for a 3 year old that is autistic does a 5 min warning work?

Question

For the person that told me to get him into the classes that he needs to get into we are doing that right now. Thankyou for that advice.

What kind of rewards do you recomend? How do i get him to look at me? he will not look at me . What is the sensory diet? The only sensory thing that i have noticed with him is he doesnt like loud noises and he seems to like the light on. Like i said he isnt very severe. The dr that we saw is more concerned with his speech and his social interaction. for the person that home schools what are some things i can be doing for him are there things out there for autistic children . I want to give him the best start i can. thanks to every one who has responded you have all been awsome.

Answer 1

I think that a five minute warning might be a little bit abstract for a 3-year-old, but this could certainly be helpful when he gets a little older.

I agree with the other answers that recommended a first/then or "after ________, ________ will happen" approach.

For rewards, try small portions of foods that he likes, verbal praise, or access to favorite toys, games, or activities. To give positive reinforcement for looking at you, you can try praising him and giving him a small reward when he does look at you.

Here are some other resources that may help you. Best of luck!

Websites:

"Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew" by Ellen Notbohm - http://www.southflorida.com/sfparenting/sfe-sfp-autism,0,6196233.story

Website of Paula Kluth, Ph.D. - http://www.paulakluth.com/autism.html

Positively Autism (free online magazine) - http://www.positivelyautism.com/

Books:

"Your Life is Not a Label: A Guide to Living Fully with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome" by Jerry Newport

"You're Going to Love This Kid!: Teaching Students With Autism in the Inclusive Classroom" By Paula Kluth

"Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism" By Paul Collins

Any book by Temple Grandin

Answer 2

5 minutes would be hard for most average three year olds. When my son was three, the whole concept of a warning was tough since he had no concept of linear time. Instead, try building your warnings around things he is doing and the natural flow of activiteis in the house. "After Elmo is over, we need to go pick up our toys." "After we finish dinner, it will be time to take a bath" You will have to train yourself to think this way, but trust me ...it will help you help your child not only when he is three, but when he is 13!

A sensory diet is a specialized nutritional plan some families of autistic kids use. There are more than one and the idea behind it is to try and introduce the child to new tastes and textures. There are also other diets some families use to help with things like sleep and motion issues. Diets have never worked well with my son as he is extremely rigid on what he eats, and any attempts to change it have resulted in more sever issues than the ones the diet was supposed to deal with. However, there are many families who have done extremely well on these plans. Do your research and see what you think.

Loud noise is a big problem for many autistic children. I would suggest investing in a few pairs of ear muffs and head phones! These will muffle sound in places where you haveno control over volume (the mall, movie theatres, etc.) and let you get out more often. As for the light, you may want to provideyour son with a keychain size flashlight...again great for places where the light can't always control how light or dark it is.

Homeschooling is tricky. I generally advise parents with children who qualify for services through the school not to homeschool exclusively as you will more than likely loose any services suchas speech and OT/PT. BUT, you can certainly take what the teachers and therapists are using and implement it into your life at home. My bet is you are already doing a lot of what they will suggest, but try new ideas as well. Look into things like floor time, the TEACH method and behavior management. You will find nearly all of the most popular methods have something to offer to your child and can be worked into a plan that is exactly what you need and want!

Answer 3

Does a 5 min warning work
A typical 3 year old will have difficulty understanding "5 minutes till..." It will be all the more difficult for an autistic child.
The "first/then" approach is better when the situation allows it. "First you watch Barney, then we go out to play."
At one of the workshops I went to, there was a neat timer that would show red for the time you put on the timer. It is far more concrete for the kids because they cand see the red sliver get smaller & smaller. You can set it to ring or not. you can also have a computer program that will display the timer on the screen. But your would need to remind him what the timer is for through out the 5 minutes, at least at first. "5 minutes till..." "4 minutes till..." etc. I will include a link to this product when I can find it.

What kind of rewards do you recomend?
The easiest kind of rewards is snacks, like candy. But many are opposed to using food for rewards. If you do use food, don't use too much. Any thing the child really likes can be used as a reward. Sonething like squeezing the Elmo doll's hand so it will dance & play a song for 30 seconds. If he likes popping "popples", those little packing sheets of bubbles that fun to pop, cut strips of those & let him have a few to pop as a reward. Think creative. One woman at a workshop said one child she worked with would do ANYTHING for a chance to touch her eyelashes!

How do i get him to look at me?
If you are giving him a treat like pretzels or a toy, once he is focusing on the item, bring it right up to your face. He will follow it with his eyes & eventually glance at your face, all be it breifly. Even if he doesn't, he will be looking at you, just not straight at you. Try looking at something & notice how much else you can see in your periphial vision. Don't worry to much about eye contact, though. Verbalization is more important.

