At work I've been modeling appropriate pretend play with students. There's a student who used to scratch other students' in the face as a way of exploring.. This particular student had the social skills of a 1 year old. At that age, they will explore by touching and so when another student was crying or being loud, he would run up to them and scratch or poke at their faces. Hence for some time his assigned seating was further away from the rest of the class. However, it was decided that that was not the best option. Instead, if he approached other students aggressively, he was told, "We keep our hands and feet to ourselves and we are nice to our friends." He has improved a lot, there are few incidents now and is able to play in the same area as other students.
These past few days as I modeled pretend play with other students, he has become more curious and has more interest interacting with his fellow classmates. This makes me very happy, because he rarely engages in playing with others.
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I am so grateful to have this opportunity to work with children with autism! Each step of progress makes me so happy
Here is some background info for people who are not familiar with this disorder.
Most parents of autistic children suspect that something is wrong by the time the child is 18 months old and seek help by the time the child is age 2. Children with autism typically have difficulties in:
- Pretend play
- Social interactions
- Verbal and nonverbal communication
-- Routines are very important to them, it helps if they have individual picture schedules, so they know exactly what to expect.
-- They might have an attachment to specific objects, such as trains or buses or cars
-- They do not like to make eye contact
-- They prefer solitary or ritualistic play
-- intense tantrums
1 comment:
children are difficult to work with but it's a good feeling seeing them change their ways.
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