Practitioners working in child and family mental health settings often support families who have concerns about their children’s use of potentially harmful behaviours (PHB) (e.g., hitting, kicking, shouting, throwing things). Insights from research and practice suggest that Autistic children use PHB more frequently than non-Autistic children and that Autistic children are more likely to use PHB reactively (e.g., as an impulsive or immediate response to someone’s else’s behaviour or environmental stimuli) than proactively (e.g., as a pre-planned or goal-directed behaviour).
Fundamentally, all child use of PHB is a form of communication. Autistic and non-Autistic children may use PHB, not because they want to hurt anyone, but to communicate unmet needs and strong emotions. When a child uses PHB, it is the responsibility of the adults in that child’s life (e.g., parents, teachers, practitioners) to:
- understand what is happening for the child
- not make assumptions about the behaviours
- facilitate changes to the child’s environment to help reduce PHB

This presentation focuses on PHB used by Autistic children (toddler to adolescence) with insights from a rapid literature review and practitioner consultations. We begin by introducing what we mean when we talk about the use of PHB by Autistic children (e.g., verbal and physical, reactive and proactive behaviours) and outlining common impacts of PHB experienced by children and families.
The main body of the presentation will provide insights about how Autistic children may use PHB to communicate needs related to 3 common types of neurodevelopmental differences:
- Sensory processing, needs and preferences
- Social interactions
- Routines and managing change

The presentation will include case studies, developed in consultation with practitioners, to exemplify how practitioners who are not specifically trained in supporting children with Autism can work with families to identify and address Autistic children’s needs using trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming approaches.

Three Key Learnings:
1. Remember that all behaviours, including potentially harmful behaviours, are a form of communication and consider what unmet need a child may be trying to communicate

2. Avoid using words like 'violence' or 'aggression' to describe potentially harmful behaviours. These words can have negative connotations and imply and intention to cause harm that is usually not present when Autistic children use potentially harmful behaviours

3. Remember that each child has their own unique strengths, challenges and ways of experiencing the world