In This Issue
Encouraging Daily Independence in Your Child

Help your child gain independence at home and in school-

To help your child with Autism gain and maintain independence, try the following:

1) Create a visual schedule of the steps of the task for your child (Click here for some examples from one of our download-able charts page). For example, if you are attempting to increase your child's independence in showering make a picture schedule that shows turning the water on, standing under the water, getting soap, etc. This schedule should be laminated and placed on the wall of the shower in your child's line of vision. At first, it will be necessary to prompt your child through the entire process, but with prompt fading your child will learn to use the schedule as a prompt, whether you are in the bathroom with him or not!

 

2) Fade your prompts. If your child is really struggling with showering on his own, you may first need to prompt him to shower by using full physical, or hand over hand prompting. In this case, you will need to walk you child through every step, by placing your hands on his and guiding him through the task. Eventually, your child will begin to learn what he should do. You will then need to begin fading your prompts. The following is a guide to help you fade your prompts from most to least restrictive:

Full physical prompt (most intrusive) - Gently guide your child's hands through the entire showering process.

Partial physical prompt - You may touch your child's elbow in an attempt to get her to reach for the shampoo.

Verbal prompt - You say, "Wash your hair" and the child picks up the soap and washes her hair.

Model prompt- You say, "Do this!" and rub your hands on your head like you are washing your hair. If your child is at this level in the hierarchy she should follow your lead.

Gestural prompt - Point to the shampoo bottle when it is time for your child to wash her hair.

Visual prompt (least intrusive) - If you have a picture schedule, this would serve as your visual prompt and you can reference it if your child gets "stuck" on a step.

 

3)    As hard as it may be, stay consistent, patient, and do not do things for your child that he do himself! Is it seemingly quicker, easier and more convenient to do it for him? Of course it is. But your child needs to practice his skills over and over in order to be able to complete them independently. It is hard now, but it will pay off!

 

4)    Lastly, and most importantly, give your child lots of verbal praise, hugs, high fives, or whatever they love for completing small steps or entire tasks independently. Celebrate the small victories as they lead to enormous gains. These skills are extremely difficult for children with Autism and it is important that they are encouraged along their journey to independence!

Back to School
Links of Interest:
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"Thanks Sarah, you are still the best anyone can ask for in this business!!"


Did you know Steinberg Behavior Solutions is an approved practicum site for the Chicago School of Professional Psychology? 
Contact us for more information.
October 2014
Welcome to the Steinberg Behavior Solutions Newsletter!
Each month features a different topic on behavior and children. This month's topic is Back to School. Read on for more on this subject. We look forward to your questions and feedback!
From Sarah, Our Director:
Sarah Pic
Now that the kids are back to school and the nightly homework routine is well underway, you have had a chance to see what is working well this year and what isn't. In this month's newsletter you will find tips on communicating with your child's teachers and recommendations to support the home and school bridge.

The school day is full of so many teachable moments, from academics to social skills, with endless opportunities for peer modeling and natural environment teaching. Use this upcoming year to make the most of those teachable moments for your child and support the carryover at home to generalize those skills as well.

Have a wonderful year!
Sarah

 



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From Our Blog:
How to Communicate with Your Child's Teacher

It's that time of year again - school is officially in session! The beginning of the school year comes with all sorts of novel things: new clothes and school supplies, new classroom rules, and new teachers. Meeting a new teacher can be intimidating to both you and your child; therefore it is crucial to begin this relationship off on the right foot. As the parent, you are the expert on your child, and it is very important that you are aware of what goes on during those seven school day hours. The most basic way to be "in the know" about your child's education is to develop great communication with your child's teacher. This is not always easy, but it is essential in helping your child succeed in school! The following information will provide you with some ideas for how you can communicate with your child's new teacher:

 

Classroom Newsletters - Some teachers send home weekly or monthly newsletters updating parents on what is happening in the class. This is a great way to gain information about what your child is doing in class!

 

School to Home Notebooks - Notebooks that come home with your child and go back to school the next day can be another way to communicate with your child's teacher. Positive reports, areas of concern, or just some basic "good to know" information can be written in this notebook and are a good way of keeping the lines of communication open.


Tip of the Month: Predictability Brings Comfort
To help your child ease back into the school year schedule, use a visual schedule. The predictability you provide will comfort your child and make this transition a successful one!
Be sure to like our page on Faceook to continue seeing our newest tips, for the school year and beyond, that you can then share with the world!
 

Guest writer Josh is Sarah Steinberg's brother. Josh is 29 years old, lives in California and has autism. As a child, Josh struggled to communicate and he didn't speak until the age of 4. Over the years Josh learned to communicate, and today he has a lot to speak about and share with listeners. Josh now lives on his own in his own apartment with some in home support. This independence came after years of therapy and special education working toward this goal. Josh writes a monthly article for our blog. We encourage readers to send in questions to Josh to be featured in a special question and answer series with Josh.

The local fair. Home to games, rides, foods, and all sorts of craziness for you, Mom, Dad, your Aunts, Uncles, even Crazy Aunt Gretchen to relish in. But to children with autism, it can be also a classroom of its own volition. Now before you all write in, claiming "shenanigans", just hear me out. By the end of this article, you'll understand where I'm coming from.

 

Every part of a fair can serve to help improve a child's way of learning. Take the various types of foods for example. You can use some of the fairs unique delights like Deep Fried Okra and Chili-Covered Butter to expand your childs sense of taste and get them to try foods that they may be adverse to in a normal place setting. Even the promise of a Fried Twinkie or some extra game money could help to serve in your desire to get your child to enjoy more of lifes bounty. But a warning, DO NOT MIX the food with the rides without practicing first.

 

Speaking of the rides, the various treats the grounds offer like Skylines and Gravitrons are a great way to teach your offspring things like personal space, safety, and even things of the more advanced like centrifrugal force. One personal favorite of mine is the Super Slide. A towering device, this baby can teach about speed in the slide, fabrics in the cloths used for sliding, even the colors of the magnificent rainbow! But every ride they have bequeaths its own lessons.

 

Then there's the games. Classics like the Baseball Toss and the Dart Throw all with the promise of a giant oversized banana, what's not to like? But these games can also teach things like money management and physical education and even how to get a steady hand by throwing beanbags and rubber balls! But I do give a warning, there ARE one or two games like the Basketball Shoot that are likely to only teach lessons in futility as more often than not, they are rigged to be unwinnable. This isn't just from my point of view but it's been documented on several news programs.


There's other surprises I could mention about the fair, but some of them are the kind where you have to see them to believe. But trust me, the county fair is one place HIGHLY recommended for not just having fun, but having fun in LEARNING at the same time!

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Steinberg Behavior Solutions Newsletter. Stay tuned for next month's newsletter.

Please forward on the newsletter (link at the bottom) to anyone else who would benefit from reading it.

We look forward to your comments and feedback!

Sincerely,

Sarah Steinberg 

Steinberg Behavior Solutions, Inc.
4711 Golf Rd.  Ste 100
Skokie, IL 60076

Steinberg Behavior Solutions 
847.676.5398 | sbsaba.com
newsletter@sbsaba.com |
4711 Golf Rd.  Ste 100
Skokie, IL 60076


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