Autism Behavior Services, Inc
The Almost Never-Ending Question
by ABSI on 01/24/12
By: Leslie Crucil, author of "You
Dont Need To Know That"- The Saga of Sammy, Tate Publishing
Fortunately for us, The Almost
Never-Ending Question almost never comes
up any more! But for about two years, it was a daily occurrence that usually
ended with Sammy in tears and me on my
last nerve. It sounded something like this, "How come I can't get a driver's
license?" "Im supposed to drive like everyone else." "Dana drives, and she has
a car, and so I need a car, too." "All my friends drive, and Im just like
them." This all started during sophomore year when Sammy and several of the
girls turned sixteen. One by one, the other girls took the mandatory course,
passed the permit test, practiced driving, waited the obligatory time period,
and by their junior or senior year were full-fledged drivers. None of Sammy's
"special" friends were driving nor were they seeming to be very upset by this
fact. Sammy conveniently always compared herself to her more capable friends,
thus leading to long drawn-out discussions/arguments on many topics. If the girls at school were driving, then she
should be driving. If the girls were working after school, then she should be
working after school, etc. So, being the equal-opportunity mom I tried to be, I
enrolled Sammy in a private drivers training course. Yes, it was a risky leap
of faith. The driving instructor was the dad of one of the original two girls who were Sammy's friends
in elementary school. The girlfriend had gone on to Catholic high school but
still kept in touch with Sammy and we knew the family well. The dad was known
in the community for being the drivers ed. instructor when kids got to the
point of being "behind the wheel." He
had instructed Dana as well as many of her friends and he was a very kind and
patient man. Being fully aware of the situation, he was willing to work with
Sammy to see if there was even the possibility of a driver's license.
But before Sammy could get
behind the wheel of a car, she had to pass the dreaded multiple-choice permit
test at the DMV. She studied the DMV booklet every day for weeks, and on the
third try finally passed the written test! I couldnt believe it and was now
faced with the prospect of Sammy actually taking the behind-the-wheel part of
the training course. I had (incorrectly) assumed she would never get this far
and that would be the end of it. I rationalized that I could say that we had
given it our best try and maybe we would
revisit the driving issue at some later date. Okay, so she passed the permit
test and could spout the specifics from the DMV booklet, but how would this
translate into the actual driving experience? Was Sammy really capable of
handling an automobile in busy traffic?
Whose car was she going to be "practicing" in? Well. we were about to
find out.
The big day arrived and the
friends dad rolled up to our house in the little training car and away they
went. I stood on the sidewalk waving good-bye, trying to look as excited as I knew Sammy was.
I also had to laugh at the reaction and incredulous looks on some of our
neighbor's faces as they watched Sammy drive away those first few times. The
good news was that we had many surrounding neighborhoods and streets that were
off the main drag without the busy, dangerous intersections most of us drive on
a regular basis. On our quiet streets, with few traffic lights and not many
cars, Sammy appeared to be a competent driver. Over time, she navigated the
immediate area quite well and could even drive (with guidance and directions
from me in the passenger seat) to our
neighborhood ranch market and dry cleaners. Without the many distractions of
busy intersections, pedestrians, green arrows, and left-turning cars, she was fine. But the obvious
conclusion was that she was not going to be the same capable driver in normal,
chaotic traffic. Outside of our neighborhood and adjoining streets there were
just too much to focus on at the same time and too many opportunities for an
accident. On the few occasions we ventured down the hill on the very busy main
thoroughfare, it was a pretty scary experience. With cars darting in and out of
traffic and everyone in the double yellows making left-hand turns, it was
evident Sammy did not have the quick decision-making ability that would be
necessary to avert disaster. Of course,
Sammy kept insisting she would be fine and we had nothing to worry about, but
it was clear she could not handle normal traffic conditions. I really felt we had
given it our best shot and was very impressed she had gotten that far. She had
surpassed everyone's expectations in terms of the entire process; but now I had
the difficult task of dealing with the inevitable disappointment of Sammy not being
able to get the actual license. Had I
done the right thing by letting her go for it in the first place?
Tips for preparing your child with Autism for the holidays
by ABSI on 11/11/11
The holidays can be a stressful time of the year for
all families, let alone for families who are affected by an autism spectrum
disorder (ASD). Individuals with an
autism spectrum disorder are challenged by behavioral excesses and behavioral
deficits. Behavioral excesses can present themselves as extreme rigidities and
perseverations that in turn manifest into severe tantrum, aggressive, and/or
stereotypical behavior. Behavioral skill deficits can in turn present
themselves as the inability to cope with changing schedules, novel situations
or persons, and/or varying environmental stimuli such as smells, noises/sounds,
or lighting. As a result, many people affected with an ASD are ill equipped to
navigate and manage the holidays socially, emotionally, and behaviorally.
Socially, many individuals with autism may have a
difficult time interacting with others during this time. One way to assist with
this is to prepare them by exposing them to people and activities that they may
encounter. Families can create a photo album with family members and friends who
they will be visiting with, write their name at the bottom of the photograph,
and each day look through the photo album. Parents can label for the child or
have the child label the names of family and friends. Having the children watch
videos of family and friends may also be helpful. Parents can ask family and
friends to make a short video of themselves and again have the children watch
the video. Socially, it may also be beneficial for families to create a list of
the activities and/or places that they may participate in or visit during the
holidays. These activities should be clearly outlined and placed on a calendar
that is readily accessible and visible to the child. In addition, families can
create a book outlining each activity/place and what will be done during that
activity or at that location. This book should be reviewed with the child
frequently prior to the activities taking place or the location being visited.
Lastly, in order to facilitate social interactions with family and friends,
parents can teach their children to play games that they may be able to play
with family and friends. The games
should be taught systematically and well in advance in order to help support your
child with ASD.
Emotionally, children with ASD are not always able
to appropriately communicate how they are feeling during stressful situations.
Instead, they may engage in problem behavior to communicate that they have had
enough. Parents can create visuals that will support their child during these
stressful situations. Some visuals that can be created are an All done, Break, and/or Help, visual. These visuals can be presented in word or
picture formats. These visuals should travel with the child and made readily accessible
to them during holiday activities. Families can also take pictures of the child
when they appear to be feeling happy, sad, and/or angry. They in turn can ask
the child how they feel and have the child show or exchange the emotion card
for how they are feeling. Depending on what the child is feeling parents can
then provide them with the necessary supports like a break away from the
situation if necessary.
Behaviorally, children with an ASD have a difficult
time during unstructured situations. The more consistency and predictability
that can be provided to them the better they are likely to do. Therefore,
families will want to consider creating a visual schedule of portions of the
day (mini schedules) or a schedule for the entire day. Families can use
pictures or words to depict the activities sequentially that will be taking
place. As each activity is completed the child can remove that picture or word
from the schedule and they can move onto the next activity. Another visual
support that may be helpful is using a first-then sentence strip. Parents can
communicate both verbally and visually with their child by showing them the
strip, for example, First store Then park. Again parents can use either words
or pictures to depict each activity or location. As of late there has also been
promising evidence that using augmentative and alternative communication
systems, such as the itouch or ipad, for functional communication has benefited
many children with ASD to effectively communicate their needs. Using a timer to
delineate how much time the child will need to participate in a specific
activity can also be helpful. Lastly, pre-exposure to people, activities, and/or
locations prior to and on multiple occasions can also support children with ASD
behaviorally.
For more information on how to support your childs
unique needs socially, emotionally, and behaviorally through the use of applied
behavior analysis and social groups please contact Rosa Patterson MS, BCBA at
714-717-5156.
