5 tips for parents to build communication skills with children with autism spectrum disorder

Knowing the right strategies can help parents of children with autism spectrum disorder boost their children’s communication skills. College of Education & Human Development, Texas A&M University

We are researchers who coach parents to communicate with children with disabilities.

Here are five strategies families can use to help children with autism spectrum disorder build their communication skills, along with examples of how to use them.

Autism affects an estimated 1 in 59 children nationwide.

1. Motivate the child to communicate

Create opportunities for your child to practice communication skills. Show your child one of their favorite items and encourage your child to ask for it. Children are more likely to be engaged and communicate when activities are based on their interests. Compliment your child when they communicate. For instance, say “that’s a good question!” or “good job asking me for help!”

Delicia, whose 3-year-old child, Pacho, has minimal verbal skills, motivates her child to speak by placing a cookie in a jar. Pacho can see the cookie but he cannot get it by himself. He has to ask for it. After Delicia teaches him how to ask for it, she will give him the cookie and praise him by saying “Good job telling me.”

2. Model communication skills

Model communication skills by speaking, using gestures and facial expressions. Your child will imitate them. While modeling, sit near your child and respond to the child’s imitation with praise for using the new skill.

Pacho cannot open the cookie jar, so he hands the jar to Delicia. Delicia models by saying “Cookies, please” or “Open, please.”

For children with autism spectrum disorder with nonverbal communication or who have complex communication needs, consider using a tool, called an augmentative and alternative communication device, to supplement their speech.

This kind of communication can be low-tech, such as exchanging pictures to communicate. Or, it can be as high-tech as a communication app on a tablet.

Archie, a 10-year-old with autism spectrum disorder who cannot yet speak, screams when asked to eat vegetables. His father places the vegetables on his dish and his mother models pressing an icon on an app to say, “No, thank you,” and waiting for his response. The mother also says “No, thank you” to give him a verbal model and waits for his response.

3. Prompt the child to use new communication skills

Prompt new communication skills by using verbal, visual or physical guidance.

Fabiana, Archie’s mom, physically prompts him to use the communication device by holding his hand to press the “No, thank you” icon on his app. Then, Fabiana takes away the vegetables and immediately offers something he likes.

4. Allow the child to communicate independently

Slowly remove the prompts so children don’t become dependent on them. You can do this by waiting one or two seconds before using a prompt in order to give the child an opportunity to communicate independently.

After Pacho requests cookies several times, Delicia waits for one second before using modeling or prompting strategies. Delicia will periodically increase the time delay by one or two seconds until finding a delay that encourages independent responding.

Archie says “No, thank you,” with the app when Fabiana prompts him, so she starts waiting for one second before using modeling or prompting. Fabiana will increase the time delay by one or two seconds each day.

5. Expand and generalize to other people, settings and activities

Using modeling and prompting strategies to add new words to phrases the children have already mastered.

When Pacho can independently asks for cookies by saying “Cookies, please” several times, Delicia teaches him a new word by adding “Want cookies, please.”

When Archie can independently use the communication app to say “No, thank you,” several times, Fabiana teaches him a new word by adding “No carrot, thank you.”

Use these strategies during your children’s everyday activities, such as brushing their teeth, having lunch, going to the park or riding in a car.

It is essential to use these strategies with different people and in different settings consistently over time.

- Sanikan Wattanawongwan, J. B. Ganz, Texas A&M University

MEAL PLAN FOR OUR GENIUS KIDS: As we PLAN FOR THEIR RESUMPTION....

#Monday:... Rice and stew/Plantain and boiled Egg...

#Snacks:... Apple/ biscuits/water inclusive 

#Tuesday:... Boiled Potato and white fried egg

#SNACKS:.... Juice and biscuits/water inclusive 

#WEDNESDAY:... spaghetti and stew with fish fried or boiled 

#SNACKS:... Diced watermelon and pineapple (depending on the fruit your child likes/water inclusive 

#THURSDAY:... Beans and Fried plantain/ boiled plantain

#SNACKS:... Gala or any thing strong (because of the beans taken, so your child will not purge)/water inclusive.

#FRIDAY:... Jollof rice and boiled egg

#SNACKS:... drink and biscuits/water inclusive.

❌NOTE..:.. Giving kids sweet is not a healthy living habit... STOP IT❌

For kids who are smaller.. add CEREALS❌ to their meals.. i.e golden mourn, cerelac etc 

❌BOILED EGG and FISH🐟 is more healthier than meat or kpomo for kids❌

Our kids... our pride

Peer pressure: expert advice on how to deal with it and stay true to yourself

The desire to fit in can sometimes make it feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing, even if you don't want to. But it doesn't have to be that way

Of all the influences in your life, one of the biggest is your group of peers. While you’re busy trying to find your own sense of identity, it’s your peers who you’ll look to for inspiration. Of course, friends can be a positive influence, but not always. The years of our teens, up to early adulthood are often when we feel most vulnerable and unsure of ourselves, and the desire to fit in and be accepted can make us give into peer pressure.

