Bright lights. Loud noises. A shirt tag. Too-tight shoes. Too hot, too cold. People with autism are often either hypo- or hyper-sensitive to sensory input. Little things we may not even think about as neurotypicals can throw off an entire day, an entire week, an entire school year for a learner with autism.
They need to stim.
“Stimming” in autism refers to repetitive, self-stimulating behaviors, and can look like rocking, flapping hands, spinning, lining up objects, moaning, or pacing. Neurotypical folks stim too, but usually within the confines of what’s socially acceptable: biting fingernails, jiggling a leg while sitting, spinning a ring on a finger, etc.
Stimming can help with sensory integration, regulating emotions, and calming the nervous system. It’s very important that learners with autism be allowed to stim, but sometimes, when stimming is too loud, distracting, or violates another student’s boundaries, it can be super disruptive.
It’s easy to accidentally reward negative behavior.
When a child lashes out and starts pushing or hitting their peers, it’s entirely natural to move other children away from that child, or isolate the child who is lashing out in a separate space.
But what has that child, who struggles with communication skills, learned from that interaction? The negative behavior has been reinforced, and they’ve acquired a new skill: when kids are too close and it feels uncomfortable, and if they push or hit someone, the teacher will remove the problem or give them the desired alone time.
What’s supposed to be a consequence ends up being a reward, and the child will resort to the same behaviors again and again.