Family Holidays with Autistic Children

Although planning a family holiday with children may make any parents pull out his or her hair, it can be a rewarding experience for everyone in the end. It is no different if you have an autistic child in the family. The important thing to remember is that you need to be prepared for whatever life throws your way. To an autistic child, holidays can be scary and confusing, or they can be a great learning experience, leaving behind wonderful memories the entire family can enjoy.

First, choose your location based on your autistic child's needs. For example, if he or she is sensitive to sound, an amusement park is probably not the best idea. Quieter holidays are possible at small beaches and by going camping. Overall, you should be able to find a location that everyone in the family enjoys. Once there, plan out your days accordingly.

For example, you may want to see attractions very early or late in the day to avoid crowds. You also might want to consider taking your holiday during the off-season, if you children's school work will not be disrupted. These gives your autistic child more comfort if he or she is nervous in crowded situations, and provides you with piece of mind. When choosing a location, also note how far it is from you home. How will you get there? If you have to deal with an airport, remember that security may have to touch your child and be prepared for this.

Choose a location and activities that everyone can enjoy, but also that provide learning and social interaction opportunities for your autistic child. For example, a child that does not like touch sensations may enjoy the soft sands of a beach, and the waves can provide a very different kind of feeling for him or her. Being outside, a beach is also a great place for your child to yell without disrupting others. Children who are normally non-responsive may benefit from a museum , where they can ask questions and you can ask questions of them.

Remember that most people on holiday at the location you choose will have never dealt with autism before. Try to be understanding of their ignorance-but also stick up for your child if he or she is being treated unfairly. Know your child's constitutional rights, and also be willing to compromise. For example, if a restaurant is reluctant to serve you after your child caused a scene there last night, explain the situation and ask if it would be possible to take your food to go, even if this is normally not done. Try not to be rude to people; staring often happens, but instead of snide comments or mean looks, ignore them as much as possible and focus on having a good time with your family.

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Autism - Achieving Self-control

Self-discipline is a skill that most autistic children have trouble acquiring. This includes not only inappropriate outbursts, but also habits that can be potentially dangerous, such as being aggressive towards others or causing harm to themselves, such as banging their heads on walls.

To prevent these and other behaviours, one technique parents and educators can use to control autistic tendencies is self-management. Giving the child power over him or herself is often the key to keeping control over violent situations and may be a positive step towards learning other behaviours as well.

Self-management works because the child is no longer fully controlled by others. By teaching self-management during specific times of day, such as while the child is at school or therapy, the child will be more likely to continue to practicing self-control during all times of the day. The key is to implement a programme in which he or she monitors his or her own behaviour and activities. Begin with short amounts of time, and continue to monitor the child from a more passive standpoint. Every ten to fifteen minutes remind the child that he or she is in control and needs to monitor and be aware of good and bad behaviour.

This monitoring is a form of self-evaluation. When a child is in control, he or she may think more closely about behaviour in the past and present. Set clear goals with the child-for example, an afternoon with no aggression towards others or a day at school with no self-injury. Every fifteen minutes ask the child how he or she is doing. Is the goal being met? If the answer is no, perhaps the child is not ready for self-management, or perhaps the goals are too unattainable. You want to make sure that the goals are easy to reach at first, and then move the child towards more difficult goals in the future. When a child is successful at self-monitoring, he or she will have a more positive attitude towards the experience.

Of course, an important part of self-management is a rewards system. Have the child come up with his or her own reward, depending on interest. Reinforcement will make these good behaviour goals more clearly marked in the child's mind, and by choosing and rewarding him or herself, the child will feel completely in control of the self management system. Choose simple rewards to start, such as smiley faces for every goal met and sad faces for every goal not met, and work up to a larger goal, such as a special activity or new toy when a certain amount of smiley faces has been attained.

These types of programmes do not develop overnight, so it is important that you and the child have enough time to devote to a self-management experience. By reinforcing good behaviour with rewards, as determined by the child instead of by an adult, he or she will be more likely to carry this on even when not participating in the programme. If your autistic child is mature enough, this could be a good treatment programme to try.

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Visual Perception Treatment for Autistic Children

Autism effects every child differently, so it is difficult to find the exact treatments your child needs to cope with his or her symptoms.

One thing that affects some autistic children (though, not all) is problems with visual perception. By using some standardised methods to help improve visual perception, you can give your child the ability to see the world more clearly, making learning and comprehension easier and possibly curbing some behaviour problems as well.

Autistic children mainly have problems with sensory overload and distortion. These are some of the same problems many people not suffering from the disorder develop, and so many treatment options have become available. Individuals with autism often find, however, that the sensory overload of the world due to light, colours, contrast, shapes, and patterns, is too much to handle, causing them to act out or shut down in general.

This is sometimes a genetic condition that is simply enhanced by the autism, so if the child's parents have trouble with reading or have been otherwise treated for visual perceptive problems, there is a good chance that the child needs help as well.

The Irene Method is one effective way to treat visual perception disorders. This method uses colour to create a more harmonised world. You may have heard of these methods if anyone has ever suggested using a colour filter over the page when reading to be able to read better and more quickly. This method is proven to work, and if your autistic child is at the maturity level of reading, you may want to try these colour filters to see if there is a difference in speed and comprehension. However, it is more likely that your autistic child will benefit from colour filters during the entire day, not just when reading. Special glasses have been made using coloured lenses to conquer this problem. Not every child responds the same way to every colour, so it is a process of trial and error to find out which colour is the one blocking the harmful light. You can also choose to use coloured light bulbs in your home to help autistic individuals with their visual perception problems.

