning how to request a break during moments of overload.
By equipping individuals on the spectrum with the coping skills they need to get through the school day, they can process challenging situations without resorting to behaviors that carry negative consequences.
2. Establish Routines
Routines provide predictability and stability for children on the spectrum, often reducing feelings of anxiety. ABA providers can work with parents and educators to establish consistent routines at home and in the classroom. These routines can help kids feel more in control and ready for their day.
3. Create Visual Supports
Neurodivergent children often benefit from visual aids to understand expectations and navigate daily tasks. ABA providers and parents can create visual supports, such as picture schedules or checklists, to help children understand what is happening or needed from them throughout the school day. Establishing expectations through visual supports can reduce anxiety by providing a clear visual display of what will happen.
4. Encourage Socialization
Social interactions can be a potential trigger for anxiety in neurodivergent individuals. ABA providers can use social skills training techniques to teach children with autism how to communicate and interact with their peers effectively. Parents can reinforce these social skills by practicing conversations and language skills whenever possible. By building social skills, children can feel more confident in their interactions, which also helps to reduce anxiety and improve their social bonds.
5. Use Positive Reinforcement
ABA uses positive reinforcement as a cornerstone in increasing appropriate, productive school behaviors and redirecting challenging ones. By consistently using this technique in the classroom, educators can help children with autism feel more confident and reduce their anxiety by showing them good things happen when they demonstrate accurate school readiness skills.
Better Schools Days Are Possible with A Bit of ABA Support
Navigating the school year with autism and anxiety can be challenging. Fortunately, with the right strategies and support, it can also be a rewarding and successful experience. By incorporating ABA techniques at home and in the classroom, parents, educators, and ABA providers can establish an excellent environment for ASD learning and help students develop more positive associations with the classroom setting.
Remember that even tiny steps can lead to massive achievements in ASD. So, stay committed, stay positive, and let’s make this school year the best one yet for our children with autism and anxiety.
More About ABA Therapy with ABA Centers of Delaware
ABA Centers of Delaware offer comprehensive ABA services tailored to the needs of children and teenagers with an autism diagnosis. Our expert ABA team provides custom ABA support to help children thrive in both home and school environments. We always use evidence-based programs that support your child’s passions and originality.
ABA Centers of Delaware offer a range of ASD services, including
- Individual ABA Therapy Sessions
- ABA Parent Training
- Autism Diagnostic Screening and More
For more information about our approach to ABA support, please contact ABA Centers of Delaware via this online link or by calling (844) 855-8517. We serve the Wilmington Area of Delaware.
Together, let’s improve your neurodivergent child’s odds of success in the classroom.