February 7, 2020
Change happens and the ability for your child to handle those changes will depend heavily on how you set her or him up for success. Practicing, offering choices, and good communication are your most powerful tools for success. You are not alone, and even if your child reacts poorly to change you can be confident in your choice to go through with your plan.
Maggie Imlay
AnswersNow BCBA
Change happens and the ability for your child to handle those changes will depend heavily on how you set her or him up for success. Practicing, offering choices, and good communication are your most powerful tools for success. You are not alone, and even if your child reacts poorly to change you can be confident in your choice to go through with your plan.
As parents, we do our best to provide structure and predictability throughout our child’s day. We try to set up expectations ahead of time and provide positive feedback. Structure and consistency are even more important for children with Autism as they often struggle with change in routine. Let’s be honest though, there is no way for us to plan, predict, and control every aspect of our child’s schedule. Because of that, it is important we have a plan for when unexpected things happen.
Maybe your child has been looking forward to a birthday party all week but when the time comes the party is canceled. Or perhaps your child was not prepared for how loud an event would be. What about the times when your weekend plans change, and you need to quickly leave the house to help out a friend or family member? All these situations can be difficult for a child with autism and may result in challenging behavior.
There are some strategies that can help make unexpected situations less stressful for everyone.
You and your child show up to the indoor gym only to see it is closed for the day. “Jonny, the gym is closed today. What a bummer. We can go to the park or the library instead. What would you like to do?”
“I know we planned on watching a movie this afternoon, but grandma called and needs our help. First, we need to help grandma and then we can watch movies.” The first/then phrase can be repeated if your child becomes upset about the change in schedule.
For more autism parenting support, visit getanswersnow.com.
Maggie I.
AnswersNow BCBA
Specializes in:
Verbal behavior, severe problem behavior (aggression, self-injurious behavior, property destruction), functional communication, functional/adaptive life skills
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