The Unintended Harm of Good Intentions: Rethinking How We Teach Students with Autism

Educators and caregivers strive to support children with autism, motivated by the best intentions. Yet, good intentions alone-without deep understanding-can sometimes cause real, unintended harm. One of the most common pitfalls is misunderstanding platitudes like “teach the way they learn,” and treating students with autism as if they are fundamentally different, rather than recognizing that they simply learn differently.

Reinforcement: A Universal Principle

Reinforcement-the process by which any behavior followed by something pleasant or desired becomes more likely to occur-is not exclusive to autism. It applies to all humans. Yet, in autism programs, well-meaning staff sometimes inadvertently reinforce the very behaviors they aim to reduce, simply by providing comfort, attention, or preferred objects following those behaviors. This pattern can seriously undermine progress and perpetuate challenging behavior. Let's remember we do not want to reduce challenging behavior exclusively for those around the individual but rather, FOR the individual- when we reinforce "undesired" behavior we can create more discomfort-emotional and physical- for the individual.

The Danger of Misapplied Strategies

When educators act without understanding, interventions can backfire:

  • Comforting after problem behavior: For instance, if a child receives a desired response after a problem behavior, that behavior may be reinforced-even if the intention was kindness. Use comforting wisely. We can still be supportive while not reinforcing.

  • Escape from demands: Removing or reducing tasks, access to sensory spaces etc. after a challenging behavior teaches the child that avoidance works, making these behaviors more persistent.

  • Overemphasis on “differentness:” Viewing autistic students as fundamentally different (rather than just having different learning needs) can result in exclusion, lowered expectations, or unnecessary/inaccurate changes to curriculum and goals.

“Teach the Way They Learn” Means Ensuring Understanding

All children-autistic or not-need to learn critical skills for lifelong success and autonomy. The major challenge for children with autism is often communication and understanding how the world works. Effective teaching means:

  • Breaking skills into manageable, understandable steps.

  • Presenting information in a way the child can truly grasp.

  • Not changing what we teach, but how we teach it-emphasizing clarity, repetition, and real understanding-not skipping prerequisite skills.

Students with autism thrive when skills are taught systematically, not when critical teaching is replaced with well-meaning platitudes or attentiveness that rewards avoidant or challenging behavior etc.

Avoiding the Trap of Good Intentions

The mistake is not the intention to help-it’s the failure to realize how powerful behavior principles are for all of us. To truly support autistic students:

  • Reinforcement must be thoughtful and strategic.

  • Every student deserves high expectations and the opportunity to learn vital life skills. Teaching is necessary.

  • We must teach for understanding-not just accommodating behaviors or setting them apart.

When Good Intentions Go Wrong: Ableism and Discrimination in Disguise

What we intend to do-support, nurture, protect-far too often leads to the exact opposite result. When we withhold expectations, opportunities, or critical skills that are available to every other child, we are not just lowering the bar-we are discriminating and isolating individuals with autism and other disabilities. This is the very definition of ableism: treating people as less capable or fundamentally different, often under the guise of caring. This applies to all children across the spectrum-even those with profound autism. Expectations can be reasonable, relatively high, and we can be supportive and compassionate. Teach the individual in front of you-teach meaningful skills-
All too often, ableism and discrimination happens with the best intentions and a warm smile. But a caring mask does not erase the harm. When we don’t realize the impact of our actions, we risk perpetuating exclusion and reinforcing the barriers we claim to fight. Every child deserves the dignity of high expectations and effective, individualized teaching-not just well-meaning gestures.

Let’s look beyond intentions and commit to truly inclusive practices-ensuring every student is given the chance to thrive, succeed, and be understood. That’s where real caring begins.

The True Goal: Autonomy Through Understanding

Let’s commit to understanding, not just intention. Teach all children-including those with autism-critical communication, social, and adaptive skills by breaking them down, making them accessible, and using reinforcement wisely. Lifelong success depends on skills, not platitudes-and ensuring understanding makes all the difference.

We can be compassionate, supportive and have high expectations and intentionally work with individuals- 


One mission, two pathways: stronger schools, stronger families~

For information on how to do this contact:

(949) 287-3683

practicalsolutions.jw@gmail.com

www.pracsol4u.com

_____________________________________________

info@psbiacademy.org






                                                                              



                                              

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