List of Maladaptive Behaviors In Autism— Illuminate ABA

Have you ever seen an autistic child suddenly become overwhelmed and start flapping their hands, shouting, and throwing objects? This outburst is not just a random act but a maladaptive behavior— a way to cope with the sensory overload. Such behaviors affect the social interactions and daily functioning of autistic individuals. This is why recognizing and addressing them is very crucial.

This article comprises a list of maladaptive behaviors that need immediate attention.

Table of Contents

Understanding Maladaptive Behaviors

Maladaptive behaviors are the actions or behaviors that hinder the ability of people to interact, adapt, adjust, and participate in multiple aspects of life. Usually, they arise as a coping mechanism for stress and sensory overload, but in the long term, they affect the person’s ability to function effectively in daily life.

Unlike typical behaviors, maladaptive behaviors are harmful and have a negative impact on society. Apart from negative social impact, such behaviors are heinous for the autistic individual as well.

In-home settings, parents or caregivers have a tough time with meal times and toilet training of children with maladaptive behaviors. In schools or resource centers, such maladaptive behaviors don’t let the kid be involved in class activities, nor do they interact with their classmates efficiently.

Common Maladaptive Behaviors in Autism

Here are some of the common maladaptive behaviors in autism:

• Repetitive and restrictive behaviors

You have often noticed an autistic child flapping hands, rocking back and forth, and repeating speech. In actuality, this is a way for autistic children to self-soothe or regulate their emotions. However, it’s their way to express their excitement and manage their anxiety and sensory overload, but society considers them as a stigma and “something unusual.”

• Communication and social interaction challenges

Children with autism usually struggle to communicate their needs and emotions. As they don’t know how to ask for something they want, this leads to frustration and developmental issues. As a result, they may resort to maladaptive behaviors like throwing tantrums or being aggressive when they are unable to communicate their feelings and demands.

• Sensory processing issues

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder encounter slight or heightened sensory processing issues. This means that they are sensitive to certain sensory stimuli, such as loud noises, bright lights, and particular textures, and these things overwhelm them. This results in the development of distress, which causes them to behave unusually.

• Aggressive and self-injurious behaviors

As a result of sensory overload or inability to communicate their feelings and needs, autistic individuals often engage in self-injurious behaviors. They do self-hurting activities such as head-banging, biting, or hitting as a way to express their aggression or frustration.

• Emotional dysregulation

As autistic individuals have challenges with regulating their emotions, they end up showing intense outbursts known as tantrums or meltdowns. This includes crying, shouting, or physical distress, but the reason can be any from sensory overload, changes in routine, or unmet needs.

Factors Contributing to Maladaptive Behaviors

Following are some of the factors that lead to maladaptive behaviors.

• Difficulty in communicating their needs and feelings
• Challenges in processing sensory overload
• Other co-curring medical conditions such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD
• Lack of proper routine and structure in their surrounding environment
• Frustration and distress due to the unmet needs and expectations

Strategies For Addressing Maladaptive Behaviors

• Identifying triggers and antecedents

It is necessary for people directly associated with autistic individuals to know that each action has some function or behavior. This means that whether they are shouting or flapping their hands, there might be some reason behind it. To address it, one should know the trigger or antecedent that has stimulated the certain behavior. This can be an environment, specific person, events, or sensory stimuli as well.

• Teaching alternative communication and coping skills

To enable individuals with autism spectrum disorder to communicate their needs, you can implement multiple strategies, such as using visual schedules for their daily routines or transitions, as it helps reduce the anxiety of what comes next.

Moreover, you can create social stories that illustrate adaptive behaviors and social interactions, as this helps them in learning how to respond appropriately in any situation. If the child has limited verbal skills, you can use Picture Exchange Systems (PECS) or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices so that they can effectively communicate, leading to reduced frustration and aggression.

• Reinforcing positive behaviors

Reinforcing positive behaviors is a great way to transition maladaptive behaviors into adaptive ones. To do so, you can reward your child with a toy, candy, or even an activity or praise them for doing a desired act to encourage them to repeat that act.

Moreover, it makes them feel valued and praised and celebrates their successes no matter how little they are. This will motivate them to continue improvement and reinforce positive behaviors.

The Role of Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy

Professional support is always a great help in reducing maladaptive behaviors. For individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), applied behavior analysis therapy has shown an 89% success rate.

It is a structured approach that focuses on the improvement of communication skills, adaptive behaviors, and social interactions of the person. The ABA therapist helps in reducing maladaptive behaviors by teaching alternative adaptive behaviors.

For example, if a child with autism often exhibits self-injuring activities such as head-banding, the ABA therapist first does functional behavioral analysis to find out the triggers. Later, he will do the interventions that can turn the child’s behavior into a positive one.

Conclusion

So, maladaptive behaviors like self-injurious activities, sensory processing issues, emotional dysregulation, repetitive and restrictive behaviors, and difficulty in communication and social interactions are quite common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). All you need is to adapt effective strategies to change these maladaptive behaviors into adaptive behaviors.

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