| 15 stickers = Restaurant trip | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Good sitting
 |
 |
|
|||
Good Eating
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Good Manners
 |
|
||||
Friday, July 26, 2013
Am I to blame for my child'a autism?
Should
I blame myself for my child's Autism?
I work with children with Autism but I also work with their parents to
help them help their children. Once a parent becomes comfortable with
me, this question always comes up...Am I to blame for my child's autism?
I had one parent confess to me that during her pregnancy with her
autistic son she considered having an abortion because she was not ready
to have another baby. She is so haunted with guilt by this thought, that
she believes her son's autism is a punishment for this thought. I have
worked with another mother of a child with autism who goes to grief
therapy with her husband to mourn the loss of the son they anticipated.
Some mother's go over in their minds everything they may have eaten
during their pregnancy or anything they may have come in contact with
that may have caused this disorder. Some parents reveal to me that they
have various relatives with mental disorders, social oddities or speech
delays and they wish they would have realized their might be a genetic
disposition in their family to Autism. Then there are things that
plague them about their parenting once the child was born, since he
seemed typical at first but then became delayed. Was it a vaccine that
caused it? Was it an illness or an injury that could have been
prevented. They lie awake at night trying not to blame themselves for
their child's problems, wondering if someday their child can have
friends or at least conversations with their own family.
There is nothing I can offer in way of whom to blame for
these distraught parents. There is nothing conclusive about vaccinations
causing Autism or environmental factors, or even genetic links. All I
can encourage is for parents to accept that their child is unique and
love them for that uniqueness. A child with autism can bring things to
your life that no typical child can. You find yourself tapping into
creativity that you never knew existed in yourself when you are
exploring ways to relate and communicate with your child. When you take
a few minutes and put yourself in your child's world and try to
understand why they call things the weird things they call them and you
find yourself speaking not French or German or Spanish but "Johnny" (or
whatever your child may be named). It always makes me feel proud when I
can have conversations with children then realize someone from outside
of their world is listening in and they ask me puzzled, "How on Earth do
you know what he is talking about?!" I can smile and explain that we
have a special connection.
If you feel frustrated with the things that your child
can not do and find yourself agonizing over the obstacles your child is
facing or will face in the future, you need to take sometime and think
about all the things your child has accomplished and what is special
about them. I like to keep a notebook with my clients in which I write
only positive things about the child, so when they are having a hard
time they can page through it and smile about the good things. Some
notes are as small and quick as "Today, Johnny said Girl is brooming,
when he saw a picture of a girl sweeping." This is a great antecdote for
this child because it is rare that he comments on anything
independently. Other notes are long and describe successful social
interactions such as eye contact or a smile, or a time when another
child went out of his way to include Johnny in their play.
Daryl Hannah has Autism
You are not alone in dealing with Autism. There are many people
in this world who have Autism or live live with someone who has Autism.
Some famous people with Autism Spectrum Disorders include:
-
Daryl Hannah, an American actress best known for her roles in Splash, Blade Runner and Kill Bill was diagnosed as a child as being 'borderline autistic'
-
Matthew Laborteaux, actor on Little House on the Prairie
-
Robert Gagno, actor from Vancouver
-
Dan Aykroyd, comedian and actor: Aykroyd stated he has Asperger's
-
Craig Nicholls, frontman of the band The Vines
-
Dawn Prince-Hughes, PhD, primate anthropologist, ethologist, and author of Songs for the Gorilla Nation
-
Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Laureate in Economics
-
Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokémon
-
Michelle Dawson, autism researcher and autism rights activist who has made ethical challenges to Applied Behavior Analysis
-
Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman and world's third richest man (2008)
-
Albert Einstein possibly had an Autism Spectrum disorder, watch the video below for more information.
Make a visual Schedule
Making a Visual Schedule
Your child most likely uses a visual schedule
at school if they are in an autistic support program, if they do not and
have trouble with transitions, it would be a good idea to suggest the
use of one. You can easily make one for use at home.You will need:
- Photos/pictures of objects from daily routine
- scissors
- laminator or clear packing tape
- Velcro (the circular tabs are much easier than the strips)
- Poster board, large paper, or a clasp and open end envelope
- Take pictures of things from around your home: family members, different rooms, specific games, different foods (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack), your cars and anything that is included in your child's routine. You can also print out pictures from clipart or find pictures online. If you are going on a trip, you could find pictures of where you are going and things to expect to see there.
- Put the photos on index cards and write what it is next to it or under it.
- Laminate the labeled photo or cover it in clear packing tape.
- Put Velcro on the back of the laminated pictures.
- Laminate a poster board, large piece of paper or a clasp and open end envelope (the large envelope is convenient because you can store the pictures inside).
- Put Velcro on the poster board or material that you choose for the display of the schedule.
- Each day you put the pictures up according to the day's schedule, have your child help so you can discuss what will happen together. As each event is concluded, your child can remove the picture and put it in a box or envelope. If the schedule is going to change for some reason you can rearrange the pictures together. Below is an example of a night time schedule that could hang on Johnny's bedroom door.
