Tips to improve motivation in children with Autism

According to the World Health Organisation, Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a diverse group of conditions. Some degree of differences in social interaction and communication are its primary characteristics along with repetitive mannerisms and sensory sensitivities. While some people can navigate through their day to day activities with little or no help, others may require assistance to perform these tasks.

Motivation is a key factor in helping people with autism to learn new skills, increase their participation in activities and improve social interaction.

Strategies that can be employed to improve motivation in persons with autism are:

1.   Identify the interests of a person with autism

• It is important to select an activity that is based on the skill set of the person with autism, while keeping in mind his or her individual challenges. 
• Adapting and modifying an activity while keeping in mind individual strengths, choices as well as difficulties will improve the person’s participation and engagement.
• However, it is also important that the activity is scaled up according to the child’s level, once the child is inclined to do an activity and is self-motivated. 
• Creating an environment that excites the person with autism, capturing his or her interest can go a long way in offering new and more meaningful learning experiences.

2.   Do not begin with complex tasks, but break them down into simpler steps.

• Complex tasks with multiple steps can often overwhelm or frustrate persons with autism. 
• Breaking down a multi-step activity into a simpler, sequential task can help boost confidence to perform. 
• This helps learn new skills, improve motivation to complete a task, all the while fostering independence.

3.   Provide structure in the activities

• Persons with autism often do well in a structured environment, as it offers a sense of control and predictability. 
• Designing activities that are based on a routine, offers them a chance to stay organised and perform without anxiety or stress. This further motivates them to improve the chances of task completion.

4.   Identify and create a stress free environment

• Many people with autism have sensory differences and find it difficult to participate in over stimulating environments. 
• It is important to be mindful of such sensitivities and create an environment that doesn’t cause undue stress by identifying and removing triggers, such as bright lights, loud noises and specific textures.
• Some people might do better with visual aids such as flash cards, visual prompts outlining an activity. Others with difficulty in communication might engage better if alternate means of communications are included.
• Addressing sensory sensitivities that may result in anxiety or sensory overload, can ensure improved motivation as well as task completion.

5.   Select activities that can offer scope to make choices.

• Offering choice can foster the feeling of being in control and create an intrinsic motivation to perform a task. 
• Making choices with respect to the environment, medium used (for a particular activity) or where they perform the task (wherever possible), can ease the person into comfortably participating and carrying out the task without feeling overwhelmed. 
• It can also enhance interaction and communication.
• However, it is important to keep in mind that it is essential to limit choices offered so as to not overwhelm them.

6.   Use declarative language

• Making statements that are based on observation and shared interest, can go a long way to promote interest in a task. 
• It works effectively acting as a prompt for the person to think independently, without being flustered.
• This helps avoid direct statements or too many questions that can put pressure on the person with autism. An information overload, can limit active participation and effective communication, further resulting in behavioural outbursts.
• The whole purpose is to eliminate use of direct orders, without feeling the pressure.
• The aim of declarative prompts is also to model talk, creating and improving chances of communication and independent problem solving skills.
• For example, in a scenario, where it’s raining outside and a person with autism needs to leave the house: Instead of instructing the person as to what has to be done, using declarative language such as “It’s raining outside, I wonder what we need”, can act as a simple yet effective tool to help the person think of a solution instead of simply following and instruction.
• Furthermore, statements like “After we are back, we could enjoy a hot cup of tea”, can further create assurance and/or act as a reinforcer to complete the task and return to a comfortable situation.

7.   Use positive reinforcement naturally

• It is important to keep the environment positive by offering praise and recognition to the person with autism. This can be done by having an understanding of what motivates the person and use these as something that the person can look forward to.
• This can be an object or an activity of interest that can often follow a less preferred activity. For instance, math can be taught using a particular toy such as a car if the child likes cars that can later be given to the child to play once the activity is over. A person who enjoys painting can be offered a painting activity after completion of a particular task.
• These not only act as motivators but also offer enjoyment to them, creating a stress free and engaging environment to work with.

8.   Be emotionally present

• Communicating, acknowledging and celebrating the efforts can improve motivation in a person with autism.
• Engagement can be improved by using simple and meaningful forms of communication. 
• Providing clear, short sequential structure can help create a clear picture of the activity for the person with autism. 
• Offering social stories can help persons with autism understand a specific scenario, helping them navigate through the task, while reducing any anxiety associated with the task. 

Motivation is a key factor when working with individuals on the spectrum and the key to what motivates can often be found in a person’s interests and hobbies (Bennie, Maureen. 2016). Tips to improve motivation in children with Autism include, reduction of prompting, being present and sharing emotions, showing confidence in them, rewarding, focusing on the steps. Additionally, there are some other tips in the infographic above.

You can also check out the video by Sophia Pirani on the importance of social stories for children with Autism. In this video, Sophia first explains what are social stories. And then how they can come in handy for children with Autism.

If you have questions about Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, or other Intellectual Disabilities, or have concerns about developmental delays in a child, the Nayi Disha team is here to help. For any questions or queries, please contact our FREE Helpline at 844-844-8996. You can call or what’s app us. Our counselors speak different languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Bengali.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that this guide is for information purposes only.