1.If a child doesn’t have a particular favorite, food or toys, how should he be reinforced?
A: This is indeed a big headache, but one must be very creative in finding ways to do so. It is important to remember that reinforcers are not necessarily food, “play” and so on. That is, for a child, “play things” may not be the same as the average child’s toys. He may like to tear paper, jump, play in the sand, etc. So be sure to observe what he usually likes, because it is likely to be something we did not expect. Another suggestion is to choose a lot of different toys and things he usually plays with and put them in a bucket to reinforce him when he chooses. (That is, when he gets it right, say “doing so and so very well” while showing him the bucket, he can choose his own reinforcement. It is indeed a challenge for such children to change reinforcers often, but if we observe him often and understand what he really likes to do, we should be able to find it.
Some children have trouble distinguishing between commands, such as “clap your hands” and “clap your legs”.
A: I have had this problem before, but it is not a problem of the students, it is a problem of teaching. We found out that when we taught one, we didn’t teach it well and started teaching the second one, and the result was terrible. So, please drop one temporarily, for example, just choose one clapping hand. After this one he can do 100% correct, then teach a “leg clap” (separate teaching, teach the leg clap). After this one can 100% make, only then start to randomly, while teaching clapping hands and clapping back. This is one way.
However, there is another way (you will see the child’s situation to determine), if you find that the biggest problem is that she always has to do one of two actions, that is, for example, more stereotypical no matter what instructions you do “clap”, then I suggest that you teach the clap now, and then after 100%, and then teach the other (and not clap hands). This training program has two goals, one is to recognize body parts, and one is to listen to instructions. So you should not teach hand clapping now, only leg clapping, and then choose a completely different one, such as tummy patting, or head patting. Teach this new one alone, and after 100%, then randomly out this just learned (head pat) and the first one, which is the leg pat. (Please note that the original confusion to clap hands or do not do). Then slowly teach many body parts, and then return to clapping hands. By this time she has learned to listen to instructions and separate body parts, which should be more clear.
Overall, if a child can’t learn this way and confuse the two actions, be sure to check your teaching methods. Be sure to see if he learned the first thing he learned in front of him or not. If she didn’t learn the first one well, he can easily confuse the first with the second. That’s why ABA, DTT emphasizes teaching one by one, and one must get through the first element before starting the second.
Q: When a child learns something new, he gets anxious when he can’t learn it three or four times, and then he will attack the teacher, for example, scratching the teacher with a pencil or hitting the teacher, what should I do?
A: If such a problem occurs, please reflect on the teacher’s teaching methods. The problem is usually that the teacher is asking too much and the child is unable to do it. When a child exhibits aggressive behavior during the learning process, it is usually because he feels frustrated and discouraged after experiencing failure. So when it comes to learning, we try to create opportunities for them to succeed. He will enjoy learning only if he tries to succeed and will not attack others. In this case, the teacher should check what he is teaching and how he is teaching it. It is important to consider appropriate adjustments to what is being taught and how it is being taught. For example, if you are teaching a child to identify different colors and have him point to multiple colors at the same time (e.g., you put a red pickup truck and a yellow banana on the table and then point to each and ask him, “What color is this?”) , and it may be difficult for him. You can reduce the difficulty as appropriate for your child’s level. For example, put a red piece of paper on the table and tell him, “Point to the red. If needed, use physical assistance to help him point to the red piece of paper. Then praise him by saying, “That’s great! That’s red.” Do this a few more times, and when he has learned it, put a white piece of paper on the table and tell him, “Point to white.” When he can do both commands well, you then put both red and white pieces of paper on the table at the same time and ask him to identify the two colors. You can use assistance (preferably physical assistance).
This is just an example. The important thing is that if after one or two times your child hasn’t learned it, you either need to lower the difficulty or provide assistance. By assisting, you can ensure that your child responds correctly; and he will be willing to learn after he has achieved success. Also, praise him even if he succeeds only with your assistance and help. Then, gradually reduce the level of assistance.
No matter what you teach, remember that assistance and reinforcement are very important. This means that it is important to provide the appropriate assistance to enable the child to succeed (usually hand-holding, instruction, or demonstration.) Then gradually decrease the level of assistance. It also means that it is important to praise the child by giving him small rewards, such as a small cookie or his favorite toy to play with – so that he understands that he did the right thing and should continue to demonstrate the behavior or skill in the same way.