A little sign language
Sign Language and Visual Communication for People with
Autism
For some people with Autism, verbal communication is extremely hard
or impossible but there is good news...93% of communication is
non-verbal. This non-verbal communication includes body language,
facial expressions and vocal tones.
If your child is non-verbal it does not mean that they do not
understand language, it just means their brain has trouble making
all the necessary connections for speech. To give your child an
opportunity to communicate with you and the rest of the world, try
learning sign language with them. You can attend ASL (American sign
language) classes or pick up a sign language book at the
library. If you are feeling sad that you have never heard your child
say "I love you" because their brain won't help their mouth say the
words, try teaching their hands to say it. Make the sign every time
you say "I love you" he should make the connection after a few uses.
You can create name signs for each person in your family. Name signs are typically just the first letter of a person's name along with a specific motion. For instance, Johnny's name sign is made by drawing a J with your pinky near your chest. Click Here to see the ASL alphabet.
This is the sign for mom This is the sign for dad
This is please This is Thank-You This is your welcome
You can also create a communication board, similar to the visual schedule to facilitate communication. Take pictures of everything important, laminate them and Velcro the backs. You can arrange the pictures according to relevance and have your child point to different pictures to communicate their different needs and wants. Your child could arrange the pictures themselves to tell you a story. Just because they cannot speak does not mean they do not understand what is going on. If you have not seen the CNN documentary Autism is a World, I would highly recommend checking it out of your local library or finding it online, it explores non-verbal communication in great depth.
Sometimes it seems that my child has no idea what I am
talking about!
You tell your child that the family is leaving the house in ten
minutes to go to the store, he looks at your feet while you are talking,
says "okay" then goes back to playing. Its time to leave and he
throws a tantrum, you think "I gave him a warning that we will be
leaving, why is he having a problem
transitioning?" For some people with Autism, words are just
NOT enough information because they have special visual needs or
they may have an auditory
processing disorder. Sign Language,
visual schedules, and
social stories are all tools to help you
communicate in an easier to understand non-verbal way.Due to different brain structures and synapse formations, people with autism process information differently. They may have an auditory processing disorder, which means they hear words or sounds but as the word or sound enters the ear then gets transferred to the brain, something gets switched around in the nerves and the meaning is lost. This will cause a child to be confused and many times frustrated. Other times, what is said will be taken literally. If you were to say, "quit pulling my leg" a person with autism might get upset or confused because they are not actually pulling your leg, so they don't understand how to stop. When your child is confused and frustrated, you might also get confused and frustrated because you have no idea how to make yourself any clearer. Sometimes a person with autism needs to have a visual to understand what is being said, what is meant or what is going to happen. Velcro and a laminator are very useful in making visuals that are easily seen and long lasting.
No one understands
You get stares and dirty looks when you go to the
store and your child is making noises or acting in ways that the other
children are not. Other people might make you feel that you are not
doing a good job disciplining your child. Try to
talk to other parents
who have children with special needs so you don't feel isolated.
Remember, there are many successful
people in the world with Autism.
How to prepare others for interaction with your child
You know your child better than anyone else, so
when you leave them alone with someone else, be it a babysitter, teacher
or therapist, you need to share information with them about your child's specific needs.
This is a sample behavior sheet that I give to
someone who is taking care of my "Johnny" when I am not around.
Behavior Suggestions for Johnny
- Try to be happy and speak softly to him he really responds to voice tone. If you speak softly he will speak softly back, if you yell he will yell. Smile and he will smile. Be mindful of your eyebrows, he gets excited or angry if your eyebrows are too expressive.
- Johnny does not like to be touched, especially with cold hands. If you don’t touch him he will keep his hands to himself better. Although, sometimes he does enjoy hugs and high fives (ask first).
- Your time with him will be easy if you stay calm and happy and use patience.
- Praise him for good work and using sentences. Praise him as often as possible, he needs attention. Positive attention is much easier than negative attention.
- Always remind him of rules before starting an activity. Tell him he needs to make good choices. He works well for rewards. Example “ If you want chocolate milk with lunch, you need to make good choices”.
- Never ask him to make choices just tell him. Example Don’t say “Can you pick this up?” Say “Pick this up please” (if you give him the opportunity, he will say no)
- Transitions will be easier for him if you let him know what is coming next and how much time until the next activity.
- Remind Johnny to keep his hands to himself before a situation arises, such as running games. If you fold your hands he will copy and know it means to keep his hands to himself.
- Remind him to take deep breaths if he feels angry, excited or silly.
- Tell him to throw his angries, exciteds or sillies away if deep breaths are not working. He will grab them from his mouth and put them in a trash can. If a trash can is not near by you can tell him to put them in his pocket.
It helps to know that you are not alone, other parents have similar experiences to yours. You can trade stories and techniques. What is the sense of reinventing the wheel? If someone has already discovered a great technique, they will probably want to share it with you. There are support groups online as well as in your community, it would be helpful to join one.
