Attention-Seeking Behavior in Autism: All You Should Know

My son, Joey, runs up to his mother and me and often grabs our faces and pulls them close to his. It’s one of many attention-seeking behaviors he demonstrates daily. While sometimes it can happen at times that aren’t great, like our hands are full holding something heavy, it still brings us joy when he seeks our attention.

Unfortunately, not all attention-seeking behaviors in autism spectrum disorder are always pleasant. However, there are ways to recognize and understand these behaviors to help your children understand the correct times to seek attention.

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What is attention-seeking behavior?

Attention-seeking is normal behavior for any person. We all want attention from time to time, whether we are on the autism spectrum or neurotypical. Any behavior where the desired outcome is to grab another person’s attention is attention-seeking behavior.

These can be as simple as calling out someone’s name to get their attention to something more daring, like a symbolic gesture. But like everything else, attention-seeking behaviors can either be positive or negative.

How do attention-seeking behaviors manifest in autism?

Attention-seeking in autism may present differently than in neurotypical children. While the example I provided using my son is one of the more obvious attention-seeking behaviors, many children on the autism spectrum may not like touch or eye contact. This leads to their attention-seeking behaviors presenting in different ways.

At other times, both of my sons may bounce or jump around the room when they want attention. They can also be loud and disruptive or begin whining.

While grabbing my face is often a positive behavior, these other examples can be negative attention-seeking behaviors. Your child wants your attention and doesn’t know how to get it without delving into a type of inappropriate behavior.

Causes of attention-seeking in autism

There can be numerous causes for why your child with autism is attention-seeking. They may want a snack but struggle with communication skills. My younger son does this, dragging my wife or me to the cabinet where we keep the snacks.

Your child may also struggle with sensory processing issues. If they experience sensory overload, children may start crying, grabbing their ears, or engaging in self-injurious behavior like head banging to get your attention.

Your child may also be seeking social interaction. They may want your attention because they want to spend time with you and don’t know how to tell you.

This is often what my son does with pulling our faces to his. He will also put his feet right up against his mother’s feet and have her push against them while laughing the entire time. This is his way of letting us know he wants social interaction with us.

Challenges associated with attention-seeking

Unfortunately, whether attention-seeking behavior is positive or negative, it can always come with challenges that both the parent and child will have to overcome.

These behaviors can bring negative attention to your child and you when they start having a meltdown due to sensory overload.

This can lead to troubles in social relationships because parents may not want to attend a social situation that might lead to negative attention-seeking behavior. My wife and I see far fewer of our friends in public because of the places we don’t want to take our younger son.

Attention-seeking behavior can also be misunderstood and mislabeled by those who don’t see it often. Someone might mistake the behavior for hyperactivity. It can be difficult for parents of autistic children to relate the cause behind it.

These actions can turn into negative attention-seeking behaviors if the child doesn’t learn to balance them with other needs. For example, my older son will engage in extensive talking to seek attention, often to the point where he neglects eating in social settings. Managing his attention-seeking tendencies while ensuring his other needs are met can be challenging.

Managing sensory-seeking behaviors

Some attention-seeking behaviors will also be sensory-seeking behaviors. While much of this will be positive behavior, you must still manage it to ensure it doesn’t become negative.

You can provide positive reinforcement to help your child avoid certain sensory-seeking behaviors that can negatively affect the environment surrounding them. This can be something like more screen time for my older son if he recognizes he’s headed for negative behavior and diverts it himself.

Parents can also improve communication skills with their children with autism to help ensure their attention-seeking behavior manifests in appropriate ways.

This means encouraging my son to use his AAC device to ask for a snack rather than dragging us to the cabinet when he’s hungry.

Engaging in sensory activities within predictable environments can help manage attention-seeking behaviors. My sons enjoy banging and drumming, so allowing them time for this in a setting that provides the sensory input they crave can promote positive behavior.

Provide support and understanding

Attention-seeking is a common aspect of life for all children, whether they are on the autism spectrum or neurotypical. However, this behavior isn’t always positive. By understanding how your child seeks attention, you can guide them to ensure their actions don’t become negative.

With autism, it won’t always be simple, but there are effective strategies you can implement to make sure your child gets enough attention not to become disruptive. Identifying the skills and environment needed can lead to more time spent with laughs from attention-seeking.

FAQs

Q: Is attention-seeking a sign of autism?

A: While attention-seeking is typical for all people, certain attention-seeking behaviors are more common among those on the autism spectrum. These behaviors include bouncing, jumping, running, head banging, scratching, crying, whining, or hitting.

Q: What is negative attention-seeking behavior?

A: Negative attention-seeking behavior includes unhealthy behaviors that don’t help the person seeking attention. In autism, this can include yelling, screaming, crying, running away, or behaviors that can lead to injuries to either the child or someone else.

Q: How do you stop attention-seeking behavior in children with autism?

A: Some ways to stop attention-seeking behaviors in children with autism include giving attention at appropriate times, identifying triggers for negative attention-seeking behavior, and using positive reinforcement.

Q: Should you ignore hitting when it is attention-seeking in autism?

A: At times, it can be a good idea to ignore attention-seeking behavior from a child with autism. It can be an effective way to manage the behavior and teach the child the appropriate times to seek attention. However, there are many behaviors, like hitting, where ignoring the behavior is the wrong choice.

Resources

Bowen, B. (2021) The Myth of Attention-Seeking Behavior: Supporting Health and Wellness in People with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities. Health, 13, 1452-1459. doi: 10.4236/health.2021.1312103 https://scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=113862

Nicholas Hedger, Indu Dubey, Bhismadev Chakrabarti, Social orienting and social seeking behaviors in ASD. A meta analytic investigation, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Volume 119, 2020, Pages 376-395, ISSN 0149-7634, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.10.003.