Q: My child has generalization problems and is not carrying them out. No one is helping me.
A: Generalization is a very important step in the process of educating and training children with autism. You are right that it can be difficult to implement without help. However, generalization means that you are training the child to be able to use the same skill with different people, or using different objects, or in different situations. So, you can still teach many things by yourself, too. For example, when you are teaching him a new skill, you can teach it in the bedroom, then move to the kitchen to review the skill with him; then go outside in the hallway to review it. This process, too, is important for implementing generalization. If you are teaching your child to generalize by using different objects, for example, if you use a large red ball to teach your child to identify the “ball,” you also need to teach him to identify the small blue ball, the large white ball, and so on. When you are outside, you can take him to the park and generalize, pointing out to him some of the things you taught him at home (like “balls” or “trees”) and tell him that in the park they are still balls and trees. Of course, you’re right, it would be ideal if you had someone else to help you. It is very important to get more people to reach out and educate your child. If you have a spouse, then he/she should certainly be actively involved in your child’s educational training. Other people who can help include grandparents, siblings, and even neighbors and co-workers at work. Often people are willing to help, they just don’t quite know how to help. You need to take the initiative and tell them what you need and what they should do.
Q: I have not yet found anything that my child is particularly interested in to guide him and get his attention.
Drawing and playing ball, playing on the computer, writing and reading books are not of much interest. Doesn’t like singing much either. Just likes to ride in the car. I hope you can give me some guidance on what to do to develop my child’s interest.
A: Sometimes it’s really hard to expand the interests of our children. Many children with autism have unusual interests and, often, a very narrow range of interests, as you have described your child as having. There are several approaches you can try. First, be sure to continue to show your child new toys, new things, and new activities. Only by doing so will you be able to explore new things that might be of interest to him. There was this example of a young person in the United States who seemed to have no interest in anything and just sat at home all day. Then her teacher encouraged her to go hiking. Although she refused at first, she eventually fell in love with the activity and often asked to go again. So, we need to broaden our horizons and try to provide as many opportunities as possible for our children to try new things.
At the same time, it is important to use reinforcement to encourage your child to become interested in new things. For example, if he has something he really likes to eat, save that food until after he has completed a new activity (such as swinging or playing a simple game with you). In the beginning, reinforcements can be used more frequently during the activity, but gradually reduce them so that eventually he will only get them at the end of the activity or game. Also, while giving him material reinforcement (food), give him plenty of praise, smiles, hugs, and other forms of reinforcement so that he will associate a new activity with his favorite food and subsequently with your positive response, and thus he is likely to increase his interest in this activity as well.
When it comes to your child, you say that he likes car rides, so you can try using that activity as reinforcement for a new activity. For example, he can only ride in the car after he sings a song with you, or he can only ride in the car after he buys something at the store. Remember that activities like car rides that he enjoys must occur after activities that he does not enjoy.
Finally, if your child seems to have nothing to do at home with you, find something for him to do. Even if you don’t think he’s interested, that’s okay. You need to use your enthusiasm, praise and energy to convince him that it’s a fun activity. And you want to use reinforcement (food, praise, hugs, tickles, etc.) to encourage him to continue with the activity. One of the main reasons for doing this is to avoid your child becoming immersed in self-stimulating, stereotypical behaviors that interrupt contact with the outside world.
Q: Poor concentration and lack of patience in doing any one thing. (Another parent asks: particularly bad distractions during class training, and particularly rapid jumping of thoughts. Because the two questions have something in common, they are answered here together)
A: Many parents talk about inattentiveness, which happens to be a characteristic of autism. In fact, when a child with autism is very interested in things, they are able to focus. Often when teaching a child something new he may have trouble paying attention, perhaps because he is not interested, or because what he is learning is too difficult, or because he doesn’t understand it. Teaching children with autism is different from teaching other children. When we teach a normal child, the teacher can usually stand at the front of the classroom and the student can listen and take notes on what the teacher is teaching and what information is being taught. This is not how children with autism learn. They are usually not aware that what the teacher or parent is saying is relevant to them. They may be able to hear the teacher or parent speak, but do not understand the meaning of the words or how they are supposed to react to them.