You can give your child's teacher a book to read to the class about Autism. There are books available that help describe different disorders to young children to help them become more understanding and accepting of differences. Here is a list of some good books:
Andy and His Yellow Frisbee
By Mary Thompson
The Autism Acceptance Book: Being a Friend to Someone with Autism By Ellen Sabin
I Am Utterly Unique: Celebrating the strengths of children with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism By Elaine Marie Larson, Vivian Strand
There are a few movies about Autism that are worth watching and worth recommending to those who will interact with your child.
Mozart and the Whale (2005) A love story between two adults with Asperger's syndrome, whose disabilities sabotage their budding relationship.
Autism is a World (2004) A documentary on an autistic woman's inner world, her writing, and the friends she made while in college.
I do not recommend Rainman unless your child is a savant.
Sensory Diets
Different sensory needs include
auditory (hearing),
proprioceptive (muscle&joint),
tactile (touch),
vestibular (movement & positioning) and visual.
A sensory diet can be constructed to
proactively meet your child's sensory needs and enable you to help your
child get his body under control.
Sensory DietsSensory Diets can be constructed with the help of your occupational therapist. They will utilize different activities such as: deep pressure, massage, heavy work, swinging, bouncing, stretching, squeezing, pulling, exercising, listening to music, doing aromatherapy and many other things to stimulate different senses.
- Listening to different types of music soothing or invigorating or listening to nature sounds such as birds or running water gives Auditory input, which means processing what we hear.
- Pushing a wall, lifting furniture or weighted objects, pulling a loaded wagon, crossing your arms or playing tug of war can give you Proprioceptive input, which is the feelings experienced by the muscles and joints (joint compression) and that let you know where your body is and what it is doing.
- Rubbing lotion on the body, getting rolled over with a yoga ball, playing with a tension/fidget ball, molding clay or play dough, playing with an ice cube, using a vibrating toy or toothbrush can all give Tactile input which is the sense of touch.
- Swinging, see sawing, and spinning can give Vestibular input which provides the dominant input about our movement and orientation in space.
- Visual input is basically what we see. Some people with autism (ASD) may need visuals to help them interpret what they are hearing and some people may become over-stimulated because they feel bombarded by images.
Play nicely
This is an example of a social story that could fit on an index card for a small child who needs a reminder of how to play nicely. Some children will respond better to only having the correct way to play displayed, some prefer to have the two options so they can choose the correct way to act and feel proud of themselves for getting something correct. If you can, have your child or student act out the choices and photograph them.
Play Nicely
Social story for sitting
This is an example of a social story that could fit on an index card. For a child to hold during circle time or story hour at the library. It may be helpful to have your child or student model these activities and you can photograph them. Some children respond better to having only the correct way to sit displayed but others enjoy having the two options listed so they can make the correct choice. Every child is different.
|
Do Good Sitting
|
 |
Social story about Anger
When I get Angry
|
Sometimes I get angry. It is okay to get angry.  I take 10 deep breaths.    |
Social story for the Zoo
We are going to the zoo.
Next Thursday we will be going to the
Philadelphia Zoo. It will be so much fun.
Mom, Dad, Johnny and Sara will leave at
11am in Dad's car. It will take about 45 minutes to get there. Some
things you can do in the car are: play with your Leap Frog, look out the
window, read your books or talk to your sister about what animals you
want to see. In the car we do not yell or kick the seats.
When we get there, we will find a place
to park. Then we will wait in line, it might be long. After we pay, we
will pay to get into the zoo.
First we will use the bathrooms, Johnny
will go with dad and Sara will go with mom.
We will follow the map and see the
different animals.
We will stop and eat lunch. We eat
sitting down and use good manners. Then we will use the bathrooms,
Johnny will go with dad and Sara will go with mom.
After lunch, we will ride the train.
We will follow the map again to see more
animals.
We will be tired from walking and having
so much fun. It will be time to go home.
We will use the bathrooms again, Johnny
will go with dad and Sara will go with mom. Then we will say good-bye to
the zoo.
We will find dad's car in the parking
lot.
It will take about 45 minutes to get
home. Some things you can do in the car are: play with your Leap Frog,
look out the window, read your books, talk to your sister about the
animals you saw or take a nap. In the car we do not yell or kick the
seats.
The zoo is so much fun!
Transitioning
Transitioning, lets move on.
Some children have transition difficulties, meaning they have trouble being okay with ending one activity to begin another. Your child may throw a fit when it is time to clean up his toys and get ready to leave the house. (See Transitioning during a routine below) Or your child may have a hard time going to a new place; visiting a house he's never been to, going to a new store, starting a new school or even going on a family trip. (See Transitioning to an unfamiliar setting below)For most people it seems like fun to go somewhere new but for some people it may cause extreme anxiety. This doesn't mean that they cannot go to new places and have fun it just means that it is going to take some work.