Clinical psychologist Dr Andrew Adler, a Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist from the US, has seen first-hand the causes and effects of peer pressure on young people.

“I have treated many teenagers who have social difficulties,” he said. “Often, these teenagers are shy or have low self-esteem. They give in to peer pressure, usually trying to join with other teenagers with the hope of feeling part of a group or becoming better liked.”

[1]

There’s nothing unusual about wanting to be accepted. Humans are social creatures, and it makes evolutionary sense for us to want to belong to a particular tribe, and to adhere to the norms of that tribe – in the past, that’s how we survived.

Our teen and early adult years can also often be a time when family relationships become more strained. You may find yourself feeling misunderstood by your parents, or at war with your siblings. This makes our friendships and the bonds we choose to accept in our lives even more important. If we can’t feel seen or valued by our parents or teachers, then we need to know we can count on our peers.

It’s no wonder, therefore, that the fear of being isolated can lead some young people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.

[2]

“The result of giving into peer pressure can be serious,” said Adler. “Peer pressure may cause some to engage in harmful or dangerous behaviours such as smoking, drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs – just to name a few.” 

What’s more, said Adler, “peer pressure rarely solves problems such as shyness and self-esteem. These problems are often the result of anxiety and low self-confidence and peer pressure may make these difficulties worse.”

So while doing things like smoking or drinking may seem “normal” because others are is doing it, it’s important to realise that joining in may not achieve the desired affect – after all, can we really feel accepted for who we are if we aren’t being ourselves in the first place?

[3]

Having said that, overcoming peer pressure takes courage. “Resisting peer pressure, although difficult, is possible to achieve with some effort,” said Adler. “Reminding yourself that giving in to peer pressure will not solve problems such as shyness and poor self-esteem is very important.”

It’s also important to find friends who won’t make you feel like you need to change who you are to be accepted. “Find someone with a similar interest and join that person in activities you both enjoy,” suggested Adler.

“These activities could include art or sports, for example. Finding others with common interests often helps a person become less shy and build confidence more generally.”

This article was curated by Young Post 

Kids Told Lies by Parents Can Face Psychological Challenges as Adults

By Janice Wood 

A new study suggests that children who were told lies by their parents are more likely to lie as adults, as well as face difficulty in meeting psychological and social challenges.

According to researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, those difficulties include disruptiveness, conduct problems, experiences of guilt and shame, as well as selfish and manipulative character.

For the study, researchers asked 379 Singaporean young adults whether their parents lied to them when they were children, how much they lie to their parents now, and how well they adjust to adulthood challenges.

“Parenting by lying can seem to save time, especially when the real reasons behind why parents want children to do something is complicated to explain,” said lead author Setoh Peipei, Ph.D., an assistant professor in NTU Singapore’s School of Social Sciences.

“When parents tell children that ‘honesty is the best policy’, but display dishonesty by lying, such behavior can send conflicting messages to their children. Parents’ dishonesty may eventually erode trust and promote dishonesty in children.”

“Our research suggests that parenting by lying is a practice that has negative consequences for children when they grow up,” she continued. “Parents should be aware of these potential downstream implications and consider alternatives to lying, such as acknowledging children’s feelings, giving information so children know what to expect, offering choices and problem-solving together, to elicit good behavior from children.”

For the study, the 379 young adults completed four online questionnaires.

The first questionnaire asked participants to recall if their parents told them lies that related to eating; leaving and/or staying; children’s misbehavior; and spending money. Some examples of such lies are “If you don’t come with me now, I will leave you here by yourself” and “I did not bring money with me today, we can come back another day.”

The second questionnaire asked participants to indicate how frequently as adults they lied to their parents. It asked about lies in relation to their activities and actions; prosocial lies (or lies intended to benefit others); and exaggerations about events.

Lastly, participants filled in two questionnaires that measured their self-reported psychosocial maladjustment and tendency to behave selfishly and impulsively.

The analysis found that parenting by lying could place children at a greater risk of developing problems, such as aggression, rule-breaking and intrusive behaviors, according to the researchers.

Some limitations of the study include relying on what young adults report about their retrospective experience of parents’ lying.

“Future research can explore using multiple informants, such as parents, to report on the same variables,” suggested Setoh.

Another area yet to be investigated would be the nature of the lies or goals of the parent, she added.

