There are a variety of supports that have been used to prevent or reduce anxiety and stress for children with ASD and to provide emotional safety. Here is a list of ideas to help reduce stress and anxiety related behaviors:
• Provide instruction and information in ways that the child with ASD understands (the most effective is visually).
• Prepare and inform the individual ahead of time for any changes in routine and what will happen during a new activity.
• Have a preplanned process in which the student can take a break from the activity or class (Safran, 2002).
• Provide a safety net for the student with ASD by having an identified support person that knows them well in the school to meet with briefly every day. These daily check-ins can prevent anxieties from escalating into a major meltdown (K. Williams, 2001).
• For some students exercise is an excellent way to reduce stress (Grandin, 1991).
• Occupational therapy can offer sensory activities to improve sensory integration and reduce sensitivity (Myles, Cook, Miller, Rinner, & Robbins, 2000).
• Learn relaxation techniques (Cautela & Grodin, 1978). Develop visually supported routines to help the student recognize when they are anxious so they can self-direct a process to calm down, refocus, and then rejoin an activity (Buron & Curtis, 2004).
It is important that students with ASD who have sensory and anxiety issues be taught ways to recognize when they are stressed and then a procedure for taking a break, calming down, and regaining their physical and emotional stability. It is also important that the staff in schools take seriously that students with ASD need to be supported in modulating the level of sensory input and social and cognitive demands they experience so that they can function optimally (Arick, Krug, Fullerton, Loos, & Falco, 2005).
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