OK so we all know that kids that eat each too much sugar can be a lot more hyperactive and aggressive. According to a number of sites and research articles this is due to a child's lower tolerance to change in sugar levels. So if, of course, a child consumes a large amount of sugar as they come down they become agitated and hyper due to an increased amount of adrenaline. With autistic kids this can mean very erratic and violent behaviour. While of course I am most certainly no expert and advise anyone reading this to do their own research into the topic I can speak of our own experiences with Seraphin and her sister. I have mentioned before about Seraphin's tendency to eat when stressed and worried. It was not until recently that put some serious steps in place to help control these urges and realise the link in extreme behaviour. Some favourites of Seraphins are, pasta, breads, chocolate, sugar (the white powdery stuff directly), dry biscuits (Clix etc...), sweet biscuits and lollies. We took the extreme step of moving ALL of these types of foods from the pantry to our walk in robe and installed a lock with key. This of course meant that in most cases the children would need to ask for a parent to unlock the walk in robe to be able to get a treat. As the walk in robe is in our bedroom this of course also meant they could not sneak midnight snacks. It took a good solid couple of weeks although after a bit of time we did notice a significant decrease in extreme behavioural out bursts from Seraphin and her younger sibling. Seraphin has also now started to not loose weight but get closer to the normal range in weight for height and age. So while there still seems to be some debate about diet among professionals, we have definitely found that a lower sugar intact and more consistent diet has improved our children's behaviour. Although I will leave it up to our readers to decide for themselves. ;) I'll leave you with the latest video from Seraphin, a speed art Rangoli. If you don't know what that is, don't worry I didn't either until I checked this video met the requirements of her Art assignment. ;)
As many readers would know we started the process of home schooling this term after the last of Seraphin's schools requested us to withdraw her after an incident. While that decision was disappointing I will say that Seraphin has been thriving in many aspects since then.
So we downloaded a number of curriculum information specifications for year 8 and started assigning work based on the Victorian curriculum. The first week or two were quite challenging trying to keep Seraphin motivated. She refused to do the work and when looking deeper... She was bored. So we decided to allow Seraphin to try Year 9 maths and science.
Homeschooling made the change easy and Seraphin quickly got into work. The challenge was to keep her focused during the day as she loves her computer games. As we did last year we decided to use computer time as a reward for completing objectives.
Microsoft's Family Safety settings in Windows 8 and 10 allow you to do this quite simply. She has 1 hour per day unlimited access. When she finishes her work she sends of the completed work to me and then puts a request in for more time. I can then click a link in an email from anywhere that I am and give her access.
Here is what we learnt from the experience:
Set clear goals for each day
Make sure subjects work is clear defined. Such as Questions 1-5 on pg 53
Set clear rewards for when that work is complete.
e.g. An extra 2 hours when work is complete
Plan a weeks worth of work at a time
Don't overwhelm them
Her first science assessment was to choose an experiment and follow experiment planning method. She of course chose to do it as YouTube video as seen on the previous post.
... It All Falls in a Heap! But there are things to learn from failure... (One of my favourite sayings) Well this is one of those posts that is part rant, part sharing some learning's. Since my last post we have had some great positives but this post is based on the last challenging week.... So to some background and a little rant. After a few hiccups at Seraphin's 2015 school we decided to change schools for the last term. The first term at the new school went swimmingly. The school implemented all the tools we discussed including the bracelet strategy and a some devices used for comfort and listening to music (including some headphones that she wore everywhere, mainly around the neck). Due to this team work she felt comfortable and had a reasonably good term 4 in 2015 making a couple of new friends and flying ahead in academics. Things were looking fantastic....
The new school year started and things were looking great again. Famous last words.... A new teacher had started at the school. The problem being that the teacher wasn't aware of a number of tools implemented the previous year as comfort mechanisms such as the headphones and music. Unfortunately the teacher tried to take the items from Seraphin and well those with any experience in our world would know what happened next... Suffice it to say, Seraphin is no longer at the school, 2 weeks into the new school year. Now, dont get me wrong I don't blame the teacher, I did at first, although after some investigation we found that the comfort items were not listed in the individual learning plan (ILP). She wasn't to know, but was this fair for Seraphin?
