No matter why the behavior is happening, if it's socially undesirable, the person has to learn to not do that, or at least to choose very carefully when to do it because there are negative consequences for doing it.
This is fundamentally a *teaching* process (not punishment). It involves helping them see what is expected of them and to do that.
Agree, but the approach might be different for things a child knows how to do, but doesn't do and things they don't yet know or have the skills to do.
Absolutely.
As a for instance: lying and/or hiding assignments.
This is a tricky one. I have found that most of the time a child with ASD lies it is to cover for a skills deficit somewhere in the chain of events-- fear of negative consequences trumps the rational response, so they try to lie. (Mostly they are bad at it.)
i.e. hides assignment because doesn't know how to even begin it, is ashamed, lying seems simpler in that moment, then being found out makes everything worse.
I try to uncover the skills deficit that's being covered for and work on that; acknowledge that lying is wrong and hurtful and *yes* I will be monitoring more closely because you are not showing me I can trust you.
But also that there's a better way to approach "being stuck" or "not knowing how to begin" and so we will now work on that skill every day until it's mastered.
Kid needs to know you have his back; also needs to know some skills for when things are tough; also needs to know that lying generally makes more trouble than it's worth.
