Behaviour Support
What can help with behaviour issues such as tantrums and aggression?
Welcome to our dedicated section for those seeking valuable resources to support behaviour issues and improve wellbeing. Here, you’ll find a wealth of information, including:
- insightful blogs addressing strategies to help improve behaviour issues
- supportive supplements
- therapists who can offer invaluable one to one advice
Read through the sections below, and feel free to explore them in any order that suits your preferences and needs. However, we strongly recommend initiating your journey with the diet, nutrition, and supplements advice, as food and diet are the foundation for good mental health and overall well-being.
1. Diet, Nutrition, and Supplements
Sadly, the integration of “ultra-processed foods” into western culture has led to the reduction of important nutrients within our diets. The addictive nature of foods pumped full of sugar, salt, saturated fats, and other additives have begun to take a leading role withing our food consumption as they replace nourishing, nutritious foods that help our bodies to function as they should. Simply due to lack of nutrients uptake, we are starting to see increased numbers of disturbance in brain development and functionality in both children and adults, in some cases leading to distorted behaviour and mental wellbeing.
Examples of ultra-processed foods include:
- biscuits
- ice-cream
- breakfast cereals
- packet ham
- packet sliced bread
- crisps
- fruit flavoured yoghurt
- some ‘ready meals
- frozen pizza
- fizzy drinks eg cola
There is now a vast amount of evidence collected from clinical trials demonstrating how nutritional uptake (or lack thereof) can have detrimental effects to both physical and emotional health. Because of the requirements of nutrient dense foods within cognitive regulation and function, those with neurological impairments are more vulnerable to the negative effects of low uptake. This can manifest as:
- mood and behavioural challenges associated with children, but especially concerning those with ASD, ADHD and related conditions. For more information see our blog article: Why children’s diets matter for their mood and behaviour
- physical health outcomes surrounding gut and immune health that can already be a concern for individuals with autism and/or ADHD related conditions, have the potential to occur at significantly elevated rates because of the decreased uptake of vitamins and minerals. This is reflected in increase rate of disease linked to brain health. Learn about gut health and how its dysfunction can be a primary consideration in autistic behaviours in our blog articles: Your gut and half the badminton court and Steps in the digestive system – and what can go wrong!
Because of the elevated rate that feeding and eating disorders affect children and adults with autism and ADHD (60-90%!), altering dietary intake to include more nutrients can prove immensely difficult. This is reflected in national diet and nutritional surveys, highlighting that many children in the UK, fail to obtain even minimum levels of one or more nutrients known to be essential for healthy brain development and function such as omegas that we find in oily fish and seafood, and/or vitamins and minerals found in fruit and veg. The deficiencies are widespread, and associated with worsening symptoms of ADHD, ASD, anxiety, depression, aggression and self-harm. To learn more about this topic, and how diet and nutrition can significantly improve behaviour and mood please see our blog articles: Understanding and Managing ADHD and Dietary omega-3’s and autism: Can children benefit from consuming more dietary EPA and DHA?
If you are seeking further information about dietary changes and personalised guidance on adjustments to enhance yours or your child’s wellbeing, behaviour, and overall quality of life consider booking a consultation with one of our nutritionists. They can provide tailored advice to address your specific concerns:
Additionally, to view a list of supplements that may benefit gut health and behaviour issues and overall well-being. Please note, we recommend that you work closely with a registered nutritionist to ensure that you realise the best results:
2. Behaviour and Play Therapy
Our blog article Understanding the different behaviour therapy options available aims to provide an overview of how behaviour can be identified, understood, and supported with the more popular forms of support that are available. It explains why behaviour issues often occur and what the main functions of behaviour are.
If you feel that you need one-to-one support from an expert, please book an appointment:
3. Sensory Occupational Therapy
Learn how sensory processing challenges can cause behaviour issues, and how different sensory inputs can change your state of mind e.g. whether sensory input causes a stress response or a calming response:
Sensory issues can create many challenges in everyday situations like classrooms, playgrounds, shops, restaurants, and other community settings. There are various modifications, strategies and interventions that can be utilised to help support these sensory needs. Learn more in our blog:
We also highly recommend reading the following book: Sensory Circuits – a sensory motor skills programme for children – by Jane Horwood. It provides information about setting up your own sensory circuit to prepare children to engage effectively with the day ahead – promoting physical, social, and emotional development.
Here’s a list of behaviors that might suggest challenges with sensory processing and integration, indicating potential benefits from sensory occupational therapy or sensory circuits:
- A child who can’t sit still and constantly fidgets
- A child who constantly wants to escape
- A child who likes to run and run
- A happy child who slouches and leans
- A child who puts their hands over their ears and complains of everyday noises
- A child who frequently craves danger
- A child who always has to touch objects and people
- A child who refuses to join in with messy play
- A child who is constantly anxious.
There is the option to schedule an appointment with a sensory occupational therapist to help you feel more able to recognise and respond to your child’s, or your own, sensory needs, before they reach a state of hyper or hypo arrousal:
Important – This information is for insight and educational purposes. Identifying with any symptoms or experiences mentioned should not be taken as a substitute for a formal or clinical diagnosis of these complex conditions, nor the specific support required to support a particular individual. Please talk to a qualified health professional or GP for specific support. If you are thinking about ending your life, please call 999 (UK) or go to A&E and ask for the contact of the nearest crisis resolution team.