If your child's behavior has been found to be due to transition difficulties, a schedule may need to be set and flexibility will need to be learned and practiced. People with Autism tend to have different visual needs so a visual schedule could be useful. It is best to give warning ahead of time about what is going to happen.
Transitioning during a routine
Johnny is playing with his toys but you will be going to the supermarket shortly. Usually he screams and throws his toys when he is told that it is time to clean up. To avoid this set a timer for two minutes and tell him that in two minutes it will be time to clean up and go to the supermarket. Put the timer in his view, when it beeps or rings, ask him to turn it off and instruct him to clean up.
If you have a schedule in place, your child can look to the schedule and know what is coming next, this will make him feel more in control and less anxious about what is going to happen next.
Transitioning to an unfamiliar setting
You are planning a family trip to the zoo, knowing that Johnny loves all the big cats especially the lions, but when you tell him that you are going, he starts to cry and says he doesn't want to go. You might just want to give up and say okay we won't go. Or you could prepare him, to ease his anxiety and help him have a great time.
To prepare a child for an unfamiliar setting such as the zoo
- Give plenty of advance notice, at least a week
- Get visuals, go to the zoo's website and look at the pictures together
- Print out the pictures and talk about the different things you will see there
- Get a map of the zoo and plan out your route with your child, if he has some control he will feel less anxious
- Write a social story about the trip. Click here for a zoo social story
- Talk about all of the details of the trip, including minor things that may seem unimportant to you such as: Who is going, what car you will take, when you will leave, how long it should take to get there, what you will eat, how long you will stay and how much fun you will have. It's okay if you don't know all of the exact details but you can give him a rough idea.
- If you are going to someone's house to stay, have them send you photos of their house and a letter describing what things are like there
Perseveration perseveration perseveration perseveration
It's like watching the same video over and over again!
Perseveration is the uncontrollable repetition of a
particular response, such as a word, phrase, or gesture,
despite the absence or cessation of a stimulus, usually
caused by brain injury or other organic disorder (ASD).
Perseveration is a lot like sticking with a subject or
issue until there is a resolute answer to the topic at
hand. It is not someone looking for a specific answer to
a question, subject or issue but more looking to make
sure that all possibilities of the matter have been
addressed and that the end result solves the issue in
such a manner that there are no longer any un-addressed
areas.
Example: Johnny learned a new fact about cats,
so for the past week he has been talking about cats
constantly. You let him know that you appreciate his
knowledge but its not okay to talk about the same thing
all the time, then ignore him when he talks about cats.
Try to get him interested in many different things by
introducing new topics. You might say, " I know you like
cats, did you know a tiger is a kind of cat?" Once you
get him interested in tigers you could talk about where
tigers come from and what other kinds of animals live
there as well as what kind of plants are in their
environment. Let topics flow into other topics naturally
don't let your child perseverate on just one aspect of
it.
- Do not respond when your child talks about his obsession
- Pretend to fall asleep and snore when he talks about the same thing over and over
- Have him draw a picture or write down what he is perseverating on, then crumple it up and throw it away
- Remind him that he needs to talk about other things, because it is boring to hear the same thing all the time.
You can't always get what you want
Sorry, but you can't always get what you want.
This is true in life, you can't always get what you want. When you are an adult you have many factors that limit what you may have. If your friend has a new car, you understand that car is his not yours. When you go to a store, you understand that you cannot afford to buy everything you see or want. It is your job to prepare your child for a realistic future, in which they have to work to earn things.
If your child's behavior has been found to be cause by not being able to get what they want (access to tangibles) flexibility will need to be learned and practiced. It is a great idea to set up a behavior contract to let your child know exactly what is expected of him. The behavior management package on the left of the screen, is an excellent tool.
Example: Johnny wants to drink grape juice but there is no grape juice left so he cries. Let him know his options other than grape juice. Say, "there is no grape juice, you may have apple juice or water." If he chooses apple juice or water go overboard in praising him on his flexibility. If he continues to cry, tell him crying is not one of the choices and repeat his choices again. If you have to repeat more than twice, ignore the crying. When he is thirsty enough, he will drink.
Task Avoidance
No, I don't want to!
Some children will deliberately do certain behaviors to
avoid having to do things that are asked of them. They may scream, throw
tantrums, become violent, become unresponsive or run away. If it is found that the purpose
of your child's behavior, is to get him out of doing a non-preferred
task, that non-preferred task needs to be completed. You may offer your
child incentives to do the thing they are avoiding. Behavior bucks,
which are featured on the left of the screen, are a very effective way
to encourage your child to make the right choices.
