15/12/2023
Wanna know how to to respond to behaviour without trying to change children?
"How can behaviour support be neurodivergent-affirming?"
A common (and encouraged) question we get!
Behaviour support is, unfortunately, very often based on Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). ABA is a "therapy" that is extremely harmful to the autistic community, and a "therapy" we actively reject in all its forms. Because of this, we absolutely validate our community's need to be sceptical of any service providing behaviour support.
So... to answer the question, we've developed a (very simplified) example scenario!
When you look at the graphic below, please remember that this is a simplified example to demonstrate how we work. Not all Autistic and ADHD individuals present this way and more often than not, there will be several layers of unmet, competing, or even conflicting needs that contribute to dysregulation.
Graphic says
“How can behaviour support be neurodivergent-affirming?”
This is a common (and extremely valid) question Instinct Au is asked when we tell people we’re a neurodivergent-affirming behaviour support provider. So let’s answer it with an example!
This is Tommy (picture of a young boy next to text). Tommy is Autistic and ADHD. Tommy’s parents have noticed that he has a lot of trouble following rules they set, like sitting at the table for dinner or not jumping on the couch. Tommy’s parents have also said that he will quickly get angry and start yelling “no” and “it’s not fair” when they try to enforce these rules, and at times punch and kick them.
At school, his teacher says he doesn’t listen when told to sit at his desk, will often be fidgeting, and will run out of the classroom and onto the playground or off school grounds with no notice. The teacher says that Tommy doesn’t listen to anything she says at these times, and Tommy will try to push her if she gets in his way.
So... how would we support Tommy while affirming his natural way of navigating the world?
Firstly, we help people understand that Tommy is trying to meet his needs, and like many neurodivergent people, he has needs that often aren’t well understood by others, as they differ to the needs of neurotypical people. He’s doing the best he can, but there’s only so much a child can do when they have needs which aren’t being met or respected.
Our priority is then working out what unmet needs Tommy has and what we can be doing to help him have these needs met. After spending some time with Tommy, and chatting with his parents and teacher, we work out that it’s likely Tommy has a heightened need for movement, and he needs to be able to move his body to remain regulated. Each instance of dysregulation where Tommy has become verbally or physically aggressive has followed a period of him being expected to ignore this need.
With this understanding, we can trial different ways to help Tommy have this need met. This is typically a mixture of adjusting expectations, and environmental accommodations. We are not trying to “replace behaviour”. Rather, we work to help Tommy have his needs met in all environments. Just as we wouldn’t expect someone to ignore starvation, we can’t expect Tommy to ignore his own unmet needs.
