Leisure Time for Individuals with Autism
Leisure or unstructured time for someone with autism, and his or her family, may be one of the most challenging times of all. Autism generally limits the child’s development of leisure interests and skills. Parents often find that their child with autism is unable to entertain himself appropriately most of the time. Without extra structure and help, they are unlikely to develop or understand leisure activities.
Our consultants can help parents and providers develop ways to assist individuals with autism to be more independent and self-directed in their leisure time. For when they are doing things they like and that make sense to them, problem behavior usually decreases. Development of leisure skills is a positive way to reduce inappropriate self-stimulation or stereotypic behavior. More importantly, it brings enjoyment to all.
STEPS TO INDEPENDENCE
Self-help skills are some of the most important behaviors for your child to acquire. Most of these skills are needed at home and are part of the daily home routine: dressing, grooming, toileting, eating, bathing, teeth brushing. Participating in family life includes daily chores such as setting table, taking out trash, laundry, and cleaning rooms. You could spend your days doing these things for your child, but wouldn’t your time be better spent by helping him to perform these skills himself?
Our consultants can help parents and other home providers design and implement effective programs to help your child develop these skills within established routines and a natural and predictable setting.
PROBLEM BEHAVIOR
Children with autism often have obvious behavior problems, such as hitting, screaming, or running away. Or a child may exhibit more subtle behavior problems—whining when you are gone, refusing to follow instructions, or wandering aimlessly. Our consultants can help you define the kind of behavior problem you may have concerns about. Generally a behavior will fall into one of three groups: behavior that is disruptive to the family or harmful to the child (child plays with electric cords and sockets); and behavior that interferes with learning (child has a fit every time you try to show him how to wash his hair in the shower); behavior that interferes with already learned skills (you have to constantly monitor child in order for her to get dressed).
Our consultants will help you and your providers analyze the function and context of behaviors, and then develop an intervention plan. By determining antecedents (setting) and consequences to behavior, we can manage behavior in a systematic and successful way (the A-B-C formula).
SELF MANAGEMENT
One of the most important skills for independence is the ability to behave appropriately and constructively without the supervision of others. Our consultants can help you design programs that will promote your child’s development of self-management strategies—a personal and systematic practice of behavior change strategies that result in the desired modification of one’s own behavior. Usually these are employed with specific target behaviors.
CONSULTATION & TRAINING
- Functional analysis of target behaviors
- Design & implementation plans address parent and provider concerns regarding behavior deficits and excesses.
- Training and follow-up of parents and providers implementing interventions.
- Strategies to enhance and expand communication with your child.
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