Little Ashley at 3 yo when she was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder

• Recently Written

  • Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapy
  • Giving Instructions To Your Autistic Child
  • Removing Monosodium Glutamate from an autism diet
  • Managing tantrums in autistic children
  • Best Treatment For Autism
  • Going For Speech Therapy Classes
  • Starting Autism Blog 3 years Late?
  • MSG Is Bad For Autism Diet
  • Is Attention Demanding An Autistic Symptom?
  • Getting To Know What Is Asperger Syndrome

• Categories

  • Asperger Syndrome
  • Autism and Mercury
  • Autism Child
  • Autism Diet
  • Autism Parenting
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Autism Symptoms
  • Autism Treatments
  • Cause Of Autism
  • Famous People With Autism

• Archives

  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • 0

• RSS Subscriptions

  RSS
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Applied Behavioral Analysis is a very popular form of behavioral modification for autistic children. This therapy involves breaking down tasks into individual and smaller ones and rewarding your autistic child for successfully completing each step of the task. The reported success rate of ABA is close to 47%.

There is considerable debate about the effectiveness of ABA. In some cases, ABA has shown to be of great help but not in all. It is also by no means a cure for autism. Still, if it can help your child to better functioning, why not?

I know from the parents of some autistic children that ABA has been useful. I did not put Ashley through ABA, because by the time I found out about this form of therapy, Ashley had already shown marked improvements in her development. From my assessment then, she was capable of handling more complex instructions and did not need a reward per se. Just the knowledge and satisfaction that she had done a great job was good enough to motivate her to do more.

When speaking to your preschool autistic child, you should use language that are simple and direct. Avoid long sentences and too many instructions in one sentence.

Here is an example. Instead of “You are only allowed to watch TV for half an hour. After you watch TV, I want you to take a bath and change into your pyjamas”, break this sentence into smaller tasks and instructions.

In addition, avoid too many explanations at this stage. You will end up confusing him. Give him clear steps only when necessary. Also, be specific about time frame. For instance “keep your toys now” or “let’s have lunch in ten minutes”.

As your child becomes more capable of handling instructions, you can then issue instructions for two tasks and more together. The thing is to work towards more complex instructions gradually.

• Blogroll

• Admin

  • Login
  • Wordpress
  • XHTML

  Search