A child gives birth to a mother

Parenting is never an easy job, whether you have a neuro typical or a neuro divergent. However, I feel parenting a child in the autism spectrum is tough. Whether the child is verbal or non-verbal, it is equally challenging. The main difficulty of the child in the autism spectrum is communication and if the child is not able to communicate how you will you understand and support the child. The other comorbidities associated with autism, like gut issues, sensory issues, etc makes them more vulnerable. Their body language or facial expression do not support what they want to communicate all these adds up the challenges for the parent to understand and support their child. But there are ways to understand your child better, let us find out how we can do it.

Learn more about autism: 

Let us start by learning more about autism. For me when I enrolled for DED Special Education (ASD) things became transparent. The theoretical knowledge about how autism is different from us, helped me a lot in understanding them better. So, start to learn more about autism is our first step.

Find out your child`s interest and work on them

Make a list of your child`s likes, not only the food that they like, other things toys, activities, etc. Do explore the area of his interest, the therapies he enjoys. If the child likes play therapy, or physical activities more do accommodate these therapies/ activities in their daily life.

Select what works for your child

Go with the child to the therapy centers, to school, and observe and select what works better for them. A very renowned place may not work out whereas a small therapy center might be better for your child and vice versa.  So, you need to monitor the various places your child is going and select those places where your child is comfortable and taken care of. Remember you might not be an expert but being the parent, you will always know what work better for your child.

Discipline & Structure is vital

Autistic individuals like routine & structure, which makes them calm and more compliant. Have a well-structured disciplined daily routine for your kid from an early age. Use a visual full day schedule to make things more predictable to them. In case of any changes in the given schedule do communicate to them in a way that they can understand. Structuring the home environment is also vital for the progress of the child. An autism friendly home will have lots of space for the child to move around and few items that they like e.g. bean bag, swing, trampoline, gym ball, tent, etc.

Work on the communication skill development 

One of the diagnoses of Autism is impairment in communication. Whether the child is verbal or non-verbal they do have communication deficits, and with age the communication gap may lead to loss of independence & behaviour issues. Teaching communication & developing language using an Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) from a very early age is a must for autism. Use of low tech & high tech AAC as required is essential. 

To know more about how to teach communication using AAC do join our Parents Empowerment Programs. 

Use of social stories 

Another difficult area of the child in the autism spectrum is social cognition. Social cognition refers to the mental processes involved in perceiving, attending to, remembering, thinking about, and making sense of the people in our social world. In autism there is a deficit in social cognition. (if you want to know more about how to teach socialisation do read our blog on Socialisation in Autism)

Use of social stories helps a child in the spectrum in various ways, like: 

• To address a troubling situation
• To provide social information to a person with ASD
• To help him understand a social situation
• To help him develop appropriate social behavior
• To understand what is expected from him
• To acknowledge achievements
• To build positive self esteem