Essential Calming Strategies for Kids with Autism

Discover effective calming strategies for kids with autism. Help unlock calmness and support emotional well-being.

By Brighter Strides ABA

June 19, 2024

Understanding Anxiety in Children with Autism

Anxiety is a common challenge experienced by children with autism, and understanding its impact on them is crucial in providing effective support. Autistic children may struggle with recognizing and managing their anxious thoughts and feelings, leading to challenging behaviors. Identifying anxiety triggers and implementing appropriate strategies can help these children navigate their emotions more effectively.

Impact of Anxiety on Autistic Children

Anxiety can have a significant impact on the daily lives of children with autism. It can exacerbate the worries and fears typically experienced by children, further complicating their emotional well-being. Autistic children may display challenging behaviors as a result of feeling anxious, making it essential to address their anxiety to improve their overall functioning.

Recognizing Anxiety Triggers

Identifying the triggers of anxiety in autistic children is crucial for helping them manage their anxiety effectively. Autistic children may struggle with understanding and managing their emotions, making it challenging for them to recognize the factors that contribute to their anxiety.

Strategies to help autistic children recognize their anxiety include teaching them how anxiety feels in their body, such as increased heart rate or sweating. Visual tools, such as body outlines, can be used to assist them in expressing their feelings. By helping them identify their anxiety triggers, we can empower them to develop effective coping strategies.

Understanding the impact of anxiety on autistic children and recognizing their anxiety triggers sets the foundation for implementing the appropriate calming strategies. By addressing their anxiety, we can support their emotional well-being, enabling them to navigate their daily lives with greater ease.

Implementing Calming Strategies

When it comes to helping children with autism manage anxiety and promote calmness, implementing effective calming strategies is essential. Here are three strategies that can be particularly beneficial: deep breathing and visualization, consistency and predictability, and the use of sensory tools.

Deep Breathing and Visualization

Deep breathing and visualization exercises can be powerful tools for children with autism to manage anxiety. Teaching them relaxation techniques when they are calm allows them to practice these techniques and then apply them when they feel anxious.

Encourage your child to take slow, deep breaths by inhaling deeply through their nose and exhaling slowly through their mouth. This practice helps regulate their heart rate and promotes a sense of calm. Combining deep breathing with visualization can be even more effective. Guide your child to imagine a peaceful place or engage in positive imagery that brings them comfort and relaxation.

Consistency and Predictability

Consistency and predictability play a crucial role in reducing anxiety for children with autism. Establishing structured routines and maintaining consistent expectations provide a sense of safety and security. Autistic children thrive when they can anticipate how their day will unfold and understand how their parents will react in different situations.

Create a daily routine that includes predictable activities and transitions. Clearly communicate any changes to the routine in advance, allowing your child to mentally prepare for them. Visual schedules and calendars can be helpful tools to provide a visual representation of the day's activities, enhancing predictability and reducing anxiety.

Sensory Tools for Calming

Sensory tools can be valuable resources for promoting calmness in children with autism. These tools help regulate sensory input, which can alleviate anxiety and promote relaxation. Weighted blankets, for example, are often used in occupational therapy to provide deep pressure touch, which can have a calming effect, increase serotonin production, and improve sleep.

Another useful sensory tool is hand fidgets. These small objects allow children to engage their sensory system by providing tactile feedback and satisfying the need for movement. Fidget toys can help manage anxiety, improve attention, and aid in calming during emotional surges [3].

By incorporating deep breathing and visualization techniques, establishing consistency and predictability, and utilizing sensory tools, parents and caregivers can help children with autism navigate anxiety and cultivate a sense of calm. It's important to tailor these strategies to meet the individual needs and preferences of each child, promoting their overall well-being and emotional regulation.

Importance of Structured Routines

Establishing structured routines is of paramount importance when it comes to supporting children with autism. Routines provide predictability, reliability, and a sense of safety and security, which can be particularly beneficial for individuals with autism who often thrive in structured environments. Let's delve into two key aspects of structured routines: establishing daily routines and the benefits of consistency.

Establishing Daily Routines

Creating a daily routine is essential for children with autism. Routines help them understand what to expect and provide a framework for their day. By establishing consistent patterns around activities such as mealtimes, bedtime, and transitions, parents and caregivers can provide a sense of predictability and stability in the child's life.

When designing a daily routine, it's important to consider the child's unique needs and preferences. Elements such as sensory breaks, therapy sessions, and academic activities should be incorporated into the routine to ensure a well-rounded approach to their development. Visual schedules and timers can also be helpful tools to reinforce the routine and provide a visual representation of the activities and transitions throughout the day.

Benefits of Consistency

Consistency plays a crucial role in supporting children with autism. By maintaining consistent expectations and consequences, children can learn how to control their behaviors and make conscious choices based on known outcomes. When children have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and the consequences that follow, they are more likely to feel secure and make positive choices.

Consistency in routines and expectations also helps children with autism adapt to changes more effectively. When unexpected events or disruptions occur, having a consistent foundation to rely on can provide a sense of stability and reduce anxiety [2]. By maintaining consistency, parents and caregivers can create an environment that allows children with autism to navigate changes with greater ease.

Consistency not only benefits children with autism from a behavioral standpoint but also promotes their emotional well-being. When children have a stable and structured routine, they are more likely to experience satisfaction and contentment as they achieve their daily goals.

In conclusion, structured routines provide numerous advantages for children with autism. By establishing daily routines and maintaining consistency, parents and caregivers can create an environment that fosters stability, comfort, and emotional well-being in the lives of children with autism. These routines serve as a foundation for their development, helping them navigate daily activities, transitions, and changes with confidence and resilience.

