• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Reach Children's Services

Reach Children's Services

Set Up For Success

  • About Us
  • Online Courses
  • Our Services
    • Virtual Coaching Groups
    • Early Intervention for Autism
    • Positive Behaviour Support
    • Life Skills Programmes
      • Sleep Difficulties
      • Feeding Interventions
      • Toilet Training Programme Consultation
    • Home Tuition
    • Training and Workshops
  • Resources
  • Our Blog
  • Contact Us

Control, Rigidity, and Insistence on Same

August 23, 2019 by Shannon Eidman

Insistence on same is a term often associated with autism. I was with a family recently; a wonderful, supportive family of a child with autism, and I heard the word ‘control’ tossed around a lot. This word tends to cause problems in our field, partly because it’s really difficult to define. But maybe you have an idea of the types of behaviours to which I’m referring. And I think it’s an important conversation to have.

Autism and the insistence on same

Individuals with autism tend to feel most at ease when things are predictable and routine. This may be traveling the same route to school, eating the same lunch every day, or even insisting during meals that dad sits at one end of the table while mom sits at the other, and never the two shall meet. Of course this will vary from person to person. Some individuals may be quite flexible, but an ‘excessive adherence to routines, and resistance to change’ is clearly listed among the diagnostic criteria. And some reflect this quite intensely..

But everyone likes to have a bit of control, essentially the ability to make choices about their environment and how they interact with that environment. Most people, autism or not, have strong preferences about something or other, or practice particular routines; maybe workout or bedtime routines. So is insistence on same a problem?

When is insistence a concern?

Generally speaking, structure and routines can help us be more organized and efficient. It’s much easier to find your car keys when they are reliably returned to the same location. But most people won’t launch into a sense of panic if they see that they’ve been left on the kitchen table. So when does an insistence on same or reliance on routine become ‘controlling’ or a problem?  Well, we typically worry once it begins to interfere with learning or participation in activities of daily living, and particularly when we see an intense response from the child or person if he or she is prevented from engaging in the behaviour, and if things aren’t exactly as they’re meant to be.

A closer look

Consider the example of a child who insists on the interior doors remaining shut. Each time he sees the door open, he shuts it. So, mom comes by and opens the door to keep an eye on little sister from the other room. He goes back and shuts it again. Mom comes back again and opens the door, and the child attempts to shut it again. Mom finally opens the door, stays at the door, firmly insisting it stays open. The child tries again, screeches and stomps his foot, heads off to his room, and is happily looking at a book when mom checks in 5 minutes later. In this instance, he’s been challenged and expressed his displeasure, but was able to find a way to cope. He retreated to his room and mom is able to accomplish what she needed while able to monitor his sister in the adjacent room. In this instance, we tend not to worry too much, although we do still recommended periodically mixing things up and expanding routines to ensure a child continues to have opportunities to practice flexibility and coping.

Let’s consider the same example, but in this instance, the child drops to the ground, begins screaming and crying, escalates and persists for 15 minutes until mom becomes so worried that she leaves her activity to remain in the room and shut the door. In this instance, this insistence is disrupting family routines. We would say this is a situation that requires some attention.

Let’s think about fears and phobias for a moment. Some people get a sense of panic about small spaces, others maybe snakes or wasps. While we may not relate, we can typically recognise the genuine sense of fear or distress. We see that the individual will engage in a whole range of behaviours to avoid places where they will encounter those things, and the accompanying feelings.

We don’t often view these ‘controlling’ behaviours similarly, but for some, and I’m by no means suggesting all, can be viewed in a similar way. The idea being that for some, the routine, ritual, or sense of order is safe. Interference with the routine or order causes a sense of panic; resulting in a fight or flight response (e.g. intense behaviours) to restore things back to order and end the feeling of dread.

Let’s break this down

So what do you do now?