“It is possible that a lie to assert the parents’ power, such as saying ‘If you don’t behave, we will throw you into the ocean to feed the fish’, may be more related to children’s adjustment difficulties as adults, compared to lies that target children’s compliance, e.g. ‘there is no more candy in the house.’”

“Authority assertion over children is a form of psychological intrusiveness, which may undermine children’s sense of autonomy and convey rejection, ultimately undermining children’s emotional well-being,” she explained.

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

Source: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

When your child refuses to go to school, here’s how to respond

 

The start of the school year is full of firsts, including the first dreaded back to school virus — or is it? Often a child’s complaints of illness can be attributed to a physical cause, but sometimes when a child is complaining of a headache or a stomach-ache, that pain could be the physical manifestation of his or her stress and or anxiety. This is the case for up to 5% of children each year who refuse school. So how do parents determine if that stomach-ache is the result of a bug or the result of anxiety or other emotional concern?

The connection between mental and physical health is well documented. The cause of an ailment such as a headache or stomach ache can sometimes be purely physical or purely mental, but it's more often a little of both. Research has shown that stress in children and adults can contribute to physical symptoms as well as the exacerbation of current ailments. It is estimated about 10% of children will complain of pain or illness during the school day, and stress-induced ailments in adults have continued to increase.

In psychology, the term somatization describes how emotional causes contribute to physical symptoms in both adults and children. It’s fairly common; Think about the last time you had a bad day at work and came home with a headache, or were really nervous before a flight and felt stomach pain. Additionally, when experiencing minor discomfort, some individuals may hyper-focus on the discomfort, which can exacerbate those symptoms. For example, a child may be experiencing the usual “butterflies” in the stomach associated with the first day of school, but he or she may become so focused on that sensation that the severity of the symptoms increases.

So, how can you tell whether your child refuses school because of a purely physical ailment, or if there is an emotional component contributing to that ailment?

First, always rule out a medical concern. Remember that a child’s description of their physical pain is real and should not be discounted, but try to further explore its cause. Ask your child questions about school, their friends, teachers, their upcoming math test, who they sit with at lunch, and who they play with at recess. Additionally, write down the times and events when your child is complaining of pain and illness — is it in the morning before school? Are there complaints on the weekends? If your child is refusing school, it may also be helpful to speak with the school psychologist to further explore an underlying emotional issue.

Also, try to determine if your child is contributing to his or her ailment by ruminating over it —often, the stories we tell ourselves can contribute to our anxiety about an illness. If you’ve ever consulted “Dr. Google” for a physical ailment and started to think about all of the potential causes, you’ll understand that children have similar thought patterns. It’s important to determine with your child if that is the case, and clear up any of these fears with developmentally appropriate information. If you think your child may be experiencing pain due to nervousness, be sure to normalize that pain and explore with them potential causes.

Lastly, there is a delicate balance between reassuring your children that they are safe and well, and providing so much reassurance that it begins to feed the anxiety. Children who constantly ask to go to the doctor for minor ailments, or insist they have some sort of disease (when you have ruled out that they don’t) may be engaging in reassurance seeking to decrease the anxiety. This practice may initially decrease anxiety for the short term, but ultimately results in feeding a vicious cycle of increasing his or her anxiety. Acknowledge your child’s physical sensation, help them identify the emotions around them, assure them they are safe, and then engage in other activities in an attempt to distract. They will take your lead. If you are anxious they will be anxious.

The origin of pain and illness is complex and can often have emotional components at their roots. By helping your child identify what is truly a physical ailment, and what is a physical response to stress is or anxiety, can help them cope with their stressors in healthy and productive ways.

Jessica Glass Kendorski is an associate professor and chair of the department of school psychology at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM).

Jessica Kendorski, PhD, NCSP, BCBA-D | @DrJessKendorski | healthykids@philly.com

PERSONAL HEALTH : The Crisis in Youth Suicide

 

Too often, suicide attempts and deaths by suicide, especially among the young, become family secrets that are not investigated and dealt with in ways that might protect others from a similar fate.

By Jane E. Brody

The death of a child is most parents’ worst nightmare, one made even worse when it is self-inflicted. This very tragedy has become increasingly common among young people in recent years. And adults — parents, teachers, clinicians and politicians — should be asking why and what they can do to prevent it.

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that after a stable period from 2000 to 2007, the rate of suicide among those aged 10 to 24 increased dramatically — by 56 percent — between 2007 and 2017, making suicide the second leading cause of death in this age group, following accidents like car crashes.