Self-Regulation and Emotional Management

Children with autism often struggle with self-regulation and emotional management, making it essential to teach them effective calm down strategies. By providing them with the necessary tools and techniques, we can help reduce emotional outbursts, social anxiety, and aggressive behaviors, while promoting their overall mental health and well-being.

Teaching Calm Down Strategies

Before diving into specific calm down strategies, it is important to help children with autism understand and recognize their emotions. This involves teaching them about positive and negative emotions and helping them identify when their emotions become overwhelming and impact their behavior negatively.

One effective way to teach calm down strategies is by using visual supports such as emotion level charts. These charts allow children to categorize their emotions and serve as reminders to use different levels of calm down strategies. For non-verbal children, visuals and pictures can be used to help them identify situations that trigger specific emotions.

Social stories are another powerful tool for teaching children with autism about calmness and calm down. These stories provide a narrative that helps them understand specific social situations and the appropriate ways to respond. By relating to relatable characters and situations, children can learn and internalize effective strategies for managing their emotions.

Using Visual Supports

Visual supports play a crucial role in helping children with autism engage in self-regulation and emotional management. They provide a concrete and visual framework that aids understanding and enhances communication.

Visual supports can include visual schedules, emotion charts, and cue cards. These tools help children navigate through daily routines, understand and express their emotions, and access calm down strategies when needed. By having these visual reminders readily available, children can independently and effectively manage their emotions.

When it comes to calm down strategies, there are various activities that can be practiced. Deep breathing exercises, such as taking slow and deep breaths, can help children regulate their emotions and promote relaxation. Counting slowly or redirecting thoughts to positive ones are additional techniques that can be beneficial. Problem-solving skills can also be taught to children, enabling them to identify and address the underlying causes of their emotional distress.

By teaching children with autism these self-regulation and emotional management strategies, we empower them to effectively navigate their emotions and promote a sense of calmness. Consistency and repetition are key in reinforcing these techniques and helping children develop the skills they need for emotional well-being.

Mindfulness Interventions

In addition to implementing calming strategies and structured routines, mindfulness interventions can play a vital role in helping children with autism manage anxiety and regulate their emotions. Two notable mindfulness programs for children and families are the Mindful Movers Program and the MYmind Program.

Mindful Movers Program

The Mindful Movers program is a 10-week group-based mindfulness intervention specifically designed for children on the autism spectrum. The program aims to reduce anxiety and improve mindful attention and well-being. While a study published in Springer found that there were no significant differences in outcomes post-intervention, children and parents reported positive experiences.

Children who participated in the Mindful Movers program reported feeling calmer and more relaxed. Parents also observed improvements in their child's anxiety levels, frustration tolerance, and meltdowns. Although the quantitative outcomes did not show significant changes, the program's qualitative benefits indicate that it may still be a valuable tool for promoting calmness and well-being in children with autism.

MYmind Program for Families

The MYmind program is a mindfulness-based intervention that focuses on both children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their parents. The program consists of parallel sessions, with children and parents learning and practicing mindfulness techniques together. This program has shown significant benefits for children with ASD and their families, as highlighted in a study published in PMC.

During the MYmind program, children learn to enhance and direct their attention, increase their awareness of bodily sensations, feelings, and thoughts, and improve their self-control. Parents, on the other hand, learn strategies to cope with parenting stress, respond non-automatically to their child's behavior, and cultivate acceptance and compassion in their parenting approach.

The benefits of the MYmind program extend beyond the duration of the intervention. The study found that children showed improvements in social communication problems, emotional and behavioral functioning, which were sustained at a 2-month follow-up and even at a 1-year follow-up. Parents reported a decrease in their own internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, attention problems, and stress, as well as an increase in mindful awareness in parenting and self-compassion.

By incorporating mindfulness techniques and practices, the Mindful Movers program and the MYmind program provide children with autism and their families with valuable tools for managing anxiety, enhancing emotional well-being, and promoting positive communication and relationships.

It's important to note that while these mindfulness interventions have shown promising results, it's essential to consult with professionals and experts in the field to determine the most suitable approach for each individual child with autism. The support of professionals and the availability of community resources can further enhance the effectiveness and impact of these programs.

Community Support and Resources

Raising a child with autism can present unique challenges for parents. Finding support from the community and accessing appropriate resources can be invaluable in navigating these challenges and providing the best possible care for their children. Two important aspects of community support for parents of children with autism are providing support to parents themselves and seeking professional consultation when needed.

Supporting Parents

Parents of children with autism often experience a range of emotions, including feelings of defeat, overwhelm, and guilt. Connecting with other parents who are facing similar challenges can provide a sense of understanding and support. Support groups, both in-person and online, offer a space for parents to share their experiences, exchange advice, and find solace in knowing they are not alone.

In addition to support groups, there are various online forums, blogs, and social media communities where parents can connect and find support from others who have firsthand experience in raising children with autism. These platforms allow for open discussions, sharing of resources, and the opportunity to ask questions and seek advice from a supportive network of individuals who understand the unique challenges of parenting a child with autism.

Professional Consultation

Seeking professional consultation is another important aspect of community support for parents of children with autism. Professionals who specialize in autism spectrum disorders can provide valuable guidance, strategies, and resources tailored to the specific needs of the child and family. They can offer insights into managing anxiety and provide evidence-based approaches for addressing behavioral difficulties and improving overall well-being.

Professional consultation may involve working with therapists, psychologists, behavior analysts, and other specialists who can conduct assessments, develop individualized treatment plans, and provide ongoing support. These professionals can also assist parents in navigating the education system, accessing appropriate services, and advocating for their child's needs.

By tapping into community support and resources, parents of children with autism can find the guidance, understanding, and assistance they need to navigate the challenges they face. Whether it's connecting with other parents, joining support groups, or seeking professional consultation, these avenues provide a sense of community and equip parents with the tools and knowledge to better support their child's development and well-being.