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A MyAutismTeam Member asked a question 💭
Malaysia

My son is high functioning autism, generally good understanding of other people's emotions and good enough to understand what is right / allowed and wrong / disallowed.

I am not sure if this is the correct word (pyschopath) to use
My son has a tendency to repeat such behaviors as listed below.
- Likes to annoy other peers, sometimes in a harmless manner, such as tapping on their heads, the more the reaction peers give, the more my son enjoys it.
At other times, in the old nursery he went, I… read more

October 31, 2018
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Answer Summary

Members reassured a parent concerned about their autistic son's seemingly antagonistic behaviors, with the consensus being that these... Read more

Members reassured a parent concerned about their autistic son's seemingly antagonistic behaviors, with the consensus being that these actions—annoying peers, enjoying reactions, and engaging in disruptive play—are typical ASD behaviors rather than psychopathic tendencies, often stemming from difficulty reading social cues or craving the intense reactions and attention these behaviors generate. Several members shared practical strategies, including immediate behavior correction using 'appropriate/not appropriate' language, positive reinforcement for correct interactions, play therapy to practice win-win scenarios and shared attention, role-playing social situations, and strategically ignoring negative behaviors while amplifying reactions to positive ones to redirect the desire for attention. A recurring theme was understanding that these children are often trying to socialize in the only way they know how, and with consistent teaching, redirection, and structured practice in cooperative play, they can learn healthier ways to connect with peers and achieve positive social outcomes.

A MyAutismTeam Member

My son does this too, but it is part of the autism diagnosis, not psychopath. Whats happening is that they fall into cycles. It may not be that he likes all of these things, it may be that when he does them, he gets such big and so many reactions by everyone around him, that he does it for the attention so to speak. Not in a mean way, he just may be very fascinated by all of the attention he gets.

When my son picks up on these behaviors again, I ignore them the first couple of times, he realizes he doesn't get the reaction he loves so much. So when he does something nice or funny, I give him a big reaction. Kind of redirecting that desire for reaction to something positive.

November 6, 2018
A MyAutismTeam Member

The way it was explained to me, he is trying to socialize and communicate the only way he knows how. Antagonizing others is one way of getting attention. Now, the next step is for him to learn shared attention can also involve being on the same team and both people winning (win-win). That takes practice and explaining what to do so he understands there’s other ways to interact socially and get positive results. Play therapy with speech therapist can help him practice this. Or, you can role play with him. Most recently, we did the three little pigs and the wolf where one person was wolf and one was pig (he loved this because we built a little toy wall of bricks and when he was wolf, he got to knock it down). To switch it to win-win situation, we had three of us role play and he was a pig with someone else so they were both on same team. Win-win can also be shared attention in an activity like you both jumping on a trampoline together. Also board games- you can modify them so it becomes a win-win.

November 2, 2018
A MyAutismTeam Member

it's a chemical reaction in the brain, "adrenaline burst" what's really going on, my son does it differently, but he looks for it. He wants to be spanked in oreder to get his fix.

November 26, 2018
A MyAutismTeam Member

I think that the behavior you are describing is very much typical ASD behavior and the reason why they are socially awkward. My son chases kids whether or not they like it. He laughs like they do, and he doesn't seem to recognize social cues. His behaviors are now turning aggressively in school because he is not in a calm environment and I am focusing on getting a more appropriate class for him.

October 31, 2018
A MyAutismTeam Member

@A MyAutismTeam Member
sounds like it is pretty common for kids who are autistic.

@A MyAutismTeam Member
Haha, so these autistic children learns the skill of "trolling" from a very early age?
:P
It really gives them "kicks" or excitement when there is a reaction to what they did wrong.
Sigh.

November 13, 2018

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