Self-Monitoring Behavior for Autistic Kids

Lack of Self-Monitoring

• According to Claire B. Thorsen, who has a master's in science and a certificate in clinical competence in speech language pathology, writing on the Indiana State University website, autistic children generally lack the self-monitoring behaviors of non-autistic children due to what psychologists call ̶0;mindblindness,̶1; the inability to surmise what others are thinking. For this reason, autistic children often act inappropriately in social situations. Even after explaining that such actions are rude, parents rarely witness changes in their autistic children -- the primary result of a general lack of self-monitoring behavior.

Systematic Internalization

• In learning about the world, autistic kids tend to rely on rote absorption, learning through categorizing objects and ideas into specific classification sets. But autistic children are born with the same lack of worldly knowledge as non-autistic children. Thus, they must learn from others. This is one area in an autistic child̵7;s life in which self-monitoring is natural and obvious. For example, an autistic child accompanying his mother to the grocery store might continually question his mother as to what type of food a product belongs, such as by asking, ̶0;Are all berries fruit?̶1; Through feedback, an autistic child regulates his internalization of the world.

Ritualistic Monitoring

• One aspect that can be frustrating to a parent is the ritualism practices of her autistic child. With a mind geared toward systemization, autistic children feel a need to create structure in their schedules. They monitor how they progress through certain rituals and actions. For example, an autistic child might internalize the act of eating out as a three-step process: enter a restaurant, eat and leave. This might lead to frustration when a family continues to sit at the dining table, chatting after a meal; the child might feel pressured -- a pressure that stems from self-monitoring -- to head toward the restaurant̵7;s exit.

Self-Thinking

• Older autistic children either learn or progress through specialized training with an aim of better integrating into social situations. Self-thinking, the process of stopping to consider what you say before responding to another person, is a self-monitoring tool for autistic children. This tool can help them avoid making others upset or embarrassed. In general, self-thinking questions usually emphasize the meaning behind what the child is about to respond to. Such a question might be, ̶0;Is he speaking loudly because he is excited, or angry?̶1;