Published on 12, July, 2020
Early 20s male who has severe autism and is nonverbal and has increasingly been displaying really challenging aggressive, disruptive and destructive behaviour.
Currently, carers are provided by the council; however, carers require parents to be at home, and most of the time, they watch him play with his toys.
We do not want him going to a residential and want to manage him at home.
I had an idea of an occupational therapist. Still, since he is no longer in school, I wondered if there was any type of community support that we could get access to manage his very aggressive, disruptive and destructive challenging behaviour. He is very strong, and we are worried that his behaviour, like in the past, will be too much for some of these professionals who will want to either medicate him or put him in residential.
We need someone who is very patient and has the skills to manage this particular case, preferably at home.
I believe he still has the potential for learning with a lot of consistency and structure, but as he has gotten older, he has become more stubborn and has realised his strength, which he uses to get his way often. We love him a lot and just want the best for him.
Any advice, anecdotes or recommendations would be extremely helpful.
Hi and welcome to the community.
You might find this article from the NAS helpful. Most pertinently, it includes: "If the distressed behaviour is presenting significant risks to the person or those around them, try to get specialist help to deal with the behaviour. Arrange an appointment with the GP to discuss the issue and to request referral to a behavioural specialist if appropriate."
Other content includes various strategies to try, along with signposting to further advice - including links to the Challenging Behaviour Foundation and to the NICE guidelines on interventions for challenging behaviour in adults:
NAS - Distressed behaviour
Thank you so much for your response.
I think there is a huge fear from the parent (I am the sibling) that reaching out for specialist help might indicate that we cannot manage, thus leading to residential suggestions or medication. Are there any behavioural specialists we can contact directly without this fear?
I found the Challenging Behaviour Foundation website very helpful and a perfect descriptor. I showed it to the parent, and they agreed; however, again, the parent thinks that they are the only person who can handle this behaviour, thinks nobody has a child like his and has huge trust issues when it comes to professional help because of the way we have been treated in a very negative and dismissive manner his entire childhood.
I want to be able to offer suggestions while offering some sort of reassurance; otherwise, the parent gets very defensive.