Aptos Psychologist: How to teach consequences for bevavior to autistic children. www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

Yes, it IS possible to teach CONSEQUENCES for behavior to children with autism. Here is an account by a single mother with two children, one child has autism. What she says makes good, common sense to me. Dr. Jackson at cameronjacks@gmail.com

To email the author contact her at Sylraen@sbcglobal.net Here is what she writes:

“Saac was faced with two alternatives. He could either stay inside all day every day or go outside and face the terrifying noises that arrived with the onset of summer; cicadas rattling, mosquitoes humming, and bees that buzzed at every flower. He weighed his options on the playground carefully. There were steam shovels that pushed dirt around, swings that carried you to the sky, and best of all, his scooter equipped with his space helmet. Yes, of all the toys, the scooter was the best alternative. At least it was fast and he could hope to fly past the alien invaders and their cruel sounds and threats to overcome him.

Tentatively he peeked out the door, scanning the horizon. “So far so good,” he thought. No bugs. He boarded his scooter timidly and took off. Immediately he was bombarded with a loud whirring and humming in his ear. Shrieking, he flung himself to the ground and awaited a fate worse than death.

Corinne, his mom watched him sadly. This had been an ongoing struggle that she had no idea how to deal with. Then an idea struck her. She had just been telling Isaac a story about a boy named David who fought a giant. She had tried to explain that he had overcome the giant by his bravery and his faith in an attempt to help him understand. He didn’t seem to understand. To him, even facing a giant was preferable to facing the sounds that overloaded his senses as an autistic child.

Then she had an idea. She had bought him a set of toy armor. Why not put it on him and encourage him to go face the terrors with his sword swinging. Better yet, why not make him the character in his own giant story. That afternoon and for the next few days she worked writing out the story that was forming in her mind and sketching out the characters. When she was done she called him over and told him the story. It was called Isaac and the Scare Giant, about a boy who was tormented by a giant who jumped out every time the boy was afraid and turned him into stone. The boy won however because he made the giant disappear by saying some magic words and by swinging his sword of truth. When the story was finished Corinne reviewed the magic words with Isaac and sent him out to play, crossing her fingers and hoping Isaac understood.

Isaac mounted his scooter a little more bravely. At least he had amour on and a sword. He rode out, his heart pounding in his chest. Sure enough a cicada started to whir and rattle menacingly in the tree above him and felt his skin turn clammy. Ok, according to his mom there was a scare giant. Though he couldn’t see it like in the story, it was there and it was shouting. He looked at his mom and she was telling him to say the words. He brandished his sword with one hand, his finger in his other ear and muttered. “You’re just a bug. I’m not afraid of you. Go away bug or I’ll cut you in two”. He felt a little better and the rattling seemed to stop.

A mosquito was the next to pounce. He brandished his sword a little more vigorously and actually made it go away. It returned diving at his ears, its sinister whine rattling his eardrums. He hit it with sword again. The mosquito retreated, stunned. He fought that mosquito and every bug that came within reach till the sweat ran down his face. With a menacing scowl he mounted his scooter with a swagger that befit a warrior, daring any bugs or scare giants to frighten him again.

Prologue

That was five years ago and since that initial success, there have been many more battles with fear battles of all sorts for Corinne and Isaac. What was important was that they both learned what their enemy was and how to fight it. Of course there were days of battles with insect noises when Isaac cowered and ran to Corinne but she had learned to become his cheerleader. Instead of panicking or overreacting she spoke bracingly to him. “Fight him Isaac.” She would say, “Fight that giant. Get your sword and win this fight”. Though Corinne had written a picture book meant for a child, the truth of the story had helped her too and would stay with her for a long long time.

Moral of the story

It is important to find the right tools to enable the autistic child to fight his fears, for a fight is what it is and needs to be addressed as such.

Here are a few tools that Corinne employed:

– She realized that beneath every paralyzing fear is a lie.

– She addressed the fear and spoke the truth.

– She cast a vision for a fear free way of thinking by reading stories of others who had conquered their fears.

– She believed in her son’s ability to fight his fears and became his cheerleader in the battle.

Life is full of many battles to face. Depending on the severity of the autism, the battle can be harder and more difficult than any yet faced. It is helpful and encouraging to know however, that others are fighting similar battles and that the battle can be won on many fronts though the struggle may be long.

Fact- Isaac is a child who has been diagnosed with mild autism. Autism is defined by the Autism Society Of America (ASA) as: “Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.” Along with these symptoms is a hypersensitivity to noises and light which causes the child to act out or withdraw. www.definitionofautism.com/

Author: C.J. Yang
C.J. Yang is an Examiner from Chicago. You can see C.J.’s articles on C.J.’s Home Page.
Besides pursuing a teaching career and working on a novel she is a single mom to two children, one who is autistic. She can be contacted at sylraen@sbcglobal.net.