Autistic Child Care - How To Schedule Your Autistic Child’s Daily Life
Posted by ccare | Filed under ChildCare
Children at all ages whether 3 or 13, often complaint of boredom. Making them do what you want but they don’t is indeed cracking a hard nut. Especially dealing with special needs like that of an Autistic child, making schedule is a great help. There are several agendas in a day that we need to manage as an efficient parent like the child’s school, his therapy, doctor’s appointment, homework & studies, the daily chores, etc., and the driving force behind all the above - your child’s health and growth.
Scheduling creates a pre-defined structure for the child where he knows what to expect next, what would he do tomorrow and where would he be placed at a given point of time. Often the children suffering with Autism have certain anxiety issues. Whenever they are left free to think wide without any guidance, they might shift to such depressing thoughts. A well designed schedule leaves less or no extra time unguided and hence the anxiety level drops to a great extent. This avoids any breakdowns in the necessary daily chores and the medical procedures.
Making them do something essential but undesirable to them like completing the homework becomes easier with a schedule. You make them shift to ‘the task of studies of homework’ after completing the prior ‘task’ and target to accomplish the same in order to move to another welcomed ‘activity’ like ‘drawing’ or ‘outdoor games.’
With numerous check-ups, therapies and medical needs, managing your child’s time table can sometimes be quite cumbersome, for instance overlapping of the therapist’s and the doctor’s appointment. A schedule helps you keep a track of each appointment without fail.
Once you have made a schedule for your child, draft it in the form of an attractive chart in his personal space or room. Let him follow the steps one after another on his own, of course with your able guidance. This would enhance his self confidence and his decision making skills.
At times the Autistic child has problem reading the words. Here comes the system of a ‘Visual Schedule,’ where in every task or activity is allotted a symbol - a garden for outdoor games, a stack of books for studies, a stethoscope for the doctor’s appointment and a handshake for his therapy hours.
In case of any change in the schedule, explain your child in detail in time. As the child would be planning things according to the schedule only, even a slight change could upset him. so involve him in the change & the henceforth decision, as this would allow him to feel more independent and confident.
In our day-to-day lives, there could be many hassles in sticking up to the set time table, but try to do so as much as possible. For instance, if your child is used to wake up at 7 in the morning, continue the same on the weekends as well. Similarly, try not to divert his bed timings too much, as proper sleep would keep your child healthier.
A demo schedule is shown below:
7 AM Wake up, Brush your teeth, Bathe, Wear the uniform, Pack your bag
8 AM Breakfast
8:15 AM Board the School Bus
2 PM Coming home, Wash your hands, Change your dress
2:30 PM Lunch
3 PM Nap Time
4 PM Have milk, Study Time
5:30 PM Leisure
6 PM Outdoor Games
7 PM Watch Cartoons
8 PM Bathing
8:30 PM Dinner
9 PM Bed Time
As a parent, as the experts say, you are sure to find improvement in your child with the defined schedules. While there would always be something planned for him, it would make his and your life far more easy and smoothly managed.
By: Abhishek Agarwal
About the Author:
Scheduling creates a pre-defined structure for the child where he knows what to expect next, what would he do tomorrow and where would he be placed at a given point of time. Often the children suffering with Autism have certain anxiety issues. Whenever they are left free to think wide without any guidance, they might shift to such depressing thoughts. A well designed schedule leaves less or no extra time unguided and hence the anxiety level drops to a great extent. This avoids any breakdowns in the necessary daily chores and the medical procedures.
Making them do something essential but undesirable to them like completing the homework becomes easier with a schedule. You make them shift to ‘the task of studies of homework’ after completing the prior ‘task’ and target to accomplish the same in order to move to another welcomed ‘activity’ like ‘drawing’ or ‘outdoor games.’
With numerous check-ups, therapies and medical needs, managing your child’s time table can sometimes be quite cumbersome, for instance overlapping of the therapist’s and the doctor’s appointment. A schedule helps you keep a track of each appointment without fail.
Once you have made a schedule for your child, draft it in the form of an attractive chart in his personal space or room. Let him follow the steps one after another on his own, of course with your able guidance. This would enhance his self confidence and his decision making skills.
At times the Autistic child has problem reading the words. Here comes the system of a ‘Visual Schedule,’ where in every task or activity is allotted a symbol - a garden for outdoor games, a stack of books for studies, a stethoscope for the doctor’s appointment and a handshake for his therapy hours.
In case of any change in the schedule, explain your child in detail in time. As the child would be planning things according to the schedule only, even a slight change could upset him. so involve him in the change & the henceforth decision, as this would allow him to feel more independent and confident.