So when teaching a child something new or dealing with a child, it is important to use interest to get his or her attention. One of the most basic ways to do this is to hold up something that the child likes very much (this is called a reinforcer) in front of you so that the child’s attention will be directed to you. When he looks at the object, you give a command, such as “wash your hands”, and after he washes his hands (with assistance if needed), you can give him the reinforcer and let him play with it for a while.
In addition to showing the child the reinforcer, try to make the activity as interesting as possible to the child. If your child likes cars, use them to teach him to read and play, and if he likes music, use singing to teach him math and words. Choose materials that interest your child, even if they are unusual (use your child’s favorite books, pictures, or other things to teach comprehension of language or adjectives, etc.).
In addition, you can use your child’s interests as reinforcers in learning. For example, if your child loves to jump, show him a picture of the target activity
(putting on shoes), then show him a picture of a small child bouncing. Teach him that after he has done the activity you want him to finish (including self-care, academic, and social interaction), he can do an activity he likes to do or get what he wants. The key is to make sure that he follows your instructions before he can get what he wants or engage in the activity he wants to do. Of course, at first you should only ask him to pay attention for a short time, give him a command that he can complete quickly, and then reward him with an activity or object that he enjoys.
If your child seems impatient and unable to focus, he probably doesn’t understand what you want him to do or he’s not interested. Please keep in mind that as parents and teachers, we need to start with the child’s interest and use reinforcement, rewards (and aids) to get the child’s attention at first.
Q: My child is distracted and inattentive in class. …can’t sit still and runs around. What should I do? Another parent asks how can I get my child to be able to attend class quietly, without distractions and without excessive movement.
A: When we see the two new questions above, it is even more important to consider the following point, which is that children with autism are indeed different from other children in that they have a different way of learning than others. If the child mentioned in these two questions has trouble sitting or running around during class, we first need to ask what kind of class he is in? Group class or individual one-on-one training? As mentioned earlier, children with autism have difficulty listening to the teacher in a group, so it is important to provide such a child with a variety of supports and assistance, such as visual cues (like a schedule taped to the desk), peers who can remind him of what to do, and seats that make it easy for the teacher to get close enough to help him (like a seat in the front row). We must remember that our task is not only to help the child with autism adapt to the classroom environment, but also to change the classroom environment to accommodate a child with autism!
Q: My child is increasingly refusing to cooperate at home and at the training facility, and is having more and more problem behaviors. What can I do?
A: The child is increasingly refusing to cooperate, both at home and at the training facility. The solution to a child’s growing dislike of learning often depends on the training methods, the teacher’s skills, and possibly a change. First of all, we should make a habit of parents saying, “Let’s play together” (do not say class, you can say play, or anything else, if he has a bad reaction to hear “class”) to start communication (training, of course), but let the child feel that it is It’s fun, not something you’re not happy about and he’s not happy about. Then start from the beginning, that is, you have found him increasingly uncooperative, it does not have to be difficult to train. Keep it simple, but make him feel like it’s fun to be with you. For example, two people sitting together, you give him a very simple command (give me something). After giving it to you, immediately give a lot of reinforcement. This makes it easy for him to get reinforcement, so he enjoys the “play” time. What I mean is that you need to change his perception of “class” so that he enjoys it and responds positively when you say, “It’s time for class” or “Come play with mommy”. He will respond positively when you say, “It’s time for class” or “Come play with Mommy. Of course, it can’t always be fun. He will definitely have some difficulties when teaching him new things. But with assistance you can make him not afraid of new things (e.g., “Put the book on the table”. If he doesn’t know how to do it, use a hand-held aid to get him to put it on the table, or use a demonstration to show him what “put the book on the table” means).
So in general, I would suggest seeing if you can get him to enjoy learning with you more, using lots of reinforcement (including reinforcers, food, play, but also praise, hugs, etc.), and also using aids so that your child can be successful.
Also, parents don’t necessarily have to train one-on-one like teachers do. Parents are parents, and at home, they should also emphasize self-care, washing, dressing, etc. The more natural, the better. For example, it is very, very important to tell him to wash his face when he is about to go to bed, and so on. Because when our children grow up, it is very important to be able to take care of themselves.