【Knowledge science】The special fear of autistic children, we should understand.

The earlier autism is detected and intervened, the better the effect.

Children with autism disorder have no avenue to ask for help, so unexpected and distressing events often increase their fear of the outside world and their aversion to any changes.

Some children with autism are always nervous and scared, and many of them may have a fear of something harmless at some point. It is often difficult to know the cause of these fears, but sometimes it can be traced backwards to when the fear first formed. There was a little girl who had a new pair of shoes that were very uncomfortable to wear because the shoes rubbed against the heels. From then on, as soon as the shoes were put on her feet, she began to scream and refuse to walk. After a while, she even started screaming as soon as she saw her shoes or slippers. A little boy put his finger in the water of the bathtub, and the water was slightly hotter, and from then on people could no longer persuade him to go into the bathtub to take a bath, although he was very happy to sit in the huge sink in the kitchen. Normally developing children may have experiences that alarm them as children, but they are usually able to tell their parents about their fears and accept their parents' reassurance and explanation. Children with autism disorder have no avenue to ask for help, so unexpected and distressing events often increase their fear of the outside world and their aversion to any changes.

Special fears of children

Behaviors initially caused by fear may continue to become a routine for a long time after the fear disappears. In this case, the same method can be used to deal with this behavior as it does to other conventions. This type of problem is difficult to solve until this stage is reached, because the child is obviously very afraid. If parents try to force anarcissistic children into such a frightening environment, they themselves will feel extreme pain.

The most helpful approach is to expose the child slowly and gradually to the environment that scares him, which is called "desensitization" in psychology. It works best if every contact is accompanied by something that the child likes. For example, the little girl who was once reluctant to wear shoes helped her in the following ways. At that time, she liked to eat hard-boiled eggs, and whenever she ate eggs for refreshments, she would put a pair of slippers of her favorite color next to her, and before she could finish eating, she would take the slippers away. When there are no eggs, seeing the slippers causes a scream, but with the eggs, the slippers are accepted calmly. The time to put the slippers on gradually increased, until she ate the eggs, she could put the slippers on her feet. Then, the time to wear the slippers was extended again, until she was able to wear the slippers happily throughout the refreshment time. After that, she can try the shoes she wears when she goes out, and these shoes will no longer make her react in fear, and she will no longer make a fuss when she wears shoes. Since then, shoes have been put on every morning as usual, and that fear never reappears. Now she looks forward to buying new shoes, and sees buying new shoes as a pleasant thing.

It is not always possible to implement such plans. A little boy named Jim was afraid of the bath tub and once tried chocolate candy on him, but because the fear was too deep, candy was difficult to appease. Interestingly, this problem was ultimately solved in a different and unexpected way. A girl named Maria, who does chores at their home in exchange for free room and board and learns the language ,is very good with the children. On the first day she arrived home, unaware of his fears, she threw the child into the tub at once. The panicked mother heard pleasant giggles and the sound of splashing water. She found that her child had enjoyed bathing for the first time in years, as if he were bathing like that every day. Encouraged by success, Maria convinces Jim to use the flush toilet that he was afraid to use. In this case, the child was helped based on the fact that Maria did not anticipate the child's fears, and that his parents had become accustomed to his fears. They also learned a lot from this experience, becoming more confident and successful in dealing with similar issues that occurred after this incident. Interestingly, Maria barely speaks English when she arrives, and she's been able to build rapport with Jim because they both have language problems and are so-called strangers in strange lands.

Autistic children are scared to cry

For those children who are afraid of water rather than the bath itself, there is another way to solve the problem of being afraid to bathe. Put that kid in an empty tub, and if he likes to swim, maybe put on a swimsuit and put in some waterproof toys. After doing this a few times, you can put in a little water. If it is acceptable, the amount of water can gradually increase day by day until the child can accept enough water to bathe. The point of desensitization is that each step must not cause anxiety in the child. Care must be taken to ensure that the causes of fear are identified, and the entire sequence of steps is organized to address the causes of these fears. For example, if undressing in the bathroom causes a panic, the plan has to be corrected and needs to be considered. If panic is caused by the sound of the bath water coming in and out of the tub, then as long as the water in the bath is always full and the water is released when the child is completely inaudible, the problem may be solved.

As already mentioned earlier, some children are afraid of hair care, especially haircuts. This is a difficult problem to deal with. Occasionally, a child who is so afraid of getting a haircut doesn't even get it for years, or only tries to get it after the child has fallen asleep. Taking a child to a barber shop for a haircut can be a nightmare, so many parents will arrange for a barber to come home and give their child a haircut. Try distractions, but it's not easy to succeed in situations of severe fear. Another workaround for distraction is to have the child hold something he likes very much, such as a specific object, toy, or food. These things are only taken out during a haircut, and when the child is able to cooperate. Sometimes it happens that children with autism have to be accompanied by someone other than their parents to get a haircut without protesting, so they can try to ask someone from their child's school to help.

Some families buy puppies to address their children's fear of dogs. This approach usually works, although not always. It is wise to choose a dog from a reputable breeder who is likely to grow up to be tame and able to get along well with the child. This solution should only be recommended if the parents like dogs and know how to keep their pets. They must also be prepared in advance to find a new home for the pet dog in case the child's fear of the dog does not improve.

Overcome fears

Children with autism disorder exhibit a wide range of fears, often out of sensitivity to loud noises, bright lights, or other sensations. This may be the reason behind the fear of airplanes, trains, motorcycles, barking dogs, the flash of the photographer, or the fear of wearing rough clothing. They feel that these stimuli are very painful, not fussy. In cases where sensitivity is not too severe, calm comfort and distraction from the child may be helpful. Gradual desensitization can be effective if sensitivity causes a lot of pain, especially when it interferes with various daily activities. Some clinical psychologists are particularly interested in these types of problems, so parents can seek their help when making a plan.

This can happen when the child overcomes the fear through occasional events. There was a girl who liked to jump up and down in the sea waters of the sea, but she screamed when someone held her and took her feet off the ground. One day she accidentally fell and lost her footing, but she found that with the help of special armbands and swimming rings, she was able to float up in the water From that moment on, she completely got rid of the fear of the ocean, in fact, she had confidence in safety. Parents may be tempted to try exposing their children to an environment of fear in an instant, which may fail and exacerbate that fear. The method of gradual desensitization is much safer and more secure.