AUTISM -Tips for parents

•Always be patient and allow your child to be expressive by listening only to them. •Provide frequent positive feedback on the individual's performance. •Keep routines and possessions organized. Try to maintain a regular daily routine. Avoid any sudden changes as autistic children frequently have trouble adapting. Gradual transitions are important if there are any changes to be made. •Be consistent with rules and consequences. •Keep an activity schedule or calendar posted. •Behaviors should be addressed immediately during the situation, whether it is positive or negative. Give more attention and positive reinforcements for good behaviors and let your child know you are upset (using facial expression/body language/stern voice) when he shows negative behaviors like throwing tantrums. •When your child is doing any physical play or activity (jumping) leave the child alone but always set a time frame. Average duration - 10 mins a day. •Use positive reinforces to encourage positive behavior. Not always eatables. •Try to spend as much time with them as possible, especially when the child is idle. •Always tell them before-hand when its time to do something e.g. talking about bedtime or making the bed together, maybe 30 minutes ahead of time so they will know what to expect and reduce the chance of anxiety. •Prepare the child before doing any activity. Give him verbal instructions •Create specific routines for troublesome times of day (meal time or getting ready for school). •Discuss upcoming anticipated changes in routine at a point in time that is beneficial for your child. You will have to experiment with how early the child "needs to know." •Try to indirectly use your child's sensory preferences for fun rewards to help you handle behavior. However, try not to restrict movement activities when your child is being disciplined. For example, taking away recess time or playground time for not sitting at the table appropriately during study time may not be the most effective way to deal with these issues. Your child may need that movement time, and by removing it, his or her behavior may actually become more difficult later. Here are a few tips to help determine whether the child may have improved from a specific treatment: •If your child improves after receiving several treatments, it will be impossible to determine which one(s) really made a difference. A general rule is to try a treatment for atleast three months before beginning to determine whether or not the treatment was helpful. However, in some cases we can see clear indications that the child is improving, even after a week or two. In some cases it might take a 6 month intervention program before seeing any visible progress. •If at all possible, tell no one when a child starts a new treatment. This includes teachers, friends, neighbors, and relatives. If there is a noteworthy change in the child, it is likely that the people who come in contact with the child will say something about the improvement. It is also a good idea not to ask "Have you noticed any changes in my child?" In this way, any spontaneous statements regarding the child's improvement will be credible. •People who do know that the child received a specific treatment can, independently, compile a list of what changes they have noticed in the child. After a month or two, you can compare their observations. If similar changes are observed by different people, then there is a reasonable chance that these changes are real. It is important they these observations be written down; otherwise, when appropriate behaviors replace inappropriate ones, you may not remember what the child's behavior was like before the treatment, especially if the behavior was an undesirable one. •Parents and others should note in writing when the child's behavior 'surprises' them. Basically, parents usually know how their child will respond in various situations; and once in a while, their child may do something that is unexpected. If a child improves soon after an intervention is begun, one can assume that the child will act differently than before; and his/her behavior will likely lead to more 'surprises' than usual-hopefully good ones! It is important to keep in mind that no single treatment will help everyone with autism. Although one child may have improved dramatically from a certain treatment, another child, even with similar characteristics, may not benefit from the same treatment. Careful observation along with a critical perspective will allow parents and others to decide whether or not a treatment is truly beneficial