Slow down the pace
The ability to receive, understand, interpret and respond to the various sensory stimuli around us is an amazing skill that our brains and bodies do. For children with ASD, this skill is done in a way that may not be the same as others. For example, they may be paying attention to details that others would typically ignore or they may miss things that others would normally notice.
When children become anxious or stressed, their ability to process sensory information often becomes compromised and therefore their ability to engage or respond reduces. Slowing down the pace that you speak or give instructions can help children with reduced processing speed to “catch up”.
Also slowing down the expectation of response can be really beneficial – so setting up the task that is challenging for the child (e.g. getting dressed for school) in a way that reduces the amount of steps that they need to do independently and therefore reduces the need for speed (e.g. laying out the clothes that the child needs on the bed in the order that they need to put them on, with a picture of them in the uniform nearby so they can check that they have it on correctly).