This presentation was interesting and informative. One thing, though, that is so important when considering the cause of behavior, particularly in regards to autism, are sensory needs. With the toothbrushing example, Dr. Haq provided possible causes for the person’s behavior, including that something about the consequence is more reinforcing than the person having good dental hygiene and positive social relationships. We know that people with autism process sensory information much differently. For an autistic person, experiences that are totally routine to others may be overwhelming or even painful. In this case, sensory needs should be a top consideration. Is the “minty fresh” feel or flavor abhorrent to this person? Is the toothbrush too hard (my dentist recommends soft toothbrushes for everyone in general)? Is too much or too little pressure used? Do they have oral sensitivity? Is the water left running while they’re brushing, causing too much noise in a room where sounds can be amplified? Considering sensory causes for an autistic person’s behavior should be at the top of the list. I am not autistic but I have misophonia, which is when ordinary sounds cause a strong reaction, including anxiety or anger. For me, I am extremely bothered by eating sounds, and they make me irrationally angry. If it becomes too much, I have to leave a table because it’s so upsetting. If someone did an FBA on me without knowing this, they’d probably come up with one of these functions: she wants to escape the demand of having to sit for such a long time or converse with others; she could be attention seeking because she looked upset and someone will go check on her or ask if she’s ok when she comes back; I saw her scrolling on her phone in another room, so she could have just eloped to access a tangible. None of that would be the case, and if I was on the phone, it would just be to help myself become regulated again. Here’s another example that might be more relevant to most people. You’re driving. You made a wrong turn, ended up in a remote area, and have no cell service. You’re already running behind. The radio is on, and your kids are singing along loudly. It’s a bit hot and you haven’t been feeling well, maybe coming down with something. You turn down the music and snap at the kids to calm down, which you rarely do, but you were overwhelmed with sensory input. That overwhelm happens much more easily and it’s felt more strongly for people with autism, and if they don’t have the skills to handle their reaction, they have a meltdown, which could include aggressive behaviors. Please, please consider the sensory needs of each person. Think about all eight (yes, eight) senses and what could be causing overwhelm in the environment. It might seem innocuous to you, but consider a situation with your personal sensory nightmares (nails on a chalkboard, being too hot for too long, etc.) and being forced to deal with exposure to them daily, perhaps multiple times a day or even for hours. You wouldn’t just get over it. Getting a reward wouldn’t make it better. Being praised for enduring it wouldn’t make it better. You would probably explode or implode in some way. That was much longer than I expected but everyone’s brain and body is completely different, and we have to respect and consider that for the autistic people we want to help.
Very good presentation and cool guy👍🤩
Thank you for putting on you tube
Cool guy 😎
This presentation was interesting and informative. One thing, though, that is so important when considering the cause of behavior, particularly in regards to autism, are sensory needs. With the toothbrushing example, Dr. Haq provided possible causes for the person’s behavior, including that something about the consequence is more reinforcing than the person having good dental hygiene and positive social relationships. We know that people with autism process sensory information much differently. For an autistic person, experiences that are totally routine to others may be overwhelming or even painful.
In this case, sensory needs should be a top consideration. Is the “minty fresh” feel or flavor abhorrent to this person? Is the toothbrush too hard (my dentist recommends soft toothbrushes for everyone in general)? Is too much or too little pressure used? Do they have oral sensitivity? Is the water left running while they’re brushing, causing too much noise in a room where sounds can be amplified? Considering sensory causes for an autistic person’s behavior should be at the top of the list.
I am not autistic but I have misophonia, which is when ordinary sounds cause a strong reaction, including anxiety or anger. For me, I am extremely bothered by eating sounds, and they make me irrationally angry. If it becomes too much, I have to leave a table because it’s so upsetting. If someone did an FBA on me without knowing this, they’d probably come up with one of these functions: she wants to escape the demand of having to sit for such a long time or converse with others; she could be attention seeking because she looked upset and someone will go check on her or ask if she’s ok when she comes back; I saw her scrolling on her phone in another room, so she could have just eloped to access a tangible.
None of that would be the case, and if I was on the phone, it would just be to help myself become regulated again.
Here’s another example that might be more relevant to most people. You’re driving. You made a wrong turn, ended up in a remote area, and have no cell service. You’re already running behind. The radio is on, and your kids are singing along loudly. It’s a bit hot and you haven’t been feeling well, maybe coming down with something. You turn down the music and snap at the kids to calm down, which you rarely do, but you were overwhelmed with sensory input.
That overwhelm happens much more easily and it’s felt more strongly for people with autism, and if they don’t have the skills to handle their reaction, they have a meltdown, which could include aggressive behaviors. Please, please consider the sensory needs of each person. Think about all eight (yes, eight) senses and what could be causing overwhelm in the environment. It might seem innocuous to you, but consider a situation with your personal sensory nightmares (nails on a chalkboard, being too hot for too long, etc.) and being forced to deal with exposure to them daily, perhaps multiple times a day or even for hours. You wouldn’t just get over it. Getting a reward wouldn’t make it better. Being praised for enduring it wouldn’t make it better. You would probably explode or implode in some way.
That was much longer than I expected but everyone’s brain and body is completely different, and we have to respect and consider that for the autistic people we want to help.