Social interactions are problem for all children with ASD, no matter what their cognitive level happens to be, children with autism don't initiate interaction as much as typically developing children and may have difficulty interpreting tone of voice, gesture and body posture. They also tend to find other children's motives, intentions and emotions difficult to understand. Depsite their social deficit, nearly all children with ASD like to be around other children and want real friends, it is important to give them opportunity to develop realtionship skills, since these will eventually shape up how they will cope as teenagers and in adulthood.
One good way to think about a social behavior which can be helpful is the hierachy of interaction Vs partners. For interaction, the lowest and highest in the hierachy is awareness, follow by response, then initiation and finally sustained interaction. As for the hierachy of partners, from easiest to hardest varies from child to child but will often parents, working with adults(special educators, therapists), sibling, peers. Hence the easiest interaction will therefore be the awareness of mother/daddy and the hardest will be sustained interaction with peers.
One good way to think about a social behavior which can be helpful is the hierachy of interaction Vs partners. For interaction, the lowest and highest in the hierachy is awareness, follow by response, then initiation and finally sustained interaction. As for the hierachy of partners, from easiest to hardest varies from child to child but will often parents, working with adults(special educators, therapists), sibling, peers. Hence the easiest interaction will therefore be the awareness of mother/daddy and the hardest will be sustained interaction with peers.
The present challenge for my little STAR and his main enemy is social interaction, which may undermine his learning potential in a group teaching though he is progressing and relatively strong in 1-1 due to the various working with external therapist professionals from OT to speech to special need covering academic subjects. His use of non-convention/social inappropriate behavior through shouting, crying and screaming can be a major obstacle that need to be seriously address by the SpEd Team and us. School are primary social venue for children, hence I was thankful to have put him in the child care center thinking that it may help him integrate to normal environment and offer him more opportunity to elevate & generalizing his learning socially, but as he grows and become more aware, the challenge for social become more adverse as the centers often lack expertise or special train officer to provide direct social skill intervention where necessary and he wins his agenda and may grow with habits he perceives to be right . Even in his current EIP, I am also observing some difficultities from the teachers who are often committed to help and dedicated to teach but the help they provide will often depend a lot on the assistance available to them,the presence of a one-on-one aide for the child, time built into the schedule to teach individually & practise with peers, available of psychologist, or SLP & therapist professionals to drive and carry out intervention needs.
Time is certainly ticking away, nevertheless I am still hopeful that my little STAR can still turn around with the right support and collaborative effort from the SpEd Team & parents in the the next few months.
At home, we will take opportunity with non-compliance behavior to set our limits and consequences then reinforce with praise and the choice of his like as gift of the goose to exercise our spontaneous recognition after he follow through with our agenda. Shared one example:- I want him to read social story with me just before he drinks his milk for the night, but he choose not to and became upset when I insisted, he started shouting and screaming and crying. I set limits and ask him to use his words and if he still shout/scream/cry, I will put him to naughty corner which is the master bedroom toilet just nearby. I make use of his strength in choice making whether he want to calm down, use his words and follow my agenda or face the consequence. He is able to tell me "No" to naughty corner. I have to apply few rounds of this remedy cycle using slow, stress in a calm emotionless gesture before he finally is able to calm down & follow my agenda. Because he eventually know that I am persistent and if he continued his agenda he will not get to drink his milk. After he drank his milk, he slept well too, coz he had drained off all his energy wit me already by then. This only apply when necessary and must be careful such that he understand that I still love him for who he is and hug him to shower my love for him with praise after he managed it right. Sometimes I will also apply treatment like neuro typical kid, to ask him to put his hand out and give him a hard hit to share my anger for his non-compliance behavior such as spashing water up into the ceiling during shower despite my repeated appeal, he knows and understands that this is not allow when I challenge him, but I also give him benefit of doubts that it could have been another autistic traits that he enjoys playing, though sometimes he is able to keep it dry after shower. It is really a fine balance and everything we do may sometimes end up good for that moment & then may become another challenging autistic trait again as he progresses due to his rigidity. We can only try to remind him as and when we see or predict it but sometimes we must enjoy and endeavour for who he is in his special own way, only with this then we have inner peace and our ultimate joy of living.
Lately, he has learnt and improved skill in pretend play from video modelling of Sid The Science Kid at doll house & tree house, treating a toy model as mummy walking to the house & entering the door returning from work, putting her to sleep on bed, pulley system by making one for himself using ribbon through the wardrobe door holder pulling and lowering down the plastic container of items/furniture to the tree house.
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I am using the main character SID to inspire my little STAR to explore, discover his own social engagement levers, each of the characters are like his friends & teachers in his own special school, so that he can feel confident and empower to be friend with when model after them. I make some book marks out of them and will make him give to friend to kick start awareness & practise response in reciprocate. I also make a "Looking For My Friend" card to let him find friend and put tick or cross in their attendance upon arrival at school.
My little STAR also seems to show sign of emotion on anger, when he is upset and goes into escalation, he will ask anyone to tell mummy or grandma "angry", either he is trying to express his anger via his 2 closest interactors or he is aware & conscious that mummy & grandma may be angry with him because he starts to behavior inappropriately. I will use sabotage to take away his favourite item and teach him to express anger and then ask for it back with his words, he is able to comprehen.
When we eat fruits such as apple or dragon fruit which have been cut into smaller pieces, I will practise request game with him. He will have to try request for fruit until I satisfy to feed him, so he will normally go into "daddy I want apple", "daddy , "Can I have apple" and "daddy, can you share apple with me" I will only feed him when he says the last phrase. By practising, sometimes he is able to say the last phrase spontaneously but sometimes he will use shorter phrase to test me if I will give to him, of coz I will exercise my flexibility to varies my expectation to make this more fun.
His OT is also helping to arrange if feasible, his session with another kid to elevate social skill, his therapist for special needs has also started to get another adult from either parents or his sibling to be in session with him acting as learning peers. It may be a difficult routine for the little STAR to accept or adapt for a start with an extra people with him in session, but I am confident that he will get use to it and start interacting positively and gain confident to engage with more peers as he opens up his mind.
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We are exploring another professional for speech group therapy to see if this can help to compensate his lack in social interaction skill, he needs to prepare show and tell for his trial.
If successful, I will make another decision to withdraw him from his child care center where I am sadden by the fact that the center can keep him but can't reach him, nevertheless really appreciate the team of teachers accomodating and helping him along where ever they can in the past 15 months or so.I am also reading more often social stories with him to make him understand the expectation for the right way of social behavior. Visual rules & communication chain I am sure will be part and parcel of autism focus intervention approach use by teachers, I am confident that the teachers too, are reflecting & thinking of what better constructive effort can be applied to help him over come his present social behavior challenge and his learning with peers during EIP.
Maybe, we can check on his speed processing:- Is he doing too fast? Can we structure his wait time to do something else and keep him pre-occupy or make him do more work to leverage the timing to complete or wait, so he does not rush off to next area and start behaving negatively.
Or maybe we can break up more smaller steps during work in open area to include social rules with assistant teacher as reinforcer, so he can be taught to look at peers for awareness, listen and answer question for response from peers, wait for peers in turn taking.
Or will it helps if I can know what his teaching plan and material use prior to EIP, so I can be empower to teach or practise him at home to maximize success in collaboration.
Will share more update in his development in the next post.
Winners Statement:-
Be it new teacher, or senior teacher... if she can create an impact to the child she takes towards positive learning, she is a good teacher. A great teacher will then depend on the good teacher's hunger to inspire success in her excellence to all challenges she face during her teaching.
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