Example:
Johnny yells at his dad when his dad tells him to eat his green beans,
usually dad will send him to his room and the hated green beans do not
have to be eaten. Instead of reinforcing the yelling, remind him that a
quiet voice needs to be used and that he will not be allowed to leave
the table until the green beans are eaten. Its okay to leave him at the
table after everyone else is done eating. Make a big deal of the fun
things you get to do after you eat your green beans and say how you wish
Johnny would make the good choice of eating his green beans so he can
join the family. When he finally chooses to eat, tell him how happy you
are that he can join you and how proud of him you are.Once you have a behavioral plan set up at home, both parents need to follow it and you should let your child's teacher know how you handle different situations so when they occur at school they can be handled in the same manner. The consistency will help your child learn how to make the right choices faster. Some of these behavior suggestions might sound cold or uncaring, but it does your child more harm to not discipline them and not teach them how to make good choices. They already have a disadvantage socially, you need to help them understand how to behave so other children will be able to play with them and enjoy their company.
Poor Impulse Control
People who need instant gratification are said to have Poor Impulse Control. If your child's behavior is found to be a result poor impulse control, self control will need to be practiced. Sometimes this requires a lot of time and patience and other times you may be able to say "think about what you are doing, is this the right choice?".
Example: Johnny must grab something he sees if he likes it. Make him go back to the other side of the room and walk past the object without grabbing. If he grabs it again, send him back to try again. After many tries he will learn to make the right choice. I find this especially effective when he is on his way to do a preferred task, and he doesn't want to waste his time making bad choices. This can turn into an avoidance technique if he learns that he must try again until he does it right, in that case it should be more important to finish the necessary task.
Example: Johnny gets excited about seeing a fire truck and starts to laugh and yell. He will not stop laughing no matter how much you tell him it is time to be quiet. Show him a picture of a fire truck and practice an appropriate reaction. You can model the behavior. Look at the picture and say (overacting) "this fire truck makes me feel silly, but I know that people get annoyed when I laugh too much, so I am going to smile, laugh a little bit, then take the rest of my laughs and put them in my pocket to save for later!" Physically take your hand to your mouth and pretend to grab your laughs and then stuff them in your pocket. I have found that putting things in your pockets such as humming, laughing, and yelling are very effective because it makes the sound into a tangible thing that can be gotten rid of.
Attention Seeking Behaviors
Hey, Look at me!
Every child needs attention and they will demand it one way or
another. If they are not getting the positive attention that is healthy
for them, they will act out in ways to gain any attention. Being yelled
at or punished is better than being ignored.If your child's behavior has been found to be an attention seeking behavior, the child will need more positive attention while negative behaviors with the attention seeking drive will need to be ignored. You must remember to ignore the behavior but not ignore the child, which is called actively ignoring. It takes a while (days or weeks) to ignore a behavior to extinction, and the behavior will most likely intensify before it is extinguished.
Example: Johnny is sent to his room for making a bad choice, he does not want to be alone in his room, so he begins to throw his toys around, tear the blankets off his bed and empties the clothes from his dresser. He is expecting a parent to come in and yell about the mess that he is making and maybe even expecting them to pick it up. When you see him making the mess, don't give him eye contact. Say to someone else in the house or on the telephone, "I really like the way you keep your room clean, Sara. You always put things back where they belong, that's a great idea!" Johnny may scream and try to make a bigger mess but you cannot give him the attention for it. Once he is calm, you can calmly say, "I like how calm you are being, once your room is clean we can spend some time together reading (or some other preferred activity)". You may need to give a little encouragement during the clean up but don't talk about how the room got messed up in the first place. When the room is clean, give him a hug (if he permits hugs) and a big smile. Talk about the original bad choice that got him sent to his room and about how he is expected to act next time, then read with him as promised earlier.
Example: Johnny knows it upsets his parents when they see him hit himself or bite himself, so he does it when he is sent to timeout. You must not make eye contact or talk to him. Remain nearby and watch him from the corner of your eye. It is very likely that he will NOT cause himself serious harm. This can be painful to watch and ignore because he might scream that it hurts. If he draws blood or it seems too serious to ignore, you should step in quietly and restrain him without giving him eye contact or talking to him. In most case you shouldn't have to step in and restrain him. After he sees that you are unaffected by him hurting himself he will stop.
Once you have a behavioral plan set up at home, both parents need to follow it and you should let your child's teacher know how you handle different situations so when they occur at school they can be handled in the same manner. The consistency will help your child learn how to make the right choices faster. Some of these behavior suggestions might sound cold or uncaring, but it does your child more harm to not discipline them and not teach them how to make good choices. They already have a disadvantage socially, you need to help them understand how to behave so other children will be able to play with them and enjoy their company.
Reward Systems
Reward Systems
 |
|
Reward positive behavior to
encourage it.
