Autism Learning For Long Term Benefits
Unfortunately when parents try to teach their child who has Autism there is no one correct way to do it. If parents think about it there is no one correct way to teach any child. This is true whether they are typical or have any typed of disability. The important thing to keep in mind as the parent is your child’s best interests. These will be your initial goals when you are frustrated and can not focus on what to do first. Many times the first goals a parent will think of are early developmental skills.
Usually these are skills that they have not met yet of course. Learning how to communicate in some fashion may be one of the skills. At first you may concentrate on speech and language but other methods of communication can be considered early on. Another early developmental skill can be to eat with a fork or spoon. The big skill that all parents want to work on is using the bathroom and cleaning oneself properly. Hopefully we will remember to include fun thing into the mix.
There are many professionals ready and able to help the parent keep track of their goals. These professionals are available from as young as birth through and during adulthood. It is the parent who typically makes sure the plan to reach different goals in their child’s and family’s lives are followed. Again this is not unlike our typical children. Maybe more formal but still our job. The key in any plan is to remember they know the most about their child. They can look long term at what their child has and has not learned. They are the ones who must examine on a whole scale whether their child needs to be taught a different way or not.
The parent also keeps in mind whether what is being learned will get them to long and short term goals. It is also the parents who decide if those long term goals need to be modified or accommodated. Whether parents know it or not at the beginning they are the best people for the job. There are many theories, beliefs, and just plain myths about children with Autism. As parents it is part of our responsibility whenever we can to learn as much as you can.
Sometimes finding the time is a challenge but the long term pay off is huge. Learning as much as we can about the diagnosis and learning styles will help us solve many problems along the way.