Autism

[Guest]

Hi all

 

hope i am not being too personal but i need help with the management and care routines for a child with autism, not just from a settings point of view but more from that of a parent.

 

I have to do a 10 minute presentation for FDEY and include the above routine, i want to make sure i get it right; not just for my course, but on behalf of all parents/carers and children this affects.

 

if you don't mind helping me and would prefer to email i dont mind sending my email address.

 

Thanks

 

Jo

[Guest]

I can only give advice of what we do in the classroom if that would help? Have 3 children with ASD at the moment and work very closely with their parents.

[Guest]

Although it depends on the extent of the autism, the advice given for a child I teach was to use visual timetables/cue cards using photos of the child; he has a mat to help him sit in the correct place at listening time, non-verbal cue cards such as a picture of 2 eyes for 'look', an ear for 'listen', closed lips/finger for 'quiet',etc. The child I have is an extreme case as he also has attention seeking traits too, so the outside advisors have said using non-verbal cues for him should help. Unfortunately can't comment on parental strategies as his family ask advice from various people to cope with his needs

[Guest DeborahF]

We had a girl with autism in our nursery whose Mum was absolutely great at sharing information with us about her daughter's individual difficulties and needs - one thing we did at Mum's request was identify a quiet area of nursery where her daughter could "retreat" when she felt the need, e.g. if her personal space was being invaded too much, and encourage her daughter to use it. This approach worked really well and is now used by the school that she moved on into.

[Guest]

Hi Joanne

 

My daughter (now 9) has autistic traits.

As a parent it can be a nightmare when working to a time limit as she has no sense of time or urgency and lives for here and now. Her thoughts are all literal so we have to think before we speak to ensure we make ourselves understood ie If we say 'can you get your shoes on' She'll just answer 'yes' and remain sitting there, as she thinks we've asked her a question and not given a command, can be frustrating at times . Also we use a lot of visual timetables showing exactly what she has to do in the morning/evening etc. She is alot better and we use a lot of social stories to help her on her way, it can be very time consuming and the other two (11 and 5) miss out on my time as at times we're having to give her explainations to stop her having tempers due to frustration, it's usually her siblings that get the brunt of this. This is a problem at school as well. We have a child at our setting with similiar traits and I felt for the mother as we were always calling her in to say he's done this or that and because of my experiences we now write in a contact book so other parents are so aware as this can make the parent feel awaful. It works well as she can writes in it anything that she feels we ought to know like changes of routine (only wish the school would be more open to that for us!) We also have to thinkabout going out, if we're invited to places where people don't know her, we more often than not think twice about going as she tends to be over friendly particularly liking cuddles and asking / saying inappropropriate things. Baby sitters have to be people she knows well and has to have time to get used the idea we're going out on our own, so sometimes you feel more hassle than it's worth. Having sais that my husband and i are having a w/e away and she is staying with my parents so we'll see how it goes.

From a parents point of view when she was at play school they showed us observations and as we knew the SENCO was a regular visitor to the setting it all helped us to accept somebody assessing her; as well as accepting something was amiss, although we didn't get a diagnosis until she was 7 . Once diagnosed though although you wonder what the future holds, it's easier to get on with as you have more understanding and know it's not your parenting .

I don't know if this is what your looking for but hope this helps a bit. and just for the record love her to bits and wouldn't have her any other way!!

CupOT

[Guest]

thanks to you all for your replies and information

 

CupOT i have sent you an email i hope you dont mind

 

thanks again

 

JO

[AnonyMouse_1027]

visual timetables are the thing!!!!!!! it really works

[Guest]

This is a good website

Although you may have already found it

http://autism.about.com/od/copingwithautism/

 

CupOT

Edited November 18, 2006 by Guest

[Guest]

what lovely people, how nice that we can ask for help and there is always someone thats willing to answer.

 

Thanks again for your replies and an extra special thank you to CupOT who has helped me enormously

 

Jo