Now I'm not going to answer that question in the post as you can well imagine what we think the answer is. I would to discuss the learning's that we as parents took from this experience. Get a copy of your childs ILP. Don't expect the school to send you a copy. Demand a copy to ensure it is kept up to date. Ensure the ILP is kept up to date. Again don't expect the school to keep it up to date. We had found that school B was using information from an assessment completed 4 years prior not actual information given via email or verbally by the parents. We also found that they didn't update Seraphin's ILP until after the incident that caused the school to ask us to withdraw her. Include Your Professional Support in the plan. One thing we had trouble grappling with at the start was allowing the school to contact our child's support services for guidance. Unfortunately this does seem to be required. We have found that if schools do not specifically have information and strategies written by professionals they wont implement it. Why not trust parents? I guess our advice as parents doesn't cover them for insurance/litigation. Now a question to the readers. Is home schooling an option?
In the second part of this series I'd like to share our experiences with routine.
Learning New or Old Routines
Distractions for autistic kids (or at least in my experience) can be as simple as a soft but high pitched sound from a TV or a dog barking or even the feel of a substance... In the shower one most parents (not just those with autistic children) can relate to is a child that soaps every surface in the shower or squishes the soap until it no longer looks like a bar of soap. For us it was the lathering of surfaces but with shampoo... As autistic children can be visual learners we worked with Seraphin to come up with a story board of the shower routine from starting the shower to turning the water off... This included representing the required amount of shampoo as a 20 cent piece etc...
The School Routine Another challenge I'm sure most parents have is one with school routine. This was especially the case once our daughter started secondary school (middle school). The routines become much more complex to manage and it is a massive change. Kids move from having one main teacher to 8+ teachers, each with their own personalities and teaching methods. Homework and tests are another challenge as changes in timetables or extra-curricular activities such as siblings sports can make a strict routine difficult to keep consistent. We found there was 3 main components components to making this successful. Planning, Communication and Reward/Recognition. Planning involved both setting up prompts to assist in day to day schedule planning but also planning for actions for when Seraphin felt anxious. Communication involves communicating with the child as well as the school and other carers such as grandparents. Reward and recognition ties the goals of the planning directly back into the rewards as discussed in our previous blog.
Planning
Firstly it is important to discuss all these with the child and have them give input into how they would like to be prompted. In this case it was decided to use the school timetable to colour code subjects. These same colours were then used to purchase homework folders for each subject as well as used to write notes in her diary and on a whiteboard we setup on her desk. Each morning she was prompted to check her timetable to see what she had on and then check in her diary if there was work to be handed in or a test to complete. Of course each night the same check would be in place. We eventually worked her up to a weekly schedule where she was able to plan a week of tasks out... Note this is still a work in progress... I will let you know how we go but so far so good... ;)
As parents of autistic children we know that changes in routine can have a devastating affect on out child's anxiousness. Changes in routine are normal especially in secondary school, so a big part of planning involves putting action plans into place for both your child and their carers to follow if situations of anxiety arise. A key component is finding something that will assist your child in calming themselves down. Many autistic kids find the touch or feel of an object helpful in relieving stress. Recently this has become an elastic bracelet that Seraphin wears. She can fiddle with it or even give herself a flick if need be. Although this is a tool to calm herself it is also being used a tool for communication without having to speak. If her stress levels get high (see the catastrophe scale) she can take the bracelet off and place it on the desk. The teacher then knows she needs a break.
It is of course important to make sure if your child has to leave class they are somewhere safe and staff know where they are. At our recent school this was a chair in the main office. It is important at this stage to ensure the child is left alone for a set 'agreed' amount of time, such as 10 minutes. After the time is up they need to understand the importance of discussing their challenge and returning to class.
Communication
It is thoroughly important that the child, parents and schools communicate consistently. Everyone in that circle needs to be agreed on action plans.
In regards to communication we found email the best. Reward and Recognition In this instance we tied this back into internet and electronic device usage as
well as the ability to record videos and upload pictures to the blog
for people to view. For example if she was to achieve a B or above on a test
she would get 30-60 minutes free internet time. If there was a great
week she would be able to work on a new video blog or share a new drawing on the internet. These are just a couple of
examples although as parents you will know what will work with best with
your children.
If you have any questions or are after some more detail please feel free to post a comment and I'll reply. Regards, Materia
Hey All, Just a quick one today to share a YouDooble demo that Seraphin did to show people how she uses the You Doodle app to convert a sketch to a digital full colour image.