Hope that helps.

Kat

Answer 4

MY FRIEND HAS SOMEONE WORK WITH HER SON SHE GETS ALL HER HELP FROM THE SCHOOL DIST SHE LIVES IN IT REALLY HELPS HER ALOT HOPE THIS IS HELPFUL

Answer 5

Hi, I was the one that gave you that advice. You can email me at [e-mail]. First, I will dispell what others here have told you. A sensory diet is NOT a food diet, as someone described. It's doing particular activities that either help him organize his thoughts, calm him down if he's too aggitated, or 'wake him up' if he's not really responding, and working those activities around when he is most able to handle them. Here's an example of my son's. He won't eat breakfast, but with the one I babysit, I give him dry cereal to eat first thing. This helps him organize his thought process. We go for a walk. My son cannot handle being in the front yard in the afternoons, it puts him on a sensory overload and he tantrums. So, we do it in the mornings. Usually after a good night's sleep, he can handle the sensory input. After our walk he rides his bike while I do some physical therapy with the one I babysit by helping him peddle a bike. I give a five minute warning before it's time to come in. They don't have to have a concept of time to do this, my 2 yr old and the one I babysit both 'get this', too. You say, 'in five minutes we go inside'. Then count down in one minute increments. 'four minutes', etc. By the time you get to one, they are usually heading for the door already. It works beautifully. Because it's something new it'll take a couple of weeks, but if you do this before transitioning from one activity to the next, it really helps. After our walk they get a popsicle as a reward for coming in without a fight. Doesn't have to be a popsicle, but it works for me. After that we work on his chores, which gives him a sense of accomplishment, a chance to learn about things as I am there talking to him about them, and helps him organize his senses and thinking skills to transition into school. Then we do school, using preschool workbooks. Then, we sit down, all three kids, and use flashcards for speech. I hold up the card and they say the word and the sign (they are learning sign language, something that I found is NECESSARY for speech to progress because it gives them a visual to go with the spoken word, helping them to memorize it). Then we do games which work on listening skills and following directions. Then we do sensory things like play-doh, fingerpainting, playing in shaving cream. In doing this in this order, he is being brought from waking up, burning off energy, using his brain for learning, then doing the play-doh, etc., which acts as a way to bring him back down, or calm him down. After that is a snack and then a nap. Then we don't do anything sensory oriented, he can't handle it, until before dinner. We go out back to play and end the time with swinging. Another five minute warning and we go in to eat, take a bath, play two rounds of Candyland and go to bed. All of that serves to keep him organized (by having the routine), challenge him (doing school and speech), calm him down, and all of that serves to make him feel secure, so that when our routine is changed to go somewhere, he's fine with it. Now, the rewards we use are very simple. For the chore chart, he gets to mark off each thing he does without fighting me. At the end of the week, if he gets a certain number done, then he chooses either money ($1- he has about 15 chores and behaviors a day) or a fish for his aquarium, or something for one of his pets. No toys or candy allowed. For the happy face/sad face chart I described, at the end of the day if he has more happy than sad faces, we do something special just the two of us, after his brother has gone to bed. Using these two together he is getting a short-term gratification and a long term, which has helped tremendously. Other things you can do for speech is to make him ask for EVERYTHING before he gets it. If he points to milk, before you give it to him he has to ATTEMPT to say milk. This is where learning sign language is very useful. Teach him the sign, take his hand and help him form the sign. If he won't let you, then just sign it yourself. I'll give you a link to a wonderful site that shows you the sign with someone actually signing it for you! Once he starts signing, the language will usually follow, and if it doesn't, at least he's learn to sign for what he wants. This cuts down on the tantrums. To get him to look at you, get really close to his face and gently pull his chin towards you, then speak to him. This is what I had to do with the one I babysit, and now, after six months of working with him, I don't have to do this anymore. For the socialization... this one is touchy. Don't let them bully you into forcing this on him. If you push him into this and he's not ready for it, it can set him back even further. Again, talk to me, too much info for here. For sensory issues, he can have a lot more going on then what you're really noticing. Contact me so I can send you that checklist. To the one against homeschooling? It is THE BEST thing for a child with special needs, especially autism. They learn much easier and faster with one on one attention with little distractions, and in a familiar environment. There are many, many parents who do this and accomplish so much more with their child then the schools did. You still want to expose him to other people, but in small increments for awhile. I'll be waiting to hear from you so I can give you MUCH more info.

Answer 6

NO he can't rember five min anyway.