 I find it is best to make a visual such as a sticker chart for the reward system since most children with autism have different visual needs. Some children will need immediate rewards and others will be okay with having delayed rewards. Family dinner is usually a rough time, you want to relax and have a conversation with your spouse and children about their days but it can turn into chaos with food flying, children yelling, running and crying. It would be great to have a peaceful eating experience, in order to do this you must reinforce table manners . To encourage good table manners, I set up a reward system in which the kids can earn stickers every time they eat, and once a row is filled up we can go out to a restaurant. I included pictures along with descriptions because an autistic characteristic is needing visuals to understand words. The reward chart should be placed near the table so it is easily viewed by everyone. Before dinner, we review exactly what behavior is expected, using utensils not our hands to put the food only in our mouths (not on the floor or somewhere else), sitting on the chair (not standing on the chair and not running around the dinning room) and using polite words such as please and thank-you (no yelling, whining or rude talking). If I have to give more than three reminders, they do not get a sticker. I never remove a sticker from the chart because it is only used for positive reinforcement not punishment. Throughout dinner, I give as many compliments as possible to remind the children to stay on task. This is a delayed reward system because we are working for a goal over ten days (or more) but it also offers an immediate reinforcement because it can easily be viewed from the dinning room table and we put the sticker on immediately after dinner if good manners were used. If focusing on a long term goal is unmanageable, a more immediate reinforcement is needed. You can work for a simpler reward, like a preferred activity such as an extra story at bedtime, a favorite bath toy or a special game (but please do not let anyone convince you that stimming is an appropriate reward even though it may be a preferred activity). Along with the delayed reward chart, an index card can be used for a smaller sticker chart . I keep the smaller sticker chart at the table and let Johnny put on his own stickers when I catch him doing the right thing. This helps keep him focused on his own manners. Once dinner is finished, I will put stickers on the big chart to keep him working towards long term goals. Eventually, he may not need as much immediate reinforcement because he'll learn to focus on a longer goal. Chips work visually and tactilely as a delayed or immediate reward system. You can purchase poker chips or even use coins. Have your child decorate a box or a jar that they can place in an easy to access area, to collect chips throughout the day for good behavior. Tell them they will be earning chips for good behaviors and list those good behaviors with them.
Behavior Bucks will work visually and tactilely as both a delayed and immediate reward system. You can purchase these online, by clicking on the link to he left. When you catch your child doing the right thing, give him a "buck" to save in his wallet. Once he has earned enough "bucks" he will be able to purchase a reward. Tickets will also work visually and tactilely as a delayed or immediate reward system. You can purchase rolls of carnival tickets at party supply stores and hand them out to your child when you catch him doing the right thing. Tell him, that he will be earning tickets for good behaviors and list those good behaviors with them.
Edibles
are another form of immediate reinforcement for children who are
extremely unable to focus on long term goals. Keep a container or baggie
of candy, pretzels, grapes or some other small thing that child enjoys
eating, near by to give to your child when they are behaving
appropriately. For instance, your child screams almost non-stop, when
you catch them not screaming, say, "nice job being quiet" and give them
a piece of food. This works well for children who have not
responded well to any other type of reinforcement. After the child
understands the relationship between doing what is expected = getting
tasty food then it is time to mix it up. You will notice the child
looking towards you or reaching for the food once he accomplishes the
action.
To keep him motivated you will want to switch to giving him the edible
every other time he acts appropriatly, or answers correctly. Once you
notice him responding to the every other variable, mix it up even
further to every third time. When he is successful on this reward
schedule you can give the edibles at various times and this will prepare
your child for more long term rewards.
|
Dealing with Frustration
Dealing with frustration
Frustration is the feeling that
accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals or a
feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not
realized. It is also a feeling of annoyance at being hindered or
criticized.If your child's behavior has been found
to be cause by frustration, the child
will need more positive encouragement and to be taught that mistakes are
okay. You might also want to set up a reward system just to
reinforce your child's accomplishments however small they are. Click
here for some examples.
Example: Johnny always has trouble getting dressed, he gets
lost in the sleeves, he can't work the button on his pants and his socks
get stuck on his toes. So when it is time to get dressed, he screams and
throws his clothes around the room. Children with autism need to learn to become an
independent person, and you cannot dress him for the rest of his life.
Make it fun to get dressed. If he is stuck in a sleeve find a way to
laugh about it with him then tell how great he is doing all by himself.
If he screams for you to do it, pretend you don't know how by doing
everything wrong, socks on hands or shirt on legs, then ask him for his
help. At first this will take a long time but after some days it will
get easier and more fun. Make a big deal when he gets all the clothes
on, even if something is backwards or askew in some way. When you see
another adult who is on board with what you are doing say "Guess What?!
Johnny got dressed all by himself!"Dealing with anger
Dealing with anger
Anger is a strong passion or emotion of displeasure or antagonism, excited by a real or supposed injury or insult to one's self or others, or by the intent to do such injury. Everyone gets angry but not everyone handles it properly.
If your child's behavior has been found to be cause by the emotion of anger, the child will need to be taught new methods of anger management.
- taking deep breaths
- doing a stretch or yoga pose
- counting to ten
- saying "oh man"
- walking away from a situation
- tell an adult
- remember his behavior contract
Example: Model your own thought process. You may feel silly at first and you may get strange looks from people who don't know what you are doing, but this is very effective. A situation arises that makes you angry, such as someone is rude to you, and you happen to be with Johnny. Say to Johnny in an angry voice (overacting gets attention), "I feel angry because that person was rude! I feel like screaming but I'm not going to make a bad choice, a good choice would be to take a deep breath." Then take a deep breath. If Johnny is high functioning, you could ask for his help about what to do.
