Children with ASD often need a hug, just like other children. Sometimes they need this much more than other children. But some children don't like to be touched. Respect their personal space.
While many children with autism feel averse to hugging, some children with autism like to be hugged.
A tight hug provides deep pressure, which helps them feel calm and secure. A long bear hug may help them feel better.
Some may find it challenging to express love verbally or through typical social cues, but they can still demonstrate affection and care through their actions, interests, and consistent support. That said, autism is a spectrum, and each individual's experience and expression of love may vary.
However, they look up to the mother or caregiver for social referencing and hover around or cling to the caregiver. Children with an ASD are not vigilant and do not look up to the caregiver for social referencing. They may not cling to the caregiver, although go up to them for succor.
Children with ASD often need a hug, just like other children. Sometimes they need this much more than other children. But some children don't like to be touched. Respect their personal space.
Children with autism prefer their mothers to strangers and attempt to remain close to them as much as other children. However they do not engage in attention sharing behaviors such as pointing or showing objects. They also do not seem to recognize the meaning of facial expressions and emotions.
People with autism often experience love differently from neurotypical people. Their expression of love is less straightforward, as they tend to rely heavily on non-verbal communication. This can mean that those who are neurotypical may find it difficult to interpret the signs of affection.
Some kids on the spectrum feel a constant need for affection because they are not sure when or if the attention will be available. Schedule 5 to 10 minutes every day when you can provide your youngster with undivided attention (i.e., no computer, T.V., cell phones, etc.).
People with autism may get easily attached to people, leading them to become over-friendly.
Autistic children commonly avoid social touch more than non-autistic peers. It is generally thought that this is due to autistic individuals experiencing hyper- or hyposensitivity of touch.
The Big Hug has been found to be effective because it allows the caregiver to simultaneously apply different amounts of soft, wrap-around pressure to five separate areas for the body. The caregiver or user is then able to release the Big Hug's wraps after the desired amount of individual sensory needs are obtained.
Some people with autism don't instinctively think to give kisses or hugs and tell you they love you, so their partner often has to be the one to initiate these things. As they learn, they'll get better at consciously deciding to do these things on their own.
Impaired affective expression, including social smiling, is common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and may represent an early marker for ASD in their infant siblings (Sibs-ASD).
It's important to note that just because a toddler may exhibit some signs of autism, it does not necessarily mean they have autism. Some toddlers may show delays in communication or socialization due to other factors such as hearing loss, language barriers, or even simply being introverted.
But the fact that autistic children do not interact with the world in the same way that neurotypical children do does not mean they are unable to form bonds. It simply means they find a different way to do so.
While many people with autism may appear to lack empathy and sympathy, it is not the case for all people with autism. For those who struggle with displaying appropriate empathetic responses, the reasons may relate more to social communication issues than a lack of underlying emotional response.
Love and affection may be felt but expressed differently
They may show love, for example, through a practical act, and tidy up for you, or iron your shirt, rather than through a more neurotypical way of looking at you and telling you or using physical affection.
Many autistic people have intense and highly-focused interests, often from a fairly young age. These can change over time or be lifelong. It can be art, music, gardening, animals, postcodes or numbers. For many younger children it's Thomas the Tank Engine, dinosaurs or particular cartoon characters.
Some enjoy it immensely, and others may enjoy it only in certain contexts or forms, such as a preference for deep pressure versus light brushing. Like most traits of autism, a person's response to touch is individual and should be respected and never forced by others.
A child with ASD can be challenging—they may be restless; have trouble sleeping, eating or speaking; experience seizures; or have meltdowns born of frustration or overstimulation. Expectations for a “normal” life may need to be adjusted.
Jealousy is a tough emotion to deal with because it may not appear as jealousy when it surfaces. Jealousy in children with autism and their siblings may look different. For their siblings, jealousy can appear as anger or deep sadness and retreat from a typically developing sibling.
Research suggests that autism genes are usually inherited from the father, despite some research showing it's passed down from the mother.