Overtime, a lack of impulse control can lead to low self-esteem
Children learn social skills such as sharing, cooperation and turn-taking. Social language is learned, self-esteem is built, and friendships are formed during recreational activities with peers. Play offers a means of exploring various societal roles and rules, and provides time to practice finding solutions to problems. Creativity and imagination are also fostered through play.
Children on the Autism Spectrum characteristically have very individual diagnostic profiles with symptoms falling in the areas of communication, socialization, imagination and have restricted interests. Most notable is the impairment in communication and social interaction, a far-reaching challenge which impacts daily activities and relationships at home and at school.
Though they want to be accepted by their friends, children on the Autism Spectrum tend to be very hurt and frustrated by their lack of social competency. Their inability to “connect" to others is made worse by the negative feedback that these children receive from their painful social interactions (e.g., bullying, teasing, etc.). The worse they perform socially, the more negative feedback they get from peers, so the worse they feel and perform. Due to this consistent negative social feedback, many children feel depressed, anxious and angry, which just compounds their social difficulties by further paralyzing them in social situations.
As the years go by, are you seeing your child on the Autism Spectrum rapidly becoming reduced to a person who is surviving on:
* Anger * Being a mistake * Depression * Hate * Isolation
* Low self esteem * Resentment * Sadness * Self hate
Social rejection has devastating effects in many areas of functioning. Because the child on the Autism Spectrum tends to internalize how others treat him, rejection damages self-esteem and often causes anxiety and depression. As the child feels worse about himself and becomes more anxious and depressed – he performs worse, socially and intellectually.
A social group can help these children learn to interpret these and other social signals so that they can determine how to act appropriately in the company of others in a variety of different situations. The social group assumes that when children improve their social skills or change selected behaviors, they will raise their self-esteem and increase the likelihood that others will respond favorably to them. The child on the Autism Spectrum learns to change his “social behavior patterns” by practicing selected behaviors.