Children with autism benefit from early intervention programs. It is critical for parents of an autistic child to have good knowledge about their child's special needs and to show active involvement in the child's disciplining and education. This is proven to be effective in fundamental areas of development like communication, behavior and social interaction.
Instructions
1. Establish a routine. For an autistic child, perfecting the day's events will bring security and order in their confused world. Set up a specific time for play, sleep, meal, bath and friends. Let the child know in advance if there is going to be any change in the routine to avoid undesirable behavior like screaming or self-inflicted injury.
2. Maintain consistency in sticking to the routine, communication and disciplining tactics for behavior. Being consistent and providing repetitions will reinforce their learning atmosphere. It teaches them to apply what they learned in one concept to a future concept.
3. Encourage positive behavior. Disciplining could be more challenging with an autistic child than one who isn't, but teaching that positive behavior follows pleasing consequences will encourage the child to repeat the good behavior to attain a reward.
4. Be specific with praise. Verbalize clearly to the child why he is being rewarded. Instead of saying "Good job" try explaining "It was nice of you to share it with your brother." Immediate and sometimes tangible rewards like stickers and tokens help younger autistic children to associate better.
5. Give clear and simple instructions to the child to complete a task. Try not to phrase long sentences. Many autistic children are visual thinkers. Include more visual stimuli along with auditory instructions like using blocks to teach numbers or flashcards of images to associate words.
Tags: autistic child, autistic children, positive behavior