Example: Johnny knows it upsets his parents when they see him hit himself or bite himself, so he does it when he is sent to timeout. You must not make eye contact or talk to him. Remain nearby and watch him from the corner of your eye. It is very likely that he will NOT cause himself serious harm. This can be painful to watch and ignore because he might scream that it hurts. If he draws blood or it seems too serious to ignore, you should step in quietly and restrain him without giving him eye contact or talking to him. In most case you shouldn't have to step in and restrain him. After he sees that you are unaffected by him hurting himself he will stop.
Once you have a behavioral plan set up at home, both parents need to follow it and you should let your child's teacher know how you handle different situations so when they occur at school they can be handled in the same manner. The consistency will help your child learn how to make the right choices faster. Some of these behavior suggestions might sound cold or uncaring, but it does your child more harm to not discipline them and not teach them how to make good choices. They already have a disadvantage socially, you need to help them understand how to behave so other children will be able to play with them and enjoy their company.
What drives a behavior
Why Do Children Behave the Way They Do?
There are different behavioral functions and
behavioral
drives behind every action. If you want to resolve or put an end to a
certain behavior you need to first understand why it is happening. To
change undesirable behaviors you must help your child learn how to
act appropriately and how to make good behavioral choices. The first
step
to change a behavior is to determine its drive or function. Different
drives for
negative behaviors include: anger,
frustration, attention seeking, poor impulse control, task avoidance,
self stimulation,
access to tangibles,
perseveration and
transition difficulties. Each
behavior will be treated differently according to its drive.Parents of children with autism will face many challenges. Stress is common amongst all families even more so with families that include children with special needs. Information is available but few parents know where to start. Socially unacceptable behaviors are common with children with autism, but with discipline they can be kept under control. It takes work and patience, remember your child with special needs requires far more structure and discipline than a typical child. Determining the drive or function will aid in changing undesirable behaviors, sensory diets will help with self stimulation or stimming (rocking, flapping of arms, biting, grinding of teeth, etc) and reward systems such as Behavior Wheels and behavior bucks will help you and your child progress together.
In order to determine a behavior's drive or function data needs to be collected and analyzed. Click here to see a sample data sheet. After data has been collected for a month or two, you will begin to notice behavioral trends. (example: If Johnny starts screaming because you have run out of cheerios and must now eat corn flakes make a note of this on the data sheet. If screaming usually happens when he can't get what he wants, it will be concluded that screaming's drive is access to tangibles and methods for flexibility will need to be learned and practiced.) A behavior specialist may be necessary to further document behaviors and to devise a behavior plan if the situation seems unmanageable. Offer the data you have collected to get started in helping your child, parents should always be heavily involved in order for any plan to be effective. It is best to act proactively instead of reactively, so it is a great idea to set up a reward system.
Once you have a behavioral plan set up at home, both parents need to follow it and you should let your child's teacher know how you handle different situations so when they occur at school they can be handled in the same manner. The consistency will help your child learn how to make the right choices faster. Some of these behavior suggestions might sound cold or uncaring, but it does your child more harm to not discipline them and not teach them how to make good choices. They already have a disadvantage socially, you need to help them understand how to behave so other children will be able to play with them and enjoy their company.
Hperlexia
Hyperlexia is characterized by an individual having an amazing ability to read words at an early age, but an extreme difficulty in understanding verbal language. They will also have abnormal social skills and different sensory sensitivities. Along with these symptoms, people with hyperlexia, may appear to be deaf at times. People with hyperlexia will have an obsession with written words, which usually makes it difficult for them to stay on task. Here a picture drawn by a first grader with hyperlexia, notice how the objects are labeled with words and number values that made sense to the child.
Unspecified spectral disorders
(Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not
otherwise Specified on the autism spectrum)
PDD.NOS
is
a diagnosis for people who have autistic characteristics but do not seem
to fit exactly into any of the Autism Spectrum categories.
They will exhibit poor social understanding or poor social skills. They
may have trouble communicating and might also have different sensory
needs than someone without autism. PDD.NOS is a diagnosis usually given
to children diagnosed with Autism at a later age, such as 3 or 4. These
children will experience autism in very unique ways, they may have
better language skills and poor social skills or conversely, no language
and good eye contact.
Rett Syndrome
Rett Syndrome is characterized by an individual having a small head, hands and small feet, abnormal social skills, cognitive impairment, significant speech delays or no speech and repetitive behaviors. Girls with Rett Syndrome tend to have gastrointestinal disorders, difficulties walking and are prone to have seizures. Rett syndrome is caused by mutations (structural alterations or defects) in the MECP2 (pronounced meck-pea-two) gene, which is found on the X chromosome, which is why Rett Syndrome affects females so much more than males. There are four stages of Rett Syndrome.
