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Empower Your Autistic Child: 4 Effective Strategies On How To Stop Autistic Child From Hitting Others?

28th June 2024

Are you witnessing your autistic children react impulsively and hit their peers? Then, it could be a distressing situation for everyone present in the classroom including those students involved, every other student, and the teacher themselves.

If you’re worried about, how you can regain control back of the situation and how you can create a positive and safe environment for every autistic child and other students, then we have got you covered.

In this blog post, we will be sharing some of the most effective strategies on how to stop autistic children from hitting others which could help you create a supportive environment for every student.

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So, without any further delay, let’s get started.

Understanding The Reason Behind Autistic Children Hitting
 

  Source: autismpartnershipsg.com

Whenever you have witnessed that any child with autism is showing a sign of violence by hitting or reacting, there must be an underlying reason behind it. In many cases, hitting others can be a way of communicating or showing emotions like- frustration, anxiety, or due to sensory overload within your children with autism.

Below we have mentioned some of the common reasons for children with autism hitting other children:
 

• Overstimulation or due to sensory stimulation
• Having trouble with becoming adaptable to routine
• Feeling anxious or overwhelmed due to any situation or task
• Having trouble during social interactions

4 Effective Ways Of How To Stop Autistic Child From Hitting Others

1. Communicate Effectively

One of the most important steps to address the hitting behaviour of children with autism is for you to communicate with them effectively without any judgments and let them express their thoughts and emotions openly. Below we have shared some of the effective ways of communication:

Listening Actively

As a responsible special need teacher, it’s your responsibility to not only listen to your autistic child's needs but to also understand their verbal and non-verbal cues. This will help you to understand autistic children's emotions and any other needs.

Visual Aid

With the help of different visual aids such as visual schedules or visual stories, you can make autistic children understand expectations and routines clearly.

2. Create a Safe & Supportive Classroom Environment

Another important strategy that every special need teacher should implement to address the hitting behaviours of children with autism is creating a supportive and nurturing environment for them. Below we have shared ways how you can achieve that:

Establish Consistent Routines

Consistent routines give students a sense of predictability and reduce their level of anxiety which tends to mitigate their disruptive behaviour.
 

3. Responding According To Hitting Behaviour

Whenever you have witnessed any situation where children with autism hit their peers or someone then you must act responsibly and calmly. Below we have shared helpful tips with which you can act calmly:

Be Calm

As a responsible teacher, you must keep your cool and composed demeanour during any hitting activity in the classroom. Because children replicate the behaviour of their surrounding people very quickly and they start acting like it.

4. Address Their Behaviour Instantly

Be firm but fair and let your students know that hitting anyone will not be entertained in the classroom and give them alternate ways to express their emotions.

Take Preventive Measure

Lastly, you must consider preparing yourself to prevent any hitting behaviour from your autistic children in the future. Let’s get to know how you can achieve that:

Observe Their Trigger Points

Observe which situation is leading to triggering a hitting behaviour in your autistic children and try to change those situations to avoid any disruptive behaviour.

Help Them To Cope-Up

Help your children with autism to cope and manage their stress and emotions in the right manner rather than acting out. You can suggest them as simple as deep breathing and meditation.

Final Thoughts

The best to figure out how to stop autistic children from hitting others is to find the deep root causes and provide them with the necessary guidance. Consider utilizing the above-mentioned strategies on how to stop an autistic child from hitting others and help them to manage their emotions better.

If you also want to learn more effective strategies to help your autistic children thrive in every aspect of life. Then consider pursuing courses like Online Autism Courses for Teachers, where you will get to learn from top expert trainers from the education industry.


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Written By: Sanjana Chowdhury