Autism is a multifaceted disability. Unlike other disorders that have clear causes and effective treatments, autism is a disorder of unknown origins. Raising a developmentally different child is a challenge for most parents. For parents to be effective in guiding the growth of their child, they first need to prepare themselves to be emotionally and mentally strong. Check out more about Autism Parenting.
If you have recently learned that your child has autism disorder you are probably wondering what happens next. You may not be certain about how to provide the best help to your child. But being strong allows you to be the best parent that you can be to the child.
Rather than focusing on how your child is different from others you need to focus on practicing acceptance. Figure out what triggers your child’s challenging behavior or what procures a positive response.
Find out what gives your child pleasure or what turns them off. Even if they do not have a response, it indicates as a response. Learn to adapt yourself to your child’s changing moods. The more you know about autism disorder, the more you will be equipped to make proper decisions for your child.
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to do best when they have a structured scheduled routine. Manage a space in your home where your child can relax and be safe.
Most children with autism have special interests. Sometimes making use of that interest is a positive way of achieving persistent engagement with your child. Encouraging the child’s interest can provide the child with a sense of being valued.
Communication
Whenever possible use visual cues. Many children with special needs have problems with sequencing verbal cues. If you approach your child in a manner that is too difficult for him/her to understand they may become frustrated and feel like you do not understand how they function.
Make sure you have your child’s attention before you speak. Talk to them at their own developmental level. Keep your word language simple and make sure to use the same words when you speak to them. You may gradually reduce usage of visual cues when you feel that your child does not need them anymore.
Many children with autism disorder have delays in response. You need to wait for a reaction before repeating your instructions over and over. It takes a longer time for their brains to register a command and then react appropriately.
If your child has a processing delay working through the instruction you gave him, it hinders eventually when you repeat your commands for the second or third time. This may leave your child confused or he/she may shut down.
The wait time is usually 30 seconds for children with autism for you to deliver your command and wait for a response. Most often if you wait, your child responds appropriately, which thereafter you praise them giving them a sense of achievement.
Make Time for Activities
Schedule activities when your child is most awake and energetic. Learn and enduring ways to have fun together. There is more to your child’s life than therapy. You need to learn and know when your child is happy, or laughs, or opens up out of his shell.
Playing is an important part of the journey and an autism affected child does not need to feel like it is work. Your child should enjoy your company from activities that do not feel like they are educational or therapeutic but which help them either way.
Everyday Activities
Not only play and fun time but make sure you take your child out for grocery shopping or errands like a post office run. Their behaviour is sure unpredictable but taking them out for such errands helps them get used to the world around them.
As an autism parenting concerns, you need to have answers to these basic questions
What does your child enjoy?
What are the problem causing elements or behaviors?
What are your child’s strengths? And
How does my child learn best?
Kids who Wander
Elopement is a frightening problem amongst autistic children. Nearly half the children who suffer from autism have a tendency to wander away from their safe zone.
More than half of the kids suffering from autism are recorded to go missing or have found themselves in danger due to the disorder. The good news though for parents worrying about this problem is GPS tracking for children.
You always have comfort or peace of mind that comes knowing that you have this service or solution at hand. These devices are not meant to invade your child’s privacy but to help keep them safe.
The GPS market is booming as trackers for kids are growing more popular. There are many reasons you would want to use a GPS tracker for your kids. The few ways that GPS tracking may help you are:
- Whenever you are sleeping or distracted and your child wanders off you get an alert when your child moves out of the designated perimeter. This helps you to prevent or keep your child from wandering far out of sight. You know exactly when your child has stepped out or gone too far off limits and it gives you the live tracking information immediately.
- Depending on the device you purchase the location can be highly specific. You are equipped to track your child in real time so that they can be retrieved quickly.
- In worst case scenarios if your child is in danger you have a handy option to alert the safety personnel to come to the aid of your child.
- A few GPS trackers also help you to hear about what is happening around their surroundings.
- The GPS device helps you to see your child’s daily timeline at a glance.
Fear is a common and a constant companion for parents having kids suffering from the autism spectrum disorder. Nothing can stop a child from wandering but being aware and taking every precaution available can prevent from further tragedies that may occur.
GPS tracking is a sort of relief from some of the parents who face these problems on a daily basis.