In our day-to-day lives, there could be many hassles in sticking up to the set time table, but try to do so as much as possible. For instance, if your child is used to wake up at 7 in the morning, continue the same on the weekends as well. Similarly, try not to divert his bed timings too much, as proper sleep would keep your child healthier.
A demo schedule is shown below:
7 AM Wake up, Brush your teeth, Bathe, Wear the uniform, Pack your bag
8 AM Breakfast
8:15 AM Board the School Bus
2 PM Coming home, Wash your hands, Change your dress
2:30 PM Lunch
3 PM Nap Time
4 PM Have milk, Study Time
5:30 PM Leisure
6 PM Outdoor Games
7 PM Watch Cartoons
8 PM Bathing
8:30 PM Dinner
9 PM Bed Time
As a parent, as the experts say, you are sure to find improvement in your child with the defined schedules. While there would always be something planned for him, it would make his and your life far more easy and smoothly managed.
By: Abhishek Agarwal
About the Author:
Abhishek has got some great Autism Treatment Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 41 Pages Ebook, “Understanding And Treating Autism” from his website http://www.Health-Whiz.com/555/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.
Tags: Check Ups, Driving Force, Medical Procedures
Child Care And Mommy - Letting The Mom In You Care For The Kid…
Posted by ccare | Filed under ChildCare
The hunt for the basic childcare guidelines should start as soon as you get to know your due date. The reason behind this is that the early start provides us with ample time to go through all the available childcare options. Before settling with a particular childcare provider, many things have to be considered. In case you are planning to opt for an in-home caretaker, then you must be sure about the caregiver’s professional at least for the last five years. For this, you can take references from the past employers of the caretaker. This is important because it is not mandatory for caretakers to have a license. You need to ask for phone numbers and names. You should also not hesitate to talk to people who know the caretaker and have employed them before. You need to be very cautious while choosing the in-house caregiver as they are quite expensive and will also have to stay with your child even when you might be out. Thus, do not go for a caregiver who is not able to provide enough information about his/her past records.
The next option that is available is family childcare. These types of environment are more casual and are less expensive and also have only a limited number of children enrolled in it. This kind of childcare makes it mandatory for you drop and pick up your kid from a certain person’s place. In many cases, you will be charged more if you are going to pick your child later than usual. Remember that these caregivers are doing it as a nine-to-five business. However, it is important that you see to it that they are licensed as how they do their work differs from every individual caretaker. Thus, the references from other similar parents are of prime importance.
The next alternative is to leave your kid at a day care centre which has been licensed. But, the point to be noted here is that your child will receive less individual attention in here. Another negative impact of this is that your child may develop illness that might be caused due to interaction between so many children. However, the benefits of such types of day care centers are many. They do not have very strict rules about the timings and your child will be able to interact with more number of children and learn more in the process.
The best time to visit all prospective childcare centers is before you have your kid. You can make checklists and notes for future reference before you select the perfect place for your tiny tot. You can also make use of the many websites providing such information for this purpose. In case you plan to get back to your work after the maternity leave period, having a number of providers waiting will make your back to work schedule less stressful. The best thing to do in such cases is to opt for an on-call day care provider who can drop in to take care of your kid even during emergencies when you need someone to take care of your kid urgently. This would surely help you to get adjusted and get back to your schedule.
By: Abhishek Agarwal
About the Author:
The next option that is available is family childcare. These types of environment are more casual and are less expensive and also have only a limited number of children enrolled in it. This kind of childcare makes it mandatory for you drop and pick up your kid from a certain person’s place. In many cases, you will be charged more if you are going to pick your child later than usual. Remember that these caregivers are doing it as a nine-to-five business. However, it is important that you see to it that they are licensed as how they do their work differs from every individual caretaker. Thus, the references from other similar parents are of prime importance.
The next alternative is to leave your kid at a day care centre which has been licensed. But, the point to be noted here is that your child will receive less individual attention in here. Another negative impact of this is that your child may develop illness that might be caused due to interaction between so many children. However, the benefits of such types of day care centers are many. They do not have very strict rules about the timings and your child will be able to interact with more number of children and learn more in the process.
The best time to visit all prospective childcare centers is before you have your kid. You can make checklists and notes for future reference before you select the perfect place for your tiny tot. You can also make use of the many websites providing such information for this purpose. In case you plan to get back to your work after the maternity leave period, having a number of providers waiting will make your back to work schedule less stressful. The best thing to do in such cases is to opt for an on-call day care provider who can drop in to take care of your kid even during emergencies when you need someone to take care of your kid urgently. This would surely help you to get adjusted and get back to your schedule.
By: Abhishek Agarwal
About the Author:
Abhishek runs his own successful Daycare and he has got some great Daycare Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 66 Pages Ebook, “Understanding Daycare Inside Out!” from his website http://www.Better-Parent.com/480/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.
