Considering the difficulties and obstacles that children with autism face every day, it is not surprising that this can lead to increased stress and anxiety, and as a result some children with autism can display challenging behaviours.

Whilst people often think of challenging behaviours as aggressive actions or ‘meltdowns’, it is important to recognise that other, less outwardly expressions of frustration are equally concerning too. For example, the child that, when in crisis, becomes withdrawn, passive, and at risk of internalising negative emotions may also need some support to find healthier ways of coping.

The behaviour package is split into two workshops:

Behaviour 1 (Understanding Challenging Behaviour)

This session covers behavioural theory:

• what drives and encourages behaviours, and
• how we can analyse patterns of specific behaviours to understand more about what is driving that behaviour and why.

Behaviour 2 (Managing Challenging Behaviour)

This session then focuses on strategies that can be used consistently over time to shape and encourage more appropriate behaviours for children to use to get their needs met, rather than having to resort to challenging behaviours. Importantly, we also consider the timings of implementing different strategies.