Archive for September, 2010

As I mentioned in my last post I had a tough time dealing with my sons infatuation with Wario. It’s common for people on the spectrum to become highly interested in one subject. Unfortunately, this subject dealt with passing gas and was causing the whole family problems.

When I shared my plan to use positive reinforcement with a friend they accused me of bribing my son. However, what works for typical kids many times doesn’t work for kids on the spectrum. Typically developing kids pay attention to social cues and norms and change their behaviors accordingly. This often doesn’t work for kids on the spectrum.

Positive reinforcement is a tool to reinforce good behavior and eliminate bad behavior.  Typically you reward the behavior you want to see more of, which over times leads to a permanent change in behavior.  Changing behavior through positive reinforcement isn’t always as easy as it sounds. For example, at first I told my son that if he went through the day without passing gas or burping in the presence of others I would give him a dollar.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?  However, this caused a problem because once my son failed, he went back to his Wario ways for the rest of the day. He figured he had nothing to lose and so the day turned into an all out Wario, passing gas frenzy. Oh my dear friends, you just don’t know how badly I wanted to escape this!  Sometimes our kid’s behavior can be so embarrassing! 

What I have learned from experiences like these is that sometimes you have to modify your plan. As a matter of fact I often have to modify my behavioral plans. So don’t give up if you don’t succeed the first time you try to change a negative behavior.

Next we decided that if G. could make it for an hour without passing gas in the presence of others he earned a quarter. I also wrote a short social story about passing gas and read it to him. This I shared with him trying to be stern as he laughed like crazy. Finally, we took away all reinforcement of his negative behavior, this meant that every time he passed gas we completely ignored it.  This was hard but we had to do it because our response was making his behavior fun.

It took some time but this phase finally passed. No pun intended!

A few years ago my son found a new hero, Wario. This Nintendo characters’ claim to fame is passing gas, big toxic clouds of it.  For over a week my son used the word “fart” in any and every way imaginable. He found a way to bring it into every conversation. Then he became highly interested in bodily functions and was thrilled every time he passed gas near his friends or family.

One day while we were driving in my friend’s van I noticed that none of the kids wanted to sit by him… I took a deep breath and almost passed out!  The whole van smelled horrible, and G was laughing uncontrollably. It’s against the law to throw a child out of a moving vehicle, so I settled for rolling down all of the windows…

So what’s a mom to do? I went back to good old positive reinforcement. How do I positively reinforce attempts to change this behavior? I decided that if G could make it through the day without referring to or passing gas in the presence of others he could earn a dollar.

I thought it sounded good, but family members scolded me, claiming I was bribing my son.  Honestly, I felt like I couldn’t win.  Dealing with this was hard enough without also being judged.  I figured once we got to $10 the behavior would be extinguished.  A small price to pay for driving in peace…

Honestly if you were in my shoes what would you do?

We are partnering with Our Journey Through Autism for a “30 for 30″ event to celebrate the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation’s 30th anniversary.

 Three winners will receive over $100 in prizes including:

• A Fidget Set
• Body Sox
• Danceland CD & Booklet
• 28 Instant Songames CD
• Wikki Stix Activity Set 
•  Starting Sensory Integration Therapy

 To enter pick up a copy of Starting Sensory Integration Therapy: Fun Activities That Won’t Destroy Your Home or Classroom. We have it on sale here or pick up a copy from your local library.

 Next, select 1-3 activities to do with your child. As you are doing these activities, take notes, take pictures, or take video. If you want to get creative, make a montage, slide show or video.

 Then, submit everything to OJTA for publication throughout Sensory Awareness Month.

  Deadline is September 25th so hurry!

Transitioning can be difficult and stressful for people with autism spectrum disorder.   Here are five techniques that can help to reduce anxiety and give a sense of predictability to transitions.

1. Create a Schedule

Create a schedule the student can refer to.  This can be a simple written list of activities or a sequence of pictures or both. Schedules can prepare a student for a transition by allowing them to anticipate upcoming activities and understand the sequence of events that will occur. Using schedules can decrease transition time and lower anxiety and melt downs.

2. Show Activities as Finished

Marking activities as finished naturally prepares the student for the next activity. If using a picture schedule have a finished pocket for the student to place the picture of the completed activity in. For routine schedules, laminate the schedule with a box next to each picture that the student can check off as complete. Or simply use a piece of paper and write out the schedule and allow the student to cross each item off as it is completed.

 3. Use a Timer

Time is an abstract concept that can be difficult for autistic students to understand. Using a timer gives students a visual of how much time is left before a transition. It can also help to keep some kids on task for projects they don’t like, because they can see it has an end. Some timers, like the Time Timer give an additional visual of the countdown of time.

 4. Make sure there is ample time for transitions.

Rushing to stay on schedule is stressful for anyone. Especially with new routines at school allow adequate time for autistic students to process the transition and move on to the next activity.

 5. Give the student a transition item.

Sometimes carrying a familiar item during a transition can add a sense of continuity and comfort. Some students keep an object with them throughout the day.  For others it’s helpful if they get the item after they have completed a project.  Allowing the student to get the transition item may help prepare them to move on to the next activity.