Role Play What You Want Your Child to Do

Since children on the spectrum tend to be strong visual learners, the example you set for them as parents is extremely important. Whenever our son is struggling to learn a task or do what is needed, we try to role play it with him.

For instance, we attend church every Sunday as a family. As part of our Sunday service, we partake of the Sacrament, which is about a 15-20 minute process. So we have role played how we should act during this time. We role play both good and bad behaviors. When my husband shows what we shouldn't do during the Sacrament (ie. whispering, wiggling, poking, etc.), my son loves to point out what his dad is doing "wrong."

During our role plays, we take turns and let him show the appropriate and inappropriate behaviors too. Also, as needed, we add props if it helps us to practice. For the Sacrament example, my husband put little pieces of bread on a plate and little cups of water on a separate plate. My son had been struggling to choose just the "right" piece of bread and cup of water every Sunday (too many options). So we showed him how to pick just one, that it didn't matter which one he chose.

Also, there was a time when our son wouldn't eat any of the Sacrament bread because, in his eyes, it looked mushy (from having been torn into bits). We tried role playing this, giving him the opportunity to break the bread into pieces and eat it, but his sensory issues kicked in and he would have nothing to do with the squished bread. So we just decided not to push it. If he didn't take the Sacrament bread at church, that was fine. Eventually, he decided it was OK and now participates regularly.

Also, when he was really little, he used to be frustrated with the little pieces of bread. He wanted more!!! So I'd always pack a slice or two of bread in his diaper bag, ready to fish out at the opportune time.

Autism vs. Aspergers

I've really given this blog a lot of thought--maybe too much. Earlier this summer, while on vacation with a friend, we discussed whether this blog should be about Autism or Aspergers. My son is so high-functioning that she thought maybe I should rename it for Aspergers. And so, over time, I thought of a possible new blog title: Aspirations for Aspergers. But I still felt stuck.

I finally determined that the reason I hadn't pressed forward with the blog is that I don't feel that we fit either camp very well. My son, Morgan, is somewhere in between, but he is on the spectrum--he hand flaps a lot and finds repetitive motion comforting, has difficulty with some basic tasks (potty trained at age 5), and loves techy things. On the other hand, he makes eye contact well, is socially accepted (even with a few quirks), and prefers to be with others, except when playing video games, and not in large groups. He'll attend large-group functions with us, but he usually doesn't prefer them. He's also an advanced reader and recently earned a Citizenship Award at school, so he's considered a "model" student.

I share this background not to brag but because I want to be clear about my experience with Autism. For anyone who follows this blog, please know that my background is with a very high-functioning child. Part of that success is because we as parents, and a team of excellent teachers and professionals, have done A LOT of work with him, and part of the success is due to his natural abilities.

My goal is to help my son build upon the talents and strengths he has. My husband and I work hard to further our son's education and to greatly supplement his classroom schooling. Perhaps our ideas will help other parents with lower-functioning autistic children. If we can help anyone, or be helped, during this blogging venture, we will feel truly blessed.