Ettina wrote:
The thing is, punishment (which should not be physical - there are plenty of ways to punish a child that don't involve physical pain) is just one tool. It works in some cases, it doesn't work in others. Unfortunately, some people seem to think punishment has magical powers and can cure any behavioral issue. It can't. It can be effective for some things, but it utterly fails for other things. Some kids don't respond to punishment at all, and even the majority who do will not respond to punishment for every undesired behavior.
Three big reasons that punishment can fail:
a) the kid doesn't find punishment unpleasant - This is mostly true for psychopathic kids, who don't feel fear, but can also happen with specific punishments because what one kid finds unpleasant another kid may enjoy. For example, time out often fails as a punishment for autistic kids because if the behavior results from overload, the kid will like being taken into a quiet room to be alone. (Time out can work as an intervention for overload, however, if you frame it as something the child does when he/she needs it rather than as a punishment.)
b) the kid can't control the behavior - For example, punishment is pointless for tics. Even some stims aren't completely controllable, because the kid will start doing them without realizing it. Meltdowns, also, are usually not something the kid can control, and therefore punishment fails.
c) the behavior serves a purpose that is worth punishment to fulfill - behavior is never purposeless. Sometimes, when punished, the kid decides to fulfill that purpose some other way that isn't going to be punished. OPther times, all the ways the kid can think of to fulfill that purpose are being punished, and the kid has to decide between putting up with the punishment or not fulfilling some need of theirs. Which they chose depends on the strength of the need and the severity of the punishment.
d) punishment has side effects - It can cause the child to fear and/or dislike you, and depending on the personality of the child and the kind of punishment, it can cause more problems than it solves. It's especially problematic when you try to punish a behavior that was caused by your use of punishment in the first place. For example, if your punishment scares the child, punishing this fear is obviously counterproductive.
I agree with all of your points since each Autistic child is different. I would like to say something more about d). Some Autistic children start resenting and really despising parents, not just dislike, who punish them whether physical which is really a bad idea or by methods you have mention. My neighbors child seems to even have more severe autism than I do and unless the parents handle this situation right, they will have big time problems with her, because she is also distructive. I think positive reenforcement is the best way, but these parents just don't know how to deal with an Autistic child, plus it looks like the dad has some real issues as well which don't help anything.
01 Jul 2012, 9:37 am
