The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often exhibit rigid and inflexible thinking, particularly when negotiating social interactions. This rigid and inflexible thinking can lead to high levels of social anxiety, especially when faced with frustration. For a caregiver who is charged with parenting or educating a person with ASD, addressing the issue of inflexible thinking can be difficult. This can become even more difficult if such inflexibility leads to explosive or aggressive behavior. 

We now understand that issues of social cognition greatly compromise a person’s ability to think clearly and calmly in social situations. A learning theory suggested by Dr. Simon Baron Cohen (2008), called hypersystemizing, can help caregivers approach inflexible thinking from a cognitive perspective. The hypersystemizing theory suggests that a person with ASD is likely to learn best and most efficiently through concrete systems, and that “emotionalizing,” or learning through social and emotional concepts, might be quite difficult. The theory further suggests that individuals with ASD may have difficulty with social concepts that do not lend themselves to lawful systems and so are driven to create their own rigid systems in order to understand confusing situations. Interpersonal relationships or even simple social interactions require us to predict and interpret another person’s state of mind. If the cognitive issues involved with ASD prevent a person from effectively doing this, another person’s unexpected action or decision could cause high levels of social stress and frustration. 

For example, if third-grade teacher Mrs. Smith tells her class that they are all going to the city zoo on a field trip, all of the third-graders are going to begin imagining what that trip will be like. For those who have previously visited the zoo, their images of what will happen might include their past experiences. They might imagine that they will get a hot dog for lunch or go to the nearby amusement park. When the class finally arrives at the zoo and the teacher tells the students that they will have school-made sack lunches and that nobody is allowed to go into the amusement park, any child who had imagined it differently is going to be disappointed. However, the third-grader with ASD who had imagined that the field trip would include his favorite predictable activities might be less resilient and unable to accept Mrs. Smith’s rules. The student with ASD might have already created a zoo routine or system about what a trip to the zoo looks like and in that student’s mind, Mrs. Smith just broke the zoo rules, which would create significant anxiety. If this student responds negatively, it is likely that Mrs. Smith’s approach would involve talking to him about such things as the “greater needs of the group” or telling him that he is being “unreasonable.” These are difficult social concepts for a systemized thinker and negotiating the disappointment might be more than the student can handle in the moment. Using this scenario, let’s look at using “systemized teaching methods” to change the outcome. Mrs. Smith could have written a simple story about going to the zoo, including what would be for lunch and what activities would be included in the day. She could have developed a scale listing categories of what is okay and not okay for the trip to the zoo. These strategies would be considered systematized ways of teaching. If she had taught this student a method of relaxation that had been repetitively practiced, she might have been able to prompt the student to relax when he was faced with disappointment.

The use of a systemized teaching approach can be thought of as a strength-based approach for students who tend to learn best through systems. Frustrating social interactions can lead a person with ASD to exhibit challenging, aggressive or even explosive behavior. The school setting tends to be particularly difficult for students who think in rigid and inflexible ways, but rarely do our educational programs teach relaxation. Research in the area of stress and anxiety indicates that over-learned routines can help someone to function more effectively when faced with fear or stress. Learning and practicing a simple relaxation routine could be a powerful and positive lifelong support for someone who exhibits anxiety when faced with social frustration. 

This presentation will demonstrate several methods of addressing social anxiety and rigid thinking in students with ASD. One such method is the direct teaching of an over-learned, predictable calming sequences that can be practiced in different environments throughout the school. Another method includes a scale “check-in” system for teaching emotional regulation skills needed to recognize stress early. Finally, using special interests to increase social motivation in social skills groups will also be discussed.