Comments on: Try This Tuesday #53: Looking for Your Advice

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:19:09 +0000

I would just do the morning thing and reinterate every morning what our schedule is. I too have a emotional runner and when I get him up, if we had a episode the morning before,I tell him this is a new day and we have another chance to have a great day with no running away. If he runs,he loses computer time,etc.I don’t stay home and punish myself and other family members if we have a outing planned.I make his punishment personal and we have only had one episode of running in a year now.Don’t be hard on yourself because we are only human and take it one day at a time.

By: staying afloat

staying afloat — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:12:40 +0000

I second the “don’t be so hard on yourself” and the “we try to do too much at once”. Our autistic kids really teach us that all children should be taught by advance preparation and practice, versus trying to discipline on the spot.

Amazing Grace’s link on visual learning contains a link to Do2Learn.com. Check it out- great stuff there. On the running side, there’s these songs and videos (click “songs”) about safety in various places. I find that even when my son is upset, lines from those songs can trigger him into not running into the street, and sometimes even break up the behavior.

Thanks for the inspiration of another mom who keeps plugging.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:25:58 +0000

I just want to add – don’t be so hard on yourself. Great suggestions from those who know.

By: Trish

Trish — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:05:16 +0000

Wow, thanks for all the awesome advice! I think (no, I know) we are always trying to do too much in too little time and that is when things just fall apart.

I greatly appreciate everyone’s contributions.

By: Ann

Ann — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:56:53 +0000

Transition is very important. It means no melt down here. We do go outside before the bus and talk about the trees/birds or whatever as part of that transition just so we are half way there! If it happens too fast or out of order it is hard for him to take. We experiment to see where we can be flexible and we also use fading to work changes into the schedule.
I do like visual schedules but I also like verbal reminders. For instance reminding that the ‘TV goes off at 8am’ way before 8am in casual conversation.

By: terena

terena — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:21:49 +0000

Having everything turned off by 8:00 in preparation for the bus sounds good. He probably needs “transition time” (like my own daughter) and just can’t go from doing one thing to something else so quickly. As for the running away part, the fact he stopped when you yelled is great. I think he’ll outgrow this running part quickly. The runners you have to worry about are the ones that NEVER stop, no matter how loudly you yell. And I agree with you that he won’t get the connection of not going out tonight with his behavior this morning. Tomorrow if he asks to watch a DVD past 8:00, say no and talk to him about his behavior. I think it will make more sense because it’s the same time of day, same event, same outcome.

Hope this helps.

By: Stacey Harris

Stacey Harris — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:28:43 +0000

I love visual schedules–
The other thing I was going to mention , use a hand puppet or a yarn doll and speak in a little different voice to read the social story– I have found that when setting up a new expectation teaching it with dramatics helps the message stick. We also do alot of pre-talking –I ask questions like when we are at church do we listen with our elbows?
My kids Love to correct me, so I try and find the most outlandish thing i can say to keep them listening…
We also say quietly show me sitting, show me calm– sometimes that helps
Hope this helps!

By: Amazing_Grace

Amazing_Grace — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:45:15 +0000

Use a visual schedule: Having a chart or visual schedule displayed of what they are going to do and activities in advance can provide security and keep inappropriate behavior down to a minimum. This technique can also be used to prepare for any change in the normal routine. Letting children that have ASD know of any schedule changes prior to the activity can prevent anxiety and reduce the likelihood of tantrums, rage, and meltdowns.

What about having a visual schedule for your child? You can go over this with your child and they will know what will happen and what is expected of them. You can use pre-made pictures, or cut some out of a magazine or catalog, and you can even take pictures with your camera (you can take pictures of them doing various activities and make a personal visual schedule). Here are some links posted at my blog that might come in handy when developing your visual schedule:

http://momsofspecialneedschildren1.blogspot.com/search/label/Visual%20Schedules

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:04:58 +0000

It’s tough when you dont’ know if they are going to bold or not. I definately agree with not having anything on in the morning so that transition happens more easily. Make it a more structured morning and have everything on a chart so he can anticipate what is next.
..
I have a runner and it’s not fun
good luck to you

By: Kristin

Kristin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:06:20 +0000

My son was an eloper.

What worked for us was giving him a consequence (he’s pretty high functioning mentally)for running away.

We also do a lot of priming. Before an outing we “rehearse” the expectations we have of him. The “rules”. We used to have him do a lot of OT type heavy duty exercising (jumping on trampoline, etc.). That seemed to ease some anxiety. Later, we used chewing gum.