“We’re in the middle of a full-blown mental health crisis for adolescents and young adults,” said Jean M. Twenge, research psychologist at San Diego State University and author of the book “iGen,” about mental health trends among those born since 1995. “The evidence is strong and consistent both for symptoms and behavior.”

Along with suicides, since 2011, there’s been nearly a 400 percent increase nationally in suicide attempts by self-poisoning among young people. “Suicide attempts by the young havequadrupled over six years, and that is likely an undercount,” said Henry A. Spiller, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center, who called the trend “devastating.” “These are just the ones that show up in the E.R.”

Had any other fatal or potentially fatal condition leapfrogged like this, the resulting alarm would surely have initiated a frantic search for its cause and cure. But too often suicide attempts and deaths by suicide, especially among the young, become family secrets that are not investigated and dealt with in ways that might protect others from a similar fate.

“We’re at a point now where this issue really can’t be ignored,” said John P. Ackerman, clinical psychologist and coordinator of suicide prevention at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “We invest heavily in crisis care, which is the most expensive and least effective means of preventing suicide.”

He proposed instead that more time and money be spent “on identifying kids who are most vulnerable, helping them respond effectively to stress, and teaching them what they can do in a crisis. And we need to start early, in the elementary grades. We haven’t even begun to use the resources that we know work. We have to be proactive.”

In Ohio, he said, “about 40,000 students have been screened for depression and suicide risk, and hundreds of kids have been linked to services. It’s not putting ideas in their heads to ask directly whether they’ve had thoughts of suicide or dying. That doesn’t increase their risk. Rather, it’s relieving. You actually reduce the risk if you help kids talk through these difficult feelings.”

Although no one can say with certainty why suicide has become such a crisis among the young, experts cite several factors that parents, schools and others might be able to modify or control. Dr. Spiller, for example, attributes the rise in suicide attempts largely to the effects of social media and how teens and young adults communicate with their peers.

“Kids now never disconnect,” he said. “They’re connected 24/7. They go to bed with their smartphones. It may be cyberbullying. It may be envy. Maybe many things are going on here.”

One thing the research didn’t find was a link of teen suicides to the opioid crisis. Instead, in school-age adolescents, it found a rise in suicide attempts during school months — September until December, then again January through May — that doesn’t happen in adults.

The rise in attempted and completed suicides by young people correlates directly with their access to smartphones, Dr. Twenge said. “Developmentally, these ages have always been difficult, but that’s been taken to the next level by smartphones, social media and the constant pressure to be online.”

“Eighty-five percent of teens are looking at social media,” she said. “There’s less face-to-face time spent with friends. It’s now the norm to sit home Saturday night on Instagram. Who’s popular and who’s not is now quantifiable by how many people are following you. Kids are spending as much as eight hours a day on social media, where there’s a lot of negativity, competition and jockeying for status and unfiltered access to sites that tell them how to harm themselves.”

Dr. Ackerman, who noted that “young brains are less adept at dealing with complex situations,” likewise believes social media plays an important role in the suicide crisis among the young. But he sees the problem more broadly and said there is a need for schools to help counter it. Staff can be trained and screening done within schools, he said.

“Ultimately it’s a combination of economic, social and technological factors that come together along with family and school issues, and kids are less equipped to tackle these problems,” he said.

Sleep, or rather, not enough of it, is another issue undermining the resilience of today’s teens.

Several studies have found a link between “problematic internet and social media use and sleep disturbance among youth,” and that “these associations contribute to depressive symptoms in this group,” Dr. Twenge and co-authors reported in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

“Two surveys have shown that teens are not sleeping enough, and having a smartphone in the bedroom results in less sleep and poorer quality sleep,” she said. “It’s too tempting to stay up late looking at the phone, and the blue light it emits keeps the brain thinking it’s daytime. Almost everything done on devices is psychologically stimulating. The brain can’t slow down and relax.”

Her advice: “Avoid looking at devices within an hour of bedtime, and buy an alarm clock. It’s not the technology itself that’s the problem — it’s how we use it. We have to use it more mindfully.”

She urges parents to set reasonable limits about kids’ use of technology. Setting such limits is “not only good for kids, but they appreciate it in the long run,” she said. She noted that modern smartphones have parental control systems built in and parents can set kids’ phones to shut down at 9 p.m.

Experts also urge parents to check in with their teenage children regularly, asking how they’re feeling and whether they ever think about dying. “As early as elementary school, children can have responsible conversations about suicide,” Dr. Ackerman said. “We need to prepare young people to talk about their emotions early in life.”

He and others also emphasized the importance of controlling access to possible means of suicide, which they note is most often an impulsive act. Youngsters should never have uncontrolled access to guns, drugs or other substances that can result in a fatal overdose.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). You can find a list of additional resources at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources​.