|
Tips That Help With Specific
Issues....
Return To HOME Page
As parents communicate some of "their issues", in this section I'll post
what I did to help with a specific area... so, this will very much be a "living
document" in that it may get frequent updates. This
section is for those issues not addressed elsewhere on my site.
I'm just just starting this section to help you understand what I do...
that way, I won't have to answer the same question 1000 times and you will have
the opportunity to see how to handle something you may have forgotten to ask
about. :o) If I don't have a suggestion for you, I'll let you know
that, however, I'll also leave that as an open issue
where other parents can then submit what worked for them. Parents can also
add to my suggestions if they found something worked particularly well for them.
If you submit a suggestion, let me know if I can post your name/email in case
another parent wants to thank you personally. Please make sure
you let me know that... I don't want to have to confirm this with all parents...
that will get too time consuming... so, if you submit a
suggestion, make sure you let me know if you want your name/email posted along
with it. I will not post names/emails next to suggestions that come in and
don't specifically say
that it is ok for me to post this information.
If parents whose names/emails are posted find they are getting "overwhelmed"
with "thank yous", and no longer want their names/emails listed, they can simply
contact me to have that information removed
from my site. :o)
| Car Windows or Direction Changes |
Again, here, labels are key. If your child
gets upset when car windows are only partly up or down or if he gets upset
when you change directions in the car, while walking, or any other place,
all you really have to do is start to label these things for what they
are... teach your child the concept of
fractions (hopefully with a visual tool as I used) and tell your
child the window is "halfway up"... then show him "1/3 up", "5/6th up" and
so on to help him grasp the concept of partiality. If you are
changing directions while in the car, or anywhere else for that matter,
label the direction change as "turning left" or "turning right" or "backing
up"... for Zachary, once he knew "what this was", he was fine with it.
It may take a couple of times, but, it definitely worked for us. |
| Coping With "Meltdowns" |
I found that when Zachary was having a meltdown of any
type, at any time, a few things always helped "bring him back" quickly.
One of the tricks I use is simply to make him focus on what it is around him
that I know he likes. If the meltdown is in the sandbox, I
clear an area of sand and simply spell out a word and ask him to read it.
If the meltdown is in a store, I simply point out "the order" to
something... for example, I make him count how many big boxes of Crayola
crayons there are (if we are in that aisle), or something to that effect.
It is always something very very specific. I use spelling, the
reading of words (with my finger under them to bring his attention to them)
and counting as coping mechanisms all the time... and the best part of it
is, as I do this, he is constantly learning more. For children
who can't quite read yet but who know the alphabet, simply asking the child
to show you a specific letter or number works too. For those who
don't know numbers or the alphabet... simply counting out loud may do
it. Autistic children often find great comfort in that alone.
When a change in direction is causing the problem, simply label the
direction as "going backwards" or "turning right" or "turning left".
These are all simple things that have worked for me in the past.
:o) |
| Getting Cooperation Over Time |
I know some parents say that "bribery" sometimes helps
them get their children to cooperate. For example, if a child
really wants something, making them "work toward" obtaining the object of
their desire is something you can use to your advantage when it comes to
behavior. I would not simply "buy the object" for them, but
rather reward them in small increments each day for good behavior.
I know this has worked well for a few children... and let's face it, we all
"bribe" our kids anyway so, why should autistic children be any different?
Many parents use these rewards... they can take many forms, food, stickers,
etc. This isn't new to anyone... but, for "larger issues", definitely
consider rewarding in increments... showing the child how the parts will
eventually lead to the whole! :o) If bribery works for
you, and your child likes this type of reward system for good behavior or
for doing their homework, etc., that' s all that matters! |
| Hair Dryers |
These often pose a lot of problems for autistic children.
I just started showing Zachary how the hair dryer works on a very very low
speed first... labeling that as "slow". Then I showed him
"fast"... but before I even turned it on... I let him touch the hair dryer.
I also would tell him when I was "turning it on" so that he knew "the sound
was coming". Once it was on, I showed him "cold", then "warm",
then "hot". Holding it slightly away from him helped a lot at
first, encouraging him to use his hand to "feel the air". I then
showed him how I could blow my hair all around with it and told him:
"a hair dryer dries wet hair". We practiced that a couple of times...
now he loves it and likes it when I blow warm air down his shirt too. :o)
|
| Potty Training |
See
Potty Training Section. |
| Vacuum Cleaners |
The vacuum still scares Zachary ... but, just a little
bit now (I think because I don't always tell him "the sound is coming")...
he is getting much more used to it... I just really make it a point to show
him that the vacuum picks up dirt... I throw something to on the carpet and
then pick it up with the vacuum and make sure he sees "the object" (i.e.,
plant leaf, a little sand, etc) get "picked up". I then would take the
vacuum and run the hose up and down myself to show him nothing bad happened,
laughing while I did this, saying: "vacuuming mommy... all clean".
I've actually been able to do this with him too... just saying: "turning
vacuum on" and letting him know "it's coming" was a huge huge help. It's
like I say... label everything... and that means a "coming sound" too!
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
Return To HOME Page
|