Autism spectrum disorders: Developing communication and instructional strategies

We often get questions from families about how to manage their child’s Autistic spectrum disorder, in particular the use of Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA). While Val and I researched an attempted to use ABA with our boys, it was not a success. We had to find another answer.

We are working with a wonderful family based in eastern Massachusetts and got into a conversation on communication strategies and instructional control. They have a child aged 5, who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They run a successful but busy business from their home which can make managing temper tantrums difficult. Their son is planned to start in a special day class for ASD children soon. They are great and attentive parents and they reached out to us through the ALL (Animated Language Learning) program. They live in a relatively rural area with somewhat limited speech therapy and related resources available. They have got over the shock of the diagnosis and are proceeding in a very deliberate and determined way.

Folks, good speaking with you yesterday. I promised a couple of follow ups which I am adding here. There were a couple of things that came up in our conversation. As with all parents, you are faced with a blend of opportunities and challenges right now. These conversations between us are about finding the best way forward for both you and Jimmy. Right now, you guys are doing great but you are at a difficult point in your journey with Jimmy. Everything is new and confusing (and at times scary). You are also carrying all the load alone, so getting Jimmy settled into school is going to be a great help.

It all starts with language and communication:

While ALL (Animated Language Learning) is the way to go with Jimmy, it’s going to take a while before you get traction on a generalizable / academic language system. You need something right now, immediately. Currently you don’t have a usable communication system with a time horizon and you can’t easily negotiate with Jimmy. This is a video on a visual system, which you can implement immediately:

When you watch this, don’t focus too much on the activities, focus on how the communication is happening. Then get a camera out and shoot the pictures of things you want and things Jimmy wants and put it all together like in the video. The school will likely implement a similar system, so you will be able to collaborate with them on this.

What’s powerful about visual schedules is that they are fixtures in front of Jimmy while you a working to the plan. If Jimmy get confused, you just point to the plan. Speech is momentary and can be quickly forgotten or ignored. Remember this is a bridging system to generalized / language through ALL which will be building in the background. Like with many things you do with your child, this will have a life and will need to be replaced. A lot more about this later.

The benefits once you have control:

Getting a visual system in place will allow you to move more towards agreement rather than appeasement strategies, this key when it comes to Autism spectrum disorders.  Using food as a reinforcer right now is working for you, but you will both quickly outgrow this strategy. When Jimmy can see a visual plan, which he views reasonable, then he will likely cooperate with what you want as parents. This will be supplemented with token economies and related strategies over time. Anyone who has worked with me or knows our sons Conor and Eoin, will tell you I place huge emphasis on instructional control. If you can’t manage your own child, ultimately no one will. And he will be welcome in very few places. That’s not to say that you won’t need to manage a tantrum in the least convenient of places. I’ve lived more of these than I can remember but I always knew it was part of a process. We can speak more about this again.

Getting Jimmy busy:

As we discussed, you need to start identifying regular activities that he can engage in daily. It doesn’t need to be highbrow, we want to get him busy doing stuff he enjoys. Try to start identifying the things Jimmy likes. Paddle pool, trampoline, scooter, IPAD….. things that he will do things (you want) for. The key here is to get Jimmy to co-operate with you, to get him to want to do what you ask. Expand from activities in the home to elsewhere, like the local swimming pool, gymnastics, horse riding, running, the park and so forth. You want him busy in our world, not receding into his. Over time you will get a handle on what Jimmy really likes. And these activities are pure gold in terms of setting up visual schedules and bargaining as any parent would with their child.

Managing your life at home:

You work from home. That’s great: you can manage Jimmy’s development directly. It’s challenging: your always on call. You got to have a sane existence. Can you look within your community for someone who can support you and implement what Jimmy needs when he’s not in school? You might want to start talking to the school and see if they can recommend someone. They frequently know. Or perhaps someone could lighten the load in the business, which would give you the time to work with Jimmy. Or ideally, a mix

Ultimately, you are going to have some melt downs, with spectrum disorders. But if you have the systems in place you can control when / what happens to your schedule. After a while, you will be able to read Jimmy and when you are heading for a temper tantrum. You will need to make a call if you want to let the issue slide or when you need to keep going because this is something Jimmy needs to learn. But most importantly, you will have more control over when you get to make your point.

I hope this helps. You are doing great but I want to ensure that you know what we learned through our boys. Be in no doubt, you are good parents.

Enda & Val