This method mainly helps children in 4 areas: depth perception, social interaction, learning, and physical well being. The colours help the child determine how far he or she is from an object, and the world becomes more three-dimensional, helping depth perception. Social interaction also improves because the child feels as though he or she is in a calmer world and can more clearly see and interpret facial expressions. The colours make it possible to learn, especially when reading, and overall, the child will feel better, because it helps reduce headaches and dizziness. By testing this technique and others to help visual perception problems, you can help your child better cope with the world and his or her autism.

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Toilet Training the Autistic Child

Toilet training any toddler can be an adventuresome and tiring ordeal. There are many methods that have hit the markets lately and these methods can range anywhere between nappies (diapers) that change colour when wet to musical toilets that reward the child with music when they use them. This task is more difficult when your child has autism.

When communication is a problem, as it is with most autistic children, letting an adult know they need to use the toilet can be almost impossible endeavour. Some autistic children reach the double figures in age before they learn to ask for and to use the toilet.

Most autistic children do not have the skill and sometimes the desire to mimic or imitate a behaviour. Just because the parents are using the toilet and they demonstrate the behaviour, the autistic child will refuse or not get the connection between the right or wrong of toilet training. Most autistic children’s schedule is full and when you add something new to the schedule,it usually upsets them emotionally. The addition of toilet training to their regimental routine could cause out right rebellion and bad behaviour because they do not want to get outside of their normal daily activity.

If you are having trouble toilet training your autistic child, you might want to observe them for a few days before you try again. Watch and see if the child actually notices when they soil themselves. Do they reposition themselves so that they are not uncomfortable after an accident? Some autistic children feel natural in their own waste while other will react by taking off their clothes.

If your child is ignoring their soiling, consult with a doctor to see if your child has a medical condition that would prevent them from recognising the feeling they are experiencing.
Now here is your part in toilet training. You need to relax and not stress over it. Time will make it happen and your stress and high emotion will only increase your child’s stress. Even the most conscious parent will overreact when they have to change yet another nappy.

If your child sees it’s no big deal for you, then they can relax and let the behaviour come naturally. You do have to stay diligent to get the job done though. If your child is not toilet trained by school age, limitations may be set for opportunities for their education and further socialisation.

One method is to watch what your child does before they soil themselves. Write down a list of their behaviour, what they do ,and when they do it. If you realise that your child gets up in the morning and drinks a glass of juice and twenty minutes later they soil themselves, then you have something to work with.

If the child goes through the same routine, you can put the child on the toilet during the time they normally soil themselves and see what happens. Once you get the morning soiling scheduled, add on an afternoon and evening.

Pretty soon the body will work out the system even though the child does not. It is repeated, routine behaviour and eventually the child will be bought in.

Does this sound like a lot of hard work? It is. Even parents of non-autistic children stress and labour over potty training their child. Each parent will give you a different bit of advice about what worked for them, but you as a parent of an autistic child know what extra you are in for.

Be patient. Try different methods and remember that you have probably never seen a teenager in pampers. It just takes time and patience.

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Childproofing Your Home for Your Autistic Child

When you raise an autistic child, especially in the younger years, you will obviously really worry about their safety and whereabouts. The autistic child does not react to normal stimuli nor do they respond to verbal commands as quickly as a non-autistic child.

Their curiosity and lack of understanding of danger may put them in harms way more that a normal pre-school child. There are certain things you can do to make your home more autistic child friendly and these few precautions could make your household safer and give you peace of mind.

Locks and latches are the best thing to keep cabinets closed and locked from the curiosity of your autistic child. Chemicals and cleaners need to be kept locked and anytime they're are in use, they need to be watched carefully. Lock away anything that could be a source of harm to your child. This could include the knife drawer, your sewing basket, chemical cupboards, and other things that you could foresee as a possible danger for your child. There should be locks on anything of danger.

Using a cordless or wireless phone is a good idea as you go through the day with your autistic child. Talking on the phone and being restricted to one place during your conversation will take away your concentration on supervision. Another reason you might want to consider a cordless phone is to have the availability to call for assistance if you are your child is in danger. The wireless phone will let you tend to your business and also give you the assurance that help is just a phone call away.

It may not be the greatest danger but you should bind up your cords from your drapes and curtains. A curious mind can conjure all sorts of dangerous activities with a hanging cord. They are in danger of hanging themselves or getting caught in the cord and having a panic attack that could lead to dangerous behaviour. If you have pets, an autistic child could innocently injure them by tying them to the cord. Anything that loops and could fit around the neck should be put up out of reach or out of bounds so that your child can not use it in a dangerous manner.

Not only does the inside of you house need to be childproofed, but the outside as well. Watch your child around swing sets or tyre swings. Again the danger of getting caught in the chains or wrapping a rope around their neck is possible. Watch out for lawnmowers and other dangerous lawn mowing equipment. The curious mind might have watched daddy start and mow the lawn and the danger of the blades might not have stuck in the mind as much as the process of getting it started.

If you have a fenced in garden, make sure there is a latch and a lock on the gate. Autistic children have a skill of disappearing when your back is turned and it would be easier to find them in the backyard than having to search for them down the street.

This information may seem redundant, but the reality is that your child may have different motives than what you perceive. With the lack of communication skills and the lack of social behaviour, the child can put themselves into a lot of danger very easily. Just use common sense and make supervision a number one priority.

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