Childhood Behavioral Issues and Autism

Most children make loud noises, act impulsively, and run or climb when they shouldn't. Kids can be picky eaters, refuse to wear certain clothes, or have a tough time falling and staying asleep. And at some point, they have all had a full-blown meltdown in public.

Many adults see a child act in these ways and assume the child's behavior is due to bad parenting—parents who are too permissive, don't set limits, and can't control their child. But before you judge these as socially unacceptable behaviors, consider the possibility that you've encountered an autistic child.

A preschooler having a tantrum at day care
skynesher / Getty Images

Autistic Traits and Behaviors

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disability that affects one in 36 children in the United States. Autistic people have different support levels and expression of autistic traits, and no two people with autism are the same.

Autistic people may be prone to behaviors that are different from their neurotypical peers. Some children are inattentive, distracted, or even throw loud, long-lasting autistic meltdowns.

When autistic children act this way it is not purposeful misbehaving. The child is reacting to sensory challenges, frustrations, communication difficulties, or other issues a casual observer might fail to recognize.

Some behavioral traits are more common in autistic people. These traits include self-stimulating behavior, or stims: hand flapping, rocking back and forth, making repeated guttural sounds, or other repetitive movements.

People who have worked with an autistic child or are the parent of an autistic child can usually pick up on relatively subtle behaviors and verbal cues that might not be obvious to other people.

Subtle Cues

While a person without experience or training may not be able to suspect an autism diagnosis at a glance, there are subtle cues. If you are interacting with a child you don't know, it can be helpful to try to determine if autism traits are present in the child.

Here are some traits to help you determine whether the child would benefit from your making small changes to accommodate his needs.

  • Tantrum occurs seemingly out of the blue. Neurotypical kids might act out as a reaction to being denied what they want or annoyed by a peer, but autistic kids are more likely to act out as a result of sensory challenges.
  • Action is repetitive. A child who is opening and closing a door over and over again, perhaps positioning their eyes to watch the movement of the door, is unlikely trying to misbehave. They are probably enjoying the sensory experience and oblivious to whether the behavior is appropriate.
  • It is not age-appropriate. When a bright 12-year-old can't stop blurting out answers in class or insists on talking incessantly about babyish videos or characters, they are unlikely to be doing so just to drive classmates crazy.

Autistic people often have difficulty with sensory regulation. Loud noises, bright or flickering lights, strong smells, extreme temperatures, and uncomfortable clothing—things that may be invisible to the rest of us—can trigger a sensory meltdown. Standard disciplinary methods can have the opposite of the desired result.

  • The child isn't watching for a reaction. While typical kids will act out to get a reaction from peers or adults, autistic children behave in inappropriate ways for internal reasons.

If you see a child misbehaving—such as sitting under a desk, running where they shouldn't—but they aren't interested in anyone's reaction, the behavior may be an autism trait.

  • The child misses social cues. Autistic children can have a very tough time reading other people's reactions, especially when they're subtle. As a result, they may inadvertently annoy peers by talking endlessly about a favorite topic, invading personal space, or assuming they are welcome when they're not.

While some autistic people miss social cues, others may overreact to them, such as feeling like they are being yelled at when someone speaks in a stern voice. Impulsive behaviors and below age-level interests are often associated with autism.

  • The child is unusually passive or relies on another child to speak for them. Autistic children, particularly girls, sometimes find it easiest to disappear in a group rather than assert their needs. In some cases, other members of the peer group will step up as caregivers, speaking for that child and helping to protect them from bullying.

 

2 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data & Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder.

  2. Martínez-Pedraza Fde L, Carter AS. Autism spectrum disorders in young children. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2009;18(3):645–663. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2009.02.002

Additional Reading
Lisa Jo Rudy

By Lisa Jo Rudy
Lisa Jo Rudy, MDiv, is a writer, advocate, author, and consultant specializing in the field of autism.