First: Trust Your Experience

You know more about autism treatment than you may give yourself credit for right now. You’ve been observing specialists for a while and noticing what has been working. That knowledge will start rising to the top.

Second: The Clock is Your Friend

Think of the day in terms of blocks of time. This could be a morning-midday-evening framework with segments of 15 to 60 minutes marked with a specific purpose.

Third: Intermix Preferred and Non-Preferred Activities

Children with autism often notice patterns. By offering something desirable after a less-preferred task you soften their “burden” with the expectation that positive things usually follow. In that way a chore can become a cue that something fun is up next.

Fourth: Make it Visual

Choose a visual way to make the day move from a picture in your mind to one in theirs. For young children, laying out items that represent the activity or place may be best. Another child will be just as happy with a row of post-its and hand-made pictures while lists work great in other cases. Of course, give your kids a say in what goes on the schedule for an even better time!

Refer to downloadable materials below.

Fifth: Use Timers and Natural Cues to Stick to the Schedule

Getting into a rhythm with a schedule is helped greatly by using timers and other cues. The end of a video or waking up from a nap are moments to harness to make transition easier to the next activity on the schedule.

We understand that this is a hard time for many, change in schedule for the kids, parents trying to work from home while juggling children. ACES is here to provide support and resources that may help you during this time.

Here are a few tips to set your day up for success

Structure the Environment

It’s important to structure your home in a way that will be easily understood by your child.

Start by first creating predictable spaces and routines within your home for certain activities. For example:

• A set “calm down” space
• A set play place for toys
• A consistent bedtime routine (ex. Brush teeth, story, lights out at the same time every day)
• A task or chore system where the motivator is visible and task completion is clear.
• Themed days of the week, such as “Taco Tuesday” or “Sunday Funday”
• 4 or 5 clear “Family Rules” that are displayed and that the entire family is expected to follow. You can download our family rules here.

Have a Schedule in Place

This will help you as a parent/caregiver as well as let your child know what to expect for the day.

Use the below visuals to create your own schedule. You can print, cut and arrange the different activities to best fit your family.