The goal of any autism therapy is to reduce challenging behaviour, improve the child’s functioning. This can be possible when we understand them and learn to help them better. Early intervention has better outcomes. Use scientifically proven therapies.
· Every day activities is a medium to teach- feeding, bathing, dressing etc- Use these windows of opportunities to teach.
· Spend time with them- Keep them around you whenever possible.
· Get your child’s attention- Get to their eye level.
· Play with them- Copy what they do and give it a meaning.
· Expand their vocabulary- Get to their level. Don’t use more words than they can understand.
· Speak as if your child was to speak, how he/ she would speak. Keep it simple and clear.
· Animated: Use your eyes, expressions and body language (signs), an important component of nonverbal language.
· Repetition: Practice makes us better. Use these key words, repeat them several times a day. When heard many times they understand and start using.
· Rewards (reinforcers ): Useful to teach new behaviour/responses. Use toys, songs, small bits of food, cuddles. Use it immediately and specify the behaviour. Gradually it’s faded.
· Play- Play with them and you be their toy. Face them, sing to them (favourite rhyme), use your hands, movement promotes social interaction.
· Teach them to point by using your hand on their hand. Give clues (cues)– tell (verbal), sign (gesture) and show (physical).
· Copying – teach them to copy you. Once they learn to do body movements they will learn to move their mouth to produce sounds.
· Illusion of power – give them choices, makes them more comfortable (be it clothes, food etc).
· Need based – when they come to you only when they need help, use this to teach them to communicate (saying words, showing how to do).
· Use videos- to see how you guided your child . Easy to correct ourselves first.
· Use pictures and social stories TM or social narratives- most of them learn visually ( by seeing ), use stories to teach the behaviour expected and about social situations
· Get sensory ideas from your therapist -if child is over or under aroused. Moving around a lot , jumping and you are unable to get their attention .
· Behaviour Issues- Remember everything happens for a reason. They either try to avoid a task or want something they like. Given their limited speech, they use meltdowns and temper tantrums are their medium of communication.
· Set the stage for learning – clear distractions, remove screens, be intuitive.
· Always reinforce good behaviour with rewards.
· Maintain a structure- use visual supports, reduces anxiety and makes it more predictable.
· Before saying he/she doesn’t want to do. Think and analyse – Is it due to lack of understanding – should we teach again?
· Break the task you want to teach. Then keep the item as in order / sequence to teach. You can either go forward or backward based on what you want to teach. You can use the clues mentioned above.
· Motivation - If we don’t vary our rewards, can lead to boredom and reduced learning. Read section on teaching skills, reinforcers and motivation in our website.
· Attention - Giving undue attention to unwanted behaviour will accidently reinforce wrong behaviour and can interfere with learning.
· Always remember to teach skills that would be beneficial to your child in the future.
· Have goals written and ask your developmental team for activities to be done across settings at home. Review the progress with them once in 3 months. Identify what’s hindering the progress.
· Set mini goals – Best way to approach a goal is to set mini goals. Pick one or two concerns and start working with a before/after plan for the target . Reward the effort rather than result.
· There are no quick fixes or one size fits all. Have attached links to therapies. These free videos are excellent parent coaching material please watch.
· Some children might continue to have limited speech despite therapy. Start off with alternative means of communication from the beginning (Pictures, signs, apps like awaz etc) to avoid behaviour and communication issues. Ask your developmental team about the best way forward.
· Take care of yourself, have me time. Only with calm mind can you teach. Remember you are not a therapist. Learn to enjoy with your child and seek support from your family and friends.
· If injurious behaviour observed, please seek medical attention (head banging, biting to name a few).
· Barriers to therapy – poor sleep, constipation, seizures, infection. Be aware of these problems and when in doubt seek medical help.
1. Helpisinyourhands.org – Early start Denver model – early intervention free videos.
2. Teach Me To Talk -Laura Mize videos for prelinguistic skills.
3. Hanen Center has a lot of books that can be downloaded on kindle as well as speech therapy videos on YouTube.
