Supporting Students with Autism: Understanding Behaviour as Communication

Lari Kharkongor
Oct 3
4 min read

Children with autism often display challenging behaviours, and the severity can range from minor disruptions to full-blown emotional rollercoasters that leave everyone shaken. The aftermath can be overwhelming.

What I’ve learned as a teacher is this: it’s not about preventing every meltdown or trying to pacify a student just to avoid one. The real question is what’s the underlying trigger? Our responsibility is to identify the triggers and then help the child recognise those triggers and learn how to process them in a healthy, socially acceptable way.

Yes, it’s difficult. Yes, it takes time. And yes—you will question yourself. But it is not a lost cause. With the right strategies, staff can handle behaviours more effectively, reduce classroom disruptions, and ensure every student has access to a safe, supportive education.

“Behaviour is Communicative.”

When a student displays challenging behaviour, it’s important to remember: the behaviour itself is a message. More often than not, it signals an underlying deficit—whether in communication, social-emotional skills, executive functioning, or even sensory regulation.

For example, a student may act out because:

They don’t know how to ask for help or a break.
A task is too difficult—or too easy.
They’re overwhelmed by sensory input (lights, sounds, textures, smells).
They’re experiencing strong emotions—maybe even something as simple as missing mom or dad.

Functional Behaviour Analysis (FBA)

An FBA is a tool designed to uncover the function of a behaviour. Typically, a school psychologist conducts one, but teachers can also use a simplified version to gain insight.

A quick FBA looks at:

Antecedent – What happened before the behaviour?
Behaviour – What exactly occurred?
Consequence – What happened afterward?
Function – What purpose did the behaviour serve? (attention, escape, sensory, or tangible).

Classroom example: I once had a student who spiralled into a verbal outburst during math. When I tried to understand why, he kept talking about fries someone had dropped on the metro—a week earlier! It had nothing to do with math. It turned out the math problem had triggered a strong emotional memory. He was frustrated but couldn’t identify the feeling.

In moments like these, it helps to validate and label emotions:

“I hear you—it bothered you.”
“I hear you—it made you frustrated.”
“Is this worksheet making you feel frustrated or sad?”

You really do have to put on your “Sherlock hat”—seek to understand before dismissing behaviour. Remember, some behaviours are externalised (outbursts) while others are internalised (withdrawal). The autistic mind is remarkable in how it compensates, but it requires us to look deeper.

Proactive Behaviour Strategies

Environmental Modifications

Students with autism may be sensitive to textures, smells, lights, and noise. Creating supportive environments can reduce these stressors:

Avoid harsh lighting and loud sounds.
Provide calm-down spaces with sensory tools.
Use clear physical boundaries and organisation.
Minimise visual distractions.
Keep classroom layout consistent.

Clear Expectations and Routines

Predictable routines reduce anxiety and provide structure. Consider:

Posting visual expectations prominently.
Review expectations regularly.
Maintaining a consistent daily schedule.
Teaching students where to go when they feel overwhelmed.
Provide as much structure as possible - even during breaks

Intervention Strategies

Positive Reinforcement

Praise and reinforcement are powerful tools—but they need to be applied thoughtfully. Tangible rewards should be used sparingly and gradually faded, or they risk becoming bribes. The goal is to move students from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation, where completing the work itself feels rewarding.

Tips:

Use token systems or behaviour charts.
Give immediate, specific praise.
Praise the process not just the outcome.
Offer choice-making opportunities.

⚠️ A word of caution: don’t introduce reinforcement systems unless you can commit to consistency. A strategy that fizzles out does more harm than good.

Social Skills Training

It’s essential to explicitly teach students how to recognise their feelings and what to do when those big emotions show up. To be able to self-regulate, we need to teach self-awareness skills, self-monitoring skills and then self-regualtion skills. Even then they might not be able to slef-regulate independently - they will need you to co-regulate with them.

One effective tool is using a visual chart that helps students identify where they are emotionally, pair this with a set of predetermined choices they can make to regulate themselves.

In my classroom, I used a social skills curriculum called The Zones of Regulation by Social Thinking. In the heat of the moment, it was incredibly helpful to reference the zones. For example, I might say, “I see you’re in the red zone… need help?” Then, I’d guide the student to our tool chart—a visual menu of strategies we created together.

Because we had practiced and reviewed the chart multiple times, students knew what to expect. The consistency gave them confidence and made it easier for them to use the strategies independently over time

Crisis Prevention

Recognising early warning signs—such as sighing, laughing, tapping, whining, or withdrawing—is key to preventing escalation.

Strategies include:

Interrupt the escalation progression by offering breaks before a full meltdown occurs.
Avoiding power struggles (sometimes just asking, “Do you need help or a break?” works wonders).
Maintaining calm, neutral tones.

Sometimes, physiological strategies can help. For example, one teacher calmed a student by placing a cool towel on the back of their neck—shocking the nervous system into a calmer state.

During a Crisis

Even with the best planning, crises may still happen. Once behaviour peaks, it will eventually decline. During this recovery phase, it’s crucial not to reintroduce demands too soon. Doing so risks reigniting the cycle.

Instead:

Keep the environment calm.
Limit adult presence (one or two staff max).
Avoid talking too much—students are often too overloaded to process language.
Simply stay present to ensure safety.

Reflection and teaching replacement skills should come later, once the child is fully regulated.

De-escalation Techniques

When tension rises, both staff and students benefit from calming strategies. Examples include:

Deep breathing or counting to ten.
Taking breaks, go for a walk
Drink water
Using slow, calm voices.
Physical grounding strategies (like pushing against a wall or weighted blanket)

Conclusion

Working with children—autism or not—means you will face difficult days. But remember, it’s not about suppressing behaviours or pacifying a child. It’s about teaching them the skills to regulate themselves. And like learning any skill, it takes time. Because at the end of the day, behaviour is communicative.