Strategies to deal with ASD child at home

[megan]

I wonder whether anyone can help, my child has started to be uncontrollable at home, all previous strategies currently done at home do not seem to work. Any suggestions, am new to having to deal with these (my child has just turned 5) Any ideas would be gratefully received.

[bid]

Hi Megan

 

If you look in the Resources section, Brook has recommended a book that might help: 'Behavioural Concerns and ASD'.

 

I don't know this book myself, but Brook has put in a link so you can see what you think.

 

Good luck,

 

Bid

[katkin]

Welcome to the forum Megan, perhaps you could tell us what you have already tried and, if you want to, a bit about your child. Usual things to try are:pecs,visual schedules, social stories and behaviour modification ideas - normally along with these other things. If you tell us what you've tried someone with better ideas than me will be along!! Hope to hear more from you. Love Kat

[phasmid]

Hi Megan and welcome to the forum. You sya your son has just turned 5. Would I be right in thinking that he has also just started school? This may well be the root cause of things. How has he settled into school, if he's just coping with things there it will be home where he feels safe and can let off steam and not be punished for being himself. He needs time to adjust to this new routine I know you're getting all the fallout, and that can be hard, hopefully it will settle once he gets used to things.

[lisann]

Hi Megan welcome to the forum we are one big family here yes as Katkin said if you feel comfy telling us what youv'e tried already.We will see if we can help

 

Lisa x

[megan]

thanks for the warm welcome, my son has been in school for a while now and generally seems settled and recent parents evening proved that he is in line with his peers academically, however I feel that although he is coping at school, I always get the fallout at home. So far we have tried numerous strategies suggested by various agencies. At home we emulate visual charts used at school, visual rewards and social stories. They started well but over the past few weeks they seem to have been having less effect and he is becoming a bit agressive and it takes him ages to settle at night. There are alot of changes in school however with christmas on the way, however any suggestions would be very useful.

 

M

[phasmid]

I think you have just hit the nail firmly on the head. Just as he has got used to the routines of school along comes Christmas and they all go out of the window. I know in my school the next few weeks are going to a absolute chaos! I'm afraid there's no easy route past this either. All you can do is ask the school to give you a timetable of how things are going to run the next few weeks and then prepare him as best as you can for how each day is going to run. In the meantime try and keep things at home as routine as possible (easier said then done this time of year I know). Hopefully that will help a bit.

[mossgrove]

Megan

 

Welcome the forum!

 

I can't help thinking that having strategies for managing his behaviour at home is only part of the issue. School is the major cause of the stress and that is where you need to look for a solution. If you can deal with the additional stress he is experiencoing at school you will probably find a lot of your techniques start working again.

 

As an example we had three weeks of TERRIBLE behaviour at home in the run up to last christmas from our eldest (8, AS) when we talked it through with him and with the school it was because he was in a blind panic over whether or not he was going to fluff his three lines in the school nativity play. They swapped his part to a non-speaking one and his behaviour improved massively.

 

Gping tpo see his class teacher would be a good first step. Good luck!

 

Simon

[katkin]

Hi Megan, I can only reiterate what Phas and Simon have said. You don't say what sort of school your boy is at. If it's a so called "special" school they should be only too willing for you to go in and talk to them and should have some sort of understanding though this can vary from teacher to teacher. If he is in mainstream, the point that school is using visual timetables seems to mean to me that thay do want to help.(?) If, as the others have said you can find out what will be happening at dchool you can use the visuals you have at home to your advantage. Often as the others have said, the normal routines of school just change without notice and then hence the chaos! Don't give up on the strategies you are using at home as that will keep the structure there for him - easier said than done I know! As for the not sleeping this is proably all to do with his stress levels. Have you considered melatonin as a short term measure if he's normally a good sleeper? ( I would do a fancy link here but can't! - have a search on the forum) I can understand that it is grim when you all get no sleep. Hope this helps a bit, others will be along to help too, let us know how you get on, Love Kat

[mum22boys]

Hi Megan,

 

My son is also five and we are also having a very trying time with regards to school. I have posted a thread regarding this in the education section (I think - memory is not a good point for me at present). Anyway I was getting big problems last week when M came home from school and one day it led to a big tantrum in school. It took me all evening to find out the problem which was M was having things happen during the school day that he could not cope with emotionally and because he couldn't find a way to communicate his anger and frustrations to the teacher he was building it all up for me.

I spent the weekend preparing him a small book called his happy or sad book. i have divided up the pages into two and he knows the line represents lunchtime. he has a selection of happy and sad faces and he is being prompted by his teacher to express how he is feeling. We only started yesterday and he is still trying to adjust to this but i am hoping this will make the communication at school easier for him so he can try to talk about it without him actually approaching his teacher - something he found impossible to do.

 

Hope this was of some help.

 

Mum22boys

[ray]

Hi Megan, my son is 17 now and admitted on Sunday that he doesn't like Christmas (apart from the presents and the holidays) because it becomes 'hectic' at college and the timetable goes out of the window. I've already had a couple of mornings where he's been reluctant to go, disturbed sleep, been moody, had a 'worry tummy' because of things that are going on (xmas fayre, children in need).

 

So not much advice I'm afraid except to say its not uncommon. I have tried to put a positive spin on it by saying things like, 'well look at this way - would you rather be doing maths' (which he hates)?

 

ray

[ceecee]

Just to add alot of kids and adults too with as find xmas hard to cope with.the change in routine, the extreme emotions on display etc, the visitors to the house etc etc.To be honest i would say it's a lot of people with as worst nightmare.I am an adult with mild as and I find it hard to cope with.Maybe this is what is unsettlinh him.Just a thought.

[ceecee]

Hi

Just to add.Many children and adults with as find christmas hard to cope with.the inevitable routine changes, the seemingly numerous guests to the house and the extreme emotions often on display are sometime all too much.I am an adult with mild as and I find christmas hard to cope with.this is maybe what the pronlem is.Just a thought.Hope it helps.

[ceecee]

Oopps I thought this message hadn't taken and it had!Now you all think I'm mad!!Sorry!

[barefoot wend]

All I can add is CHRISTMAS AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!

 

Ooops! Welcome Megan.

 

Barefoot

Edited November 22, 2005 by barefoot wend