- Early Onset In this stage, the infant's eye contact decreases and they may have reduced interest in toys. There may be delays in gross motor skills such as sitting or crawling. Hand-wringing and decreasing head growth may occur, but not enough to draw attention. This stage usually lasts from a few months to over a year.
- Rapid Destructive Stage This stage begins between ages 1 and four and may come on quickly (weeks) or slowly (months). with purposeful hand skills and spoken language being lost. The characteristic hand movements begin to emerge during this stage and often include wringing, washing, clapping, or tapping, as well as repeatedly moving the hands to the mouth. They will sometimes clasp their hands behind their back or hold them at the sides, with random touching, grasping, and releasing but only while the child is awake. Breathing irregularities such as episodes of apnea and hyperventilation may occur, again, only when they are awake. Some girls also display autistic-like symptoms such as loss of social interaction and communication. General irritability and sleep irregularities may be seen. Walking becomes more difficult as the head slows in growth
- Plateau or pseudo-stationary stage Between the ages of 2 and 10, the child will regain some abilities and become less irritable. This is the stage in which seizures can cause some concerns. There are many who remain in this stage. It is best to keep the child in therapies such as occupational, physical and hydrotherapy to prevent muscle deterioration.
- Late Motor Deterioration Stage In this stage, mobility is often loss due to muscle weakness and scoliosis. The ability to walk may be lost.
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
(CDD),
also known as Heller's syndrome
dementia infantilis and disintegrative psychosis:
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder is characterized by a late onset of developmental delays, usually
after three years old but before ten years old, the child will start to
regress or lose language and previously mastered skills. This may
happen as quickly as a few days or within a few weeks. This is one of
the saddest and most unfortunate disorders on the Autism Spectrum. There
is no cure or medication that can treat CDD, but with behavior therapy,
a child can relearn some of the skills that were lost.Asperger's Syndrome
Asperger's Syndrome is characterized by an individual having social skills, repetitive behaviors, different sensory sensitivities but no significant speech delay, and an I.Q. within normal range. This form of Autism is named after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger, whose studies in 1944 found that not everyone with Autism has the typical Kanner's syndrome form. He discovered that there were people with normal or even very high intelligence that had autistic tendencies. People with Asperger's Syndrome are often described as "High Functioning" but a better phrase to describe their syndrome would be a "Nonverbal Learning Disability". People with Asperger's Syndrome can be very successful if they get the support they need. Bill Gates has Asperger's Syndrome and it is thought that Albert Einstein also had Asperger's.
Sensory Needs
Sensory needs
&
Getting your child's body under control.
You may wonder why your child with autism seems to lose control of their body. The short answer is, he has different sensory needs than a typical person. Specific sensory input is as important mentally to children with autism as eating. Imagine how you feel (other than hungry) when you miss a meal, you are sluggish, unable to concentrate, irritable, etc. This is how someone with autism feels when their sensory needs are not being met. Understanding your child's individual neurological responses can help you gain insight to many of your child's self stimulating or "stimming" behaviors such as rocking, hand flapping, waving their fingers in front of their face, scratching repeatedly, biting themselves, grinding teeth, humming, rubbing genitals, running hands under water for long periods of time, or any other repetitive movements or sounds. Different sensory needs include auditory(hearing), proprioceptive (muscle&joint), tactile (touch), vestibular (movement & positioning) and visual. A sensory diet can be constructed to proactively meet your child's sensory needs and enable you to help your child get his body under control.
The neurons in your child's brain send misfires to the nerves throughout the body that may cause either a heightened sensory experience or a dulled sensory experience. In some cases a child may be over sensitive to touch and what might seem like a small tap to you could feel like a sharp heavy blow to them. This is usually a cause of depression to parents. All you want to do is show your child that you love them by giving them hugs or snuggling them, but they push you away. It is not because they don't love you or don't recognize you, it is because their brain is misinterpreting the tactile input they are receiving. Children with autism use their senses differently than other children and must be treated on an individual basis. You might see your child flapping their arms or tensing their body in a way that seems illogical or even uncomfortable but chances are, they are just trying to orient their body or help their body parts know where they are.
Anxiety in children with autism can be crippling to your child. Developing a routine for your household can help tremendously. Making your child aware of any changes in your routine will help to ease any over stimulation. Over stimulation from simple or seemingly unrelated incidents (i.e. mom on business trip, a new article of clothing, hangnail, different smell, etc) can lead to hyperactivity, distractibility, poor coordination, poor balance. Under stimulation (i.e. skipping vital sensory diet activities, or off routine activities) can lead to a distant, almost comatose state of existence. Being conscious of your child's sensory needs will help ease your child's frustration both academic and socially.
Your child may need sensory input to calm their bodies down while others will need it to wake their bodies up. You may need to try different combinations of calming input and invigorating input depending on the time of day. As needs change, different activities can be planned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
