Autism Home Learning

An essential part of the behaviour iceberg is communication. Most behaviours have meaning, but we need to make sure we proactively look for that meaning. A shift in mindset from focusing upon a behaviour to thinking about communication helps to have a more positive focus and attitude towards behaviour.  The iceberg model helps us to think about the underlying reasons for behaviour and to try to understand how the individual might be feeling. Behaviours are often an expression of how someone is feeling and it can be useful therefore to think about behaviour as communication. Communication involves intentionally sending messages to another person, with the expectation that they will respond in some way.  Whilst not all behaviours are intentional communication, it is helpful for us to think about communication as integral to behaviour as this helps to develop supportive strategies. Professor Rita Jordan, renowned for her knowledge of autism, explains:  “The ...

With prolonged school closures and uncertainty about almost everything, it is not surprising if you are seeing more behaviours at the tip of the iceberg than is usual for your son or daughter. This post is about looking below the waterline to think about feelings and how these relate to how an individual behaves. H ow are you feeling about the current situation, the many uncertainties and the sometimes unfathomable decisions regarding the way forward? How have your feelings affected the ways in which you behave? Perhaps you have been more irritable, or maybe you have withdrawn from usual activities? The same may well be true for many autistic children and young people. They may be experiencing feelings which are more intense than usual and/or feelings they have not experienced before. They may well be behaving in ways which are different from their usual behaviours and you may feel overwhelmed by behaviours at home which are more intense and/or which you are finding difficult to ...

What is behaviour and why do we sometimes label behaviour as ‘challenging’?  Well this is not as straight forward as it may seem – what is challenging to one person may not be to another, thus the ‘challenge’ is subjective. Personally I dislike the word ‘challenging’ as it is frequently used to label a person as challenging and this then leads to assumptions and misconceptions about an individual and how they behave. If we label behaviours as challenging, we need to recognise that part of the challenge is our own understanding and interpretation of what we see. This week’s posts focus on behaviour and the messages that may be intended through specific behaviours.  I reflect upon how we can understand behaviours and interpret what we see as communication and an expression of feelings. I also suggest different ways to think about behaviours that may be helpful at home. This first post focuses upon what we see – or the tip of the iceberg. Behaviour - Introduction   Every...