Trying To Cope With A Severely Autistic Child

[Z.T.O]

Michele Sheffield wants to keep her severely autistic 20 year-old son Harley at home but he has become too big and violent for her to handle on her own. She fears for his safety if he was to go into an institution or group home.

 

[Solid Snake]

It is sad seeing people like that. :downer:

 

[Nick]

That was not what I expected tbh. My brother has high-functioning autism, but he is nothing like that. It's just sad to see.

 

[CrayJ Lee]

I work with children and young adults on the autism spectrum for a living. As a behavioral therapist, it's heartbreaking to see children and young adults as well as their families in this situation.

My initial thought while watching this video was whether the family ever attempted working with him through an applied behavior analysis program. The company I work for and others like it have been successful in assisting with behavior management (with things like the self injurious behavior displayed in the video), as well as development in communication and social skills.

From some of this too, it makes me wonder about the function of some of his behavior. Every behavior has a function - whether it's for attention, escape, to access a tangible reinforcer, or if it's internally motivating. Particularly with the self injurious behavior when the mother kept saying "why are you upset" and continuously mentioning his Santa Claus video and reacting immediately to the injurious behavior, that could be giving him the attention he wants. I see this same similar thing on a daily basis. From my personal opinion, his case is not as hopeless as the mother thinks it is. Yes, the behaviors have been engrained for years and that would be very difficult to shape into new more appropriate behaviors, but parent education on the matter and consistency in expectations could go a very long way.

 

[Crayo]

She just needs to hang around with @dios for a bit to see the real meaning of severely autistic.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Wow deth you should treat your mom bet---

::sees we already have a deth joke (albeit an inferior one)::

well then.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

If that was my kid I'd probably throw him through a plate glass window and say he did it to himself. What a shithead.

 

[Just Kevin]

His mother is the problem in this situation.. she can't handle him so institute him.. the incident she was talking about rarely happens.

As long as she keeps him there with no form of treatment he will just continue to get worse.

 

[Solid Snake]

His mother is the problem in this situation.. she can't handle him so institute him.. the incident she was talking about rarely happens.

As long as she keeps him there with no form of treatment he will just continue to get worse.

I rarely see anyone having such strong bouts of anger from autism. Usually when you do see it, it is because the parent(s) let it get out of control.

 

[Roadster]

Since we're on the autism subject i'd like to bring up another video.



Shouldn't he deserve whatever he did? I mean if my child was autistic, yes up to a certain age I would think my child shouldn't be blamed but the kid in he video looks about 10-14. If he did anything online that isn't allowed shouldn't he get the punishment? Just my 2 cents.

 

[Vice]

It always kinda gets me down when I see people with an illness that essentially renders them unable to function in society and a social outcast. Just makes you think, like "What if that was my son, or my sibling, hell, what if it was me?" Idk if I'm getting a little too sappy here but I'm just thankful that this isn't the case.

 

[Farooq]

This breaks my heart more than anything.

 

[CrayJ Lee]

I rarely see anyone having such strong bouts of anger from autism. Usually when you do see it, it is because the parent(s) let it get out of control.

At times the behavior is not within the parameters of the parent's control. Sometimes, especially with individuals on the lower end of the spectrum who are nonverbal and have a difficult time expressing their basic wants and needs, sometimes anger like in the video occurs out of that frustration. In that case, it's not something the family can necessarily control until other means of communication are taught (like through communication aids on an iPad or visual requesting boards) and then those behaviors can fade out.

Some are just internally motivating (feels good) for individuals on the spectrum and have nothing to do with attention, escape, or access to preferred items or activities. Those are the most difficult to shape into a more socially appropriate behavior because they're just naturally engaging in something that feels good to them.

 

[Solid Snake]

At times the behavior is not within the parameters of the parent's control. Sometimes, especially with individuals on the lower end of the spectrum who are nonverbal and have a difficult time expressing their basic wants and needs, sometimes anger like in the video occurs out of that frustration. In that case, it's not something the family can necessarily control until other means of communication are taught (like through communication aids on an iPad or visual requesting boards) and then those behaviors can fade out.

Some are just internally motivating (feels good) for individuals on the spectrum and have nothing to do with attention, escape, or access to preferred items or activities. Those are the most difficult to shape into a more socially appropriate behavior because they're just naturally engaging in something that feels good to them.

I am just glad there are people like you who know how to help kids in this situation. I can't imagine how hard it is on the parents.

 

[The GOAT]

She just needs to hang around with @dios for a bit to see the real meaning of severely autistic.

You should change your user title. You're not the boss here anymore, son.