FAQautism

For a variety of reasons, some individuals with autism occasionally make loud, startling sounds that do not seem to be attempts to communicate. Others talk out loud, absent-mindedly mumbling repetitive nonsense phrases or bits and pieces of conversations or movie scripts. The sudden outbursts or constant chatter can disrupt others at home, school, work, and in the community. Is there anything we can do to keep our noisy kids quiet?

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For example, one family explained that their child has started “screaming very loudly even while he is happy and playing at home.” They are, understandably, puzzled by his sudden, loud noises. Among other things, his random shouting makes it difficult to take him on family outings, particularly to the movie theater or other places where his shouting disturbs other people.

Disruptive noises can take many forms. For example, one of my students occasionally looks at the ceiling and starts loudly repeating a nonsense phrase while covering one ear with one hand and flapping his other hand vigorously. Another repeats the alphabet or months of the year over and over, seemingly oblivious to people and activity in the room. Several teachers have asked about students with autism who make constant humming sounds or sing songs repetitively throughout the day.

The first step in dealing with any challenging issue is to pinpoint the problem.
+ Is the youngster trying to tell us something, communicating frustration, agitation, discomfort, impatience, happiness, humor, or excitement about an upcoming event?
+ Does there seem to be a pattern, e.g. sudden shouting at certain times of day or humming and rocking during a favorite activity or when anticipating lunch?
+ Does the behavior occur when the environment is crowded or noisy or when the youngster is overly excited?
+ Does the youngster withdraw, repeating phrases or humming constantly, when trying to avoid an activity or chores or a bath?
+ Do disruptive noises increase with changes in routine or unexpected schedule changes?
We could add a dozen more questions to this list. It is important to ask these questions. To avoid spinning our wheels, we need to take time to pinpoint the behavior and scout out all the circumstances surrounding it.

TIP FOR THE DAY: Once we pinpoint the circumstances surrounding a specific behavior, we can look at options for dealing with the issue. Take a peek at our new FAQautism.com Pinpoint Problems Toolkit for details about being a successful detective in the midst of the complexity of autism. Just click on http://faqautism.com/toolkits/ Then tune into Part 2 of this discussion for a few ideas that have worked to help lower the decibel level of other noisy kids with autism.

NOTE TO READERS AND LISTENERS: I am Cathy Knoll, a board certified music therapist and long-time friend of many folks with autism. At FAQautism.com we are committed to providing free, practical, everyday tips for making life better for people with autism. Feel free to send me a confidential email at talk@FAQautism.com with your thoughts or challenging situations or innovative solution. And don’t forget to check out our website for a wealth of ideas and a glimpse into the world of autism. http://FAQautism.com

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