To prevent or stop a child talking to himself, probably the fastest way is to direct the child to engage in an incompatible behaviour like drinking or eating. But just like any other disruptive behaviours, the most effective and long-term solution to self-talking is to teach replacement skills.
If a child with ASD often talks to himself when he is not engaged, it is likely that the behaviour serves the function of killing boredom. The best way to manage the behaviour is to teach the child age-appropriate play skills, increase his interests to easy-to-access toys and activities, and to learn how to occupy his time independently. At a more advanced level, an individual may need to learn to be aware of the current social setting and to identify what is the more appropriate way to spend his free time. For example, in a classroom where students are engaging themselves quietly, our student should be able to notice the atmosphere and pick an activity that does not cause disturbance to the surroundings.
A child may tend to talk to himself during lessons. The active engagement in self-talk and the avoidance to participate in class or therapy suggest that he is not interested to the content being delivered, or he finds the instructions too difficult to understand and to complete. Therefore, the best strategy to deal with self-talk during lessons is to increase a child’s motivation to participate continuously, and, at the same time, making sure that he has the adequate prerequisite skills to learn what is taught.
Sometimes, a child self-talks to cope with the nervousness, anxieties or even excitement he experiences in social settings, like crowds, novel places and activities, and interaction with strangers or unfamiliar people. To help a child to cope with these challenges appropriately, they may have to go through tolerance training or a desensitisation process, acquire stress-management skills, and learn coping strategies like excusing themselves and distracting themselves appropriately, e.g. listening to preferred music in novel places.
There are always one or more reasons behind each behaviour. The best way to manage one is to replace it by teaching skills that a child needs.
Information provided by Autism Partnership
Autism Partnership (AP) is one of the most established Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) service providers for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in the world. Formed in 1994 in the United States, AP is run by professional clinicians and specializes in providing one-on-one therapy, group interventions and overseas consultation for children with ASD and their families.
Please share to let more people know about ABA Therapy Skills.
Facebook: APautism
Wechat: AP-APHK
Learn more about our ABA Services
[:zh]自言自語是我們所有人都會做的一種自我刺激行為。這種行為可以幫助我們閱讀，記著長的信息，甚至達到說服自己的功能。例如，當我們要嘗試艱鉅的任務時，我們會對自己重複「我一定做到」。但是對於患有自閉症的人，由於缺乏社交意識和自我控制能力，他們可能會在社交場合中自言自語，可能令其他人感到困惑甚至冒犯到別人。為了防止或停止孩子自言自語，最快的方法可能是引導孩子進行與自言自語不相配的行為，例如飮一點東西或進食。但是，就像其他滋擾行為一樣，處理自言自語最有效和長期的解決方案是教授替代技巧。
如果患有自閉症的孩子經常在獨自一個人的情況下自言自語，那麼這種行為很可能因無聊而起。應對這種行為的最佳方法是:教孩子適齡的遊戲技巧,增加他對常見的玩具和活動的興趣,並學習如何安排自己的時間。再上一個層次，孩子可能需要學習了解當前的社交場合，並確定哪些活動是更合適的打發時間的方法。例如，在一個安靜的教室裡，我們的學生應該能夠注意到當時的氣氛並選擇不會對周圍環境造成干擾的活動。
有些孩子在跟老師上課時也可能會自言自語。當時，孩子除了獲得行為當中的樂趣外，也同時達到逃避上課的目的。這個表現表明所教授的內容不能提起學生的興趣，或者課程對學生的程度太艱深。因此，在上課時處理自言自語的最佳策略是增加孩子持續參與的動力，同時確保孩子具備學習課程內容的先決條件。
有時，孩子會通過自言自語來應對自己在社交場合（如人群、新的地方、與陌生人的互動）中所感到的緊張、焦慮甚至興奮。為了幫助孩子應對這些挑戰，他們可能要經歷提高容忍力的訓練或脫敏過程，掌握處理壓力的技巧並學習應對策略，例如分散自己的注意力或用無傷大雅的藉口離開現場。
每種行為背後總會有一個或多個原因，最好的管理方式是通過教孩子所需的技巧來代替它們。
資訊由Autism Partnership提供
Autism Partnership （AP）於1994年在美國成立，是全球最具規模為自閉症患者提供『應用行為分析』(ABA) 治療的專業機構。AP是由多位專業臨床心理學家、應用行為分析治療顧問及治療師管理，為患有自閉症譜系障礙（ASD）的兒童及其家庭提供一對一治療、行為干預小組訓練及海外諮詢服務。
請分享，讓更多人了解自閉症及學習更多應用行為分析（ ABA）的治療技巧。
Facebook: APautism
微信號: AP-APHK
[:]
