Practice Recommendations for Addressing Problem Behaviors in Siblings with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The authors watched one family with two boys who both have autism.

They saw how problem behavior spilled over when one child melted down and the other copied.

Then they wrote a step-by-step guide for BCBAs who work with families like this.

The guide says start caregiver training on day one.

It also says plan for generalization right away, because skills must move from the kitchen table to the car to the grocery store.

Matson et al. (2008) already told us that behavior plans work best when they are function-based.

This paper adds the sibling twist: when more than one child has autism, the same plan must work for both.

Hutchins et al. (2020) showed that training a neurotypical sister to use BST helped her brother with ADHD share toys.

Our target paper flips that idea: now both siblings have autism, so the parent becomes the main coach.

Knott et al. (2007) watched autistic kids naturally start more play with brothers and sisters over a year.

The new guide builds on that by teaching parents how to shape those moments instead of waiting for them to happen.

If you treat one autistic child but ignore the sibling, the second child may still trigger problem behavior.

Use this guide to fold both kids into the same plan from the first visit.