Maybe you’ve learned that your child is one who seems to struggle with insistence on same and behavioural rigidity (a term we might use rather than control). Change and interference with routines seem to cause genuine, intense distress. Sure, you can try to avoid all triggers and stressors, but life happens and the outside world is not always as accommodating. Others may not recognise the triggers or know how to ‘fix’ things as they happens. So it probably is important that your child learn to cope when surprises happen or things don’t go just right.

There are certainly things you can do to help support your child to cope and increase flexibility. And we look forward to reviewing these strategies in our next blog, Part 2 of ‘Control, Rigidity, and Insistence on Same’

Uncategorized autism,  behaviour,  insistence on same

Get in touch with us, we’d love to help!

We want to hear from you!

Send us a message, or give us a call.

One of us will get back to you to talk about how we can help.

Footer

Get In Touch

+353 83 002 1958 | +353 87 920 6783
info@reachchildrens.com
Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

and by appointment

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Helpful Links

  • What is Autism?
  • What is ABA?
  • Online Courses
  • Resources
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

Wow, what a great response we had yesterday. We hope you enjoyed 'Visual Supports for the Classroom,' and are ready for another great deal. Today, we'll be offering 'Ready, Steady, Potty: Toilet Training Basics.' This is a popular one with families, early educators, and special educators alike.

In this course, we'll take you through everything from considering readiness and preparation, up through troubleshooting some commonly faced difficulties. You'll get access to toileting charts to help you keep track of patterns and monitor success, as well as accompanying visual supports. Book now and be on your way to eliminating those nappies for good.

Enroll at

Regularly €17.99, but be sure to select the 'promo rate' button to receive the course for €4.99 today only.
... See MoreSee Less

3 hours ago

Wow, what a great response we had yesterday. We hope you enjoyed Visual Supports for the Classroom, and are ready for another great deal. Today, well be offering Ready, Steady, Potty: Toilet Training Basics. This is a popular one with families, early educators, and special educators alike. 

In this course, well take you through everything from considering readiness and preparation, up through troubleshooting some commonly faced difficulties. Youll get access to toileting charts to help you keep track of patterns and monitor success, as well as accompanying visual supports. Book now and be on your way to eliminating those nappies for good. 

Enroll at http://ow.ly/nv5V50DeRED

Regularly €17.99, but be sure to select the promo rate button to receive the course for €4.99 today only.
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 10
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

A few more hours to pick up this course at this great price.
Have a suggestion for what you want to see reduced next? Drop it in the comments below. We'd love to have your input.
... See MoreSee Less

16 hours ago

A few more hours to pick up this course at this great price. 
Have a suggestion for what you want to see reduced next? Drop it in the comments below. Wed love to have your input.
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

View Comments
  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

If you're not sure of the choices, pop over to our website and view all our courses. Online courses at www.reachchildrens.com

4 Days at €4.99 starts today 🎉

Today's course is one of our recorded live events featured in our Summer Learning Series last year: Visual Supports in the Classroom. This course will help you learn how to use visual supports to increase independence, reduce frustration, and enhance learning. We also discuss, how to select the appropriate type of visual, and how to transition from basic visual supports to more complex supports.

Regularly €17.99, but be sure to select the 'promo rate' button to receive the course for €4.99 today only.

Enroll at https://reachchildrenslearning.thinkific.com/cours…
... See MoreSee Less

1 day ago

4 Days at €4.99 starts today 🎉

Todays course is one of our recorded live events featured in our Summer Learning Series last year:  Visual Supports in the Classroom. This course will help you learn how to use visual supports to increase independence, reduce frustration, and enhance learning. We also discuss, how to select the appropriate type of visual, and how to transition from basic visual supports to more complex supports.

Regularly €17.99, but be sure to select the promo rate button to receive the course for €4.99 today only. 

Enroll at https://reachchildrenslearning.thinkific.com/courses/visual-supports-in-the-classroom
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

View Comments
  • Likes: 3
  • Shares: 4
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Load more

© 2021 Reach Childrens Services · All Rights Reserved · Built by Upply.io💡