Tags: Child Care, Childcare Provider, Negative Impact
Autistic Child Care - 7 Tips To Potty Train Your Autistic Child
Posted by ccare | Filed under ChildCare
However, what happens if your child is autistic? The problem is now compounded because if your child’s developmental issues. How big of an issue this becomes is determined on the parent.
It doesn’t have to be a tedious task. There are ways to make the process easier and get your child moving in the right direction. Here is a list of suggestions and things to look for to help you and your autistic child while potty training.
1. Don’t start potty training too early. You have to ensure the child is ready to start. Make sure they know the difference between a wet and a clean diaper. If they don’t understand this important difference, it might be too early to start potty training. Try explaining what a wet diaper is and see if your child can recognize it.
2. Being able to dress themselves is an important aspect. If your autistic child doesn’t know how to take his or her clothes off, potty training is going to be difficult through their clothing. Their motor skills might not be ready yet to start the process. Wait to potty train a child until they can dress themselves, which means being able to pull their pants on and off. This is going to make the process much easier.
3. Potty training doesn’t need to feel like a job for you or your autistic child. Create a reward program. Every time the child goes to the potty offer them something they are going to enjoy. Perhaps a favorite treat or a toy. Anyone else involved in the process should be made aware of the reward system. At the same time, don’t punish your child for an accident. This isn’t going to help the process and will only confuse your child. It’s not good to send mixed signals.
4. Learning your child’s schedule will be helpful. If you are keeping your child on a certain schedule throughout the day, they normally get their diaper changed at the same time. When this happens, sit your child down on the potty and have them go to the bathroom about the same time everyday. Schedules and routines are important to many children with autism. Having a potty schedule could help them in the process.
5. Be patient. This sounds a lot easier than it is, but patience is very important. Your child, and this goes for any child, may not get the hang of it right away. Don’t show frustration and don’t get angry because this might cause the child to regress in potty training.
6. Be consistent. Don’t keep switching from the potty to diapers. This will confuse your child and make it difficult to potty train.
7. Don’t stress out the child by forcing them on to the potty. You want them to get familiar with it for a few days. Keep it in the open where they can see it. By seeing it more often, they will get comfortable with the idea of it.
To reiterate, the single most important factor is patience. All of the other tips go with mom or dad being patient. It might take a few weeks for an autistic child to learn something new. If that’s the case, just stay positive and work with the child as best as you can.
By: Abhishek Agarwal
About the Author:
It doesn’t have to be a tedious task. There are ways to make the process easier and get your child moving in the right direction. Here is a list of suggestions and things to look for to help you and your autistic child while potty training.
1. Don’t start potty training too early. You have to ensure the child is ready to start. Make sure they know the difference between a wet and a clean diaper. If they don’t understand this important difference, it might be too early to start potty training. Try explaining what a wet diaper is and see if your child can recognize it.
2. Being able to dress themselves is an important aspect. If your autistic child doesn’t know how to take his or her clothes off, potty training is going to be difficult through their clothing. Their motor skills might not be ready yet to start the process. Wait to potty train a child until they can dress themselves, which means being able to pull their pants on and off. This is going to make the process much easier.
3. Potty training doesn’t need to feel like a job for you or your autistic child. Create a reward program. Every time the child goes to the potty offer them something they are going to enjoy. Perhaps a favorite treat or a toy. Anyone else involved in the process should be made aware of the reward system. At the same time, don’t punish your child for an accident. This isn’t going to help the process and will only confuse your child. It’s not good to send mixed signals.
4. Learning your child’s schedule will be helpful. If you are keeping your child on a certain schedule throughout the day, they normally get their diaper changed at the same time. When this happens, sit your child down on the potty and have them go to the bathroom about the same time everyday. Schedules and routines are important to many children with autism. Having a potty schedule could help them in the process.
5. Be patient. This sounds a lot easier than it is, but patience is very important. Your child, and this goes for any child, may not get the hang of it right away. Don’t show frustration and don’t get angry because this might cause the child to regress in potty training.
6. Be consistent. Don’t keep switching from the potty to diapers. This will confuse your child and make it difficult to potty train.
7. Don’t stress out the child by forcing them on to the potty. You want them to get familiar with it for a few days. Keep it in the open where they can see it. By seeing it more often, they will get comfortable with the idea of it.
To reiterate, the single most important factor is patience. All of the other tips go with mom or dad being patient. It might take a few weeks for an autistic child to learn something new. If that’s the case, just stay positive and work with the child as best as you can.
By: Abhishek Agarwal
About the Author:
Abhishek has got some great Autism Treatment Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 41 Pages Ebook, “Understanding And Treating Autism” from his website http://www.Health-Whiz.com/555/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.
Tags: Child Train, Reward System, Tedious Task