The one thing I see repeating a lot in support forums is parents or guardians getting to a point of hopelessness. Life with a Asperger's child for parents can be one that is filled with a lot of anxiety. This anxiety manifests itself in many ways, some children are just unable function and go into a virtual self made hole while others may have extreme verbal and/or physical tantrums. As children get older it gets a lot more difficult to handle and also they become more immune to the effects of traditional punishments. Every parent has their own way of handling situations that arise although how can we work with our children to reduce the anxiety that causes them to explode? Every child is different and I am no expert on every child with a Autism although over the next few blogs I would like to discuss some strategies that have and haven't worked for us.
First cab off the rank... Discipline... Traditional Forms of Punishment
To the first uncomfortable word of this blog... The 'S' word... 'Smacking'... I was brought up in a fairly strict traditional household. Smacking was the basic form of punishment which then escalated to the 'willy the whaler' (a shoe horn) or a wooden spoon if so required. At one stage my parents even went as far as the old 'wash your mouth out with soap trick' for swearing... Private schools were also allowed to smack. I'll admit I received a couple blows from belts, canes and even a rounders bat in there somewhere... While now being illegal due to the misuse of these punishments by who can only be described as 'angry frustrated old men' (and some women), I was lucky and only received these punishments when I truly deserved it... Not out of anger. While many modern parents don't agree with that method I do see now that my parents actions and that of my teachers were only out of love and I appreciate and love them more for it. I wouldn't be the strong, successful and loving father I am today without it. So thanks parents and teachers, you got me there... in the end... Awesome Job! Although as you will see below our experience over the last few months has changed our view of this out dated method...
Other traditional methods include the time out chair, sitting in the naughty corner (or on the naughty mat). None of which ever worked with our children... Then came the wonderful invention... The iPad and Internet! Where to from Traditional? At first the iPad was a bought as a learning tool, but it quickly turned into an addiction for our children, like many others. Many experts also believe that the bright back lights from these devices can cause sleeping problems. So many negatives for it, but how do we as parents use it to our advantage...
Now that Seraphin (our Apsi girl) and her younger sibling were getting older, traditional consequences for bad behavior were not working... They are becoming immune.... No.....What do we?!??! I'm pulling my hair out?!?!? I'm going to have a breakdown?!?! Anyone else feeling or felt the same at some stage?!?!?!
Positive Reinforcement
Ok so, first of all, I'll admit due to the challenges I had as a kid I became a 'helicopter parent'. Although helicopter parents also tend to spoil the kids (well at least we did) so what happened? The kids thought that all their technology was a right not a privilege. We then looked at what items of technology each child used and also looked at how they were used. E.G. what sites were being viewed and what TV shows were being watched? What were the positive things being used? What did they feel good about? Yes, there were negatives but that's a discussion for another day.... Seraphin was communicating with a wider online community where she was respected for her artistic ability. I never even knew... Damn I felt terrible at first... Seraphin also listened to and found her personal taste in music using YouTube and iTunes radio etc... Both these things were a positive. So how could we use that as a positive reinforcement that was linked to right kinds of behavior? So we sat down with both children and discussed the following rules... 1. Be Respectful to people in authority - (This included be on time for class at school) 2. Follow the Routine (Not all Autistic kids like routine although most need it) 2. Complete chores 3. Complete homework (including sport practice etc...) We then gave fair warning that all devices would now be locked from the internet. The Internet is the medium where both children accessed their outlets. Now while at first this sounds cruel, it wasn't as we linked their requirement to be positively acknowledged with it. For Seraphin one of these was the lifting of the ban from creating her own YouTube videos. This was an important additional privilege which was attached to the above 4 rules. As long as these were adhered to, she would earn 30 - 60 minutes on the internet either on her laptop or iPad. As per a previous blog Seraphin recently posted her first 'Let's Play' Video. This was a massive achievement for her. A secondary positive affect is that now she does not long to watch a lot of content that we did not feel comfortable with, as she now focuses on those things that bring her a positive outcome rather than just dulling her anxiety. The Second Dirty Word - The 'D' Word... Another challenge we grappled with was to whether we mix these new positive reinforcement strategies with medication. I suggest speaking with your pediatrician or other qualified health care professional as to what to do here. Although I can say a mixture of both strategies have worked well for us. Routine and Assisting to cope with Anxiety at School We have also had some good success with Seraphins routines, while she initially didn't like them, even she admits her anxiety with morning and evening routines are better. Our daughters school is also working with us on some strategies for the school day to assist her and her teachers to cope with anxiety based situations at school. I will save these for future posts... To be continued... Regards, Materia Stone
