How Routine Disruption Affects Those with Autism

Source: Anna Bergbauer / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS–What happens to you when you have your daily routine disrupted? For an autistic person, the results can be difficult to take.

“My morning routine might get disrupted in some way. Maybe my alarm didn’t go off at the right time and so I’m starting my day a little bit later than I typically would. I’ll be slightly bothered by that, but I can shake it off a lot better than someone else on the autism spectrum,” said Dr. Breanne Hartley with Unifi Autism Care in Indianapolis.

She says they are very rigid in their routines and can have inflexible patterns of behavior.

“That’s why we use behavior interventions and through those interventions, we can help those on the autism spectrum be a little more flexible with how they interact in their routine,” said Hartley.

They help autistic children practice being thrown off their normal routines.

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“It is inevitable in life. Things are always going to go awry. This is something individuals with autism can learn to get adjusted to. As those opportunities for practice occur over time, then it throws them off less and less each time. It allows them to fall into the flexibility other people might experience,” said Hartley.

You can read more about what Hartley and her team do by going here.