Emotions for an ASD child

Almost all children struggle with recognizing emotions in others, but for a child with autism, this skill is even more complex. Their inability to read body language or facial expression well lends to even more complications throughout their life, which is why it’s important to teach this skill early. Learning how to recognize emotions impacts all areas of a person's life, from school, to work, to making friends and strengthening family bonds.

One great thing about teaching a child emotions is that they have to look at faces to achieve it. Something that people with autism struggle to do. An applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapist can teach this in a variety of ways, one way is to show pictures faces that are sad, happy, worried, angry, etc. They ask the child which face is which and have the child point or tell the therapist.

Therapists can also teach this through expressing the emotions to the child and having them identify it. They express the emotion in an overt way, by grinning and clapping and asking what the child thinks the therapist feels.

The more the child practices identifying emotions in an artificial setting, the more likely they can recognize emotions in an everyday setting. Once a child can label and identify emotions, they can move on to learning how to deal with the emotions in themselves and others.

ABA is a great tool that helps children to learn a range of complex abilities that will help them with life skills across a range of areas, from school, to home to friends. Learning emotions is just one tool of many.

Researching the Therapy

As a parent new to the diagnoses of Autism or with little knowledge of Applied Behavioral Analyses (ABA) therapy, the whole process of researching the therapy and life your child could face is overwhelming. But reading about the nuts and bolts of the therapy and what kids with autism go through, in clinical dry ways, only gives us so much information.

Researching the step by steps, understanding the language, and talking to a therapist about your concerns are all legitimate ways to discover what you’re getting into—but it can’t prepare you for how it feels or even looks like living it.

There is however a book When Everybody Cares: Case Studies of ABA with People with Autism  by Bobby Newman which is a first-person account of ABA. It can show you in a very real way how this therapy affects a child’s life and what issues arise with someone on the spectrum.

The book When Everybody Cares: Case Studies of ABA with People with Autism gives a unique insight into the life of a behavioral analysis and the solutions they develop for common problems. The great thing about this book is you aren’t just reading step by step, you're reading the struggles and insights and even the raw emotions that come along with working through difficult behavioral issues: such as a child refusing to eat or learning how to follow instructions.

Like a diary, this book doesn’t tell you what ABA will be like, it shows you like a story, a biography of sorts. ABA is a beautiful journey for everyone involved, so it’s little wonder such a beautiful book has been written because of it.  If you want to really see what ABA looks like, or even feels like, then give this book a try.