Our world has changed so much, and it has happened so rapidly! Before we knew it, schools were closed, essential items were gone from our supermarket shelves, and we have all been made to transition to the online world.
These changes have been so stressful for most of us neuro-typicals, so you can only imagine how it might be for our beloved friends and family members on the spectrum. To help, our wonderful therapist, Angelina Chua, has listed some strategies on how to help individuals on the spectrum cope during this difficult time. They may even be useful for you and I... check them out below!
1: Use clear communication
- Providing simple facts by talking openly about the virus and why we need to take extra care in looking after ourselves.
- Using simple sentences such as: ‘This germ can get into our bodies. When that happens, we can get very sick. We need to wash our hands to stop the virus from getting into our bodies.’
- You can communicate in different ways including photos, hand-drawings, Social Stories, or written words.
2: Help to process and understand different emotional responses
- Take note of any changes to behaviour. Emotions such as fear, confusion, frustration, or anxiety may be expressed through a variety of challenging behaviours, including throwing tantrums, changing eating/drinking patterns, increasing repetitive behaviours, refusing to take part in usual activities, or withdrawing from others.
- Raise awareness into how they might be feeling. Acknowledge their feelings of confusion, anxiety, or sadness, and assure them that it is natural to have these feelings.
- Regularly check in with their feelings. A good way to do this is to dedicate specific times throughout the day for an update on how they are feeling.
- Use calming techniques such as listening to music, exercising, or playing with a favourite object. These are also activities that the whole family can do and enjoy together.
- Seek additional support from mental health professionals, such as a Behavioural Therapist, Psychologist, or Psychiatrist.
3: Continue with existing routines and build some new ones
- Maintain daily routines (such as bedtimes and mealtimes) as much as possible.
- Make visual timetables that separate different routines, whether it be routines for the entire day or specific parts of the day (such as mornings or from 2-3pm in the afternoon). These timetables can be made up of pictures with words or words only. It may also be helpful to include on the visual timetable parts of the day that may be unstructured, and to clearly communicate these parts in order to prepare for transition times.
- Use visual timetables and visual timers (such as an egg-timer or a countdown clock) to place helpful boundaries around screen time.
- Designate specific areas in the house for specific activities. For example, having meals at the dining table, sectioning off one part of the living room for playing, and accessing online therapy in another room.
4: Keep connecting with others
- Setting up opportunities to interact with immediate family members through family activities (such as having a family game night) or with extended family members and friends through video calls.
- If possible, continue to virtually attend events or regular commitments where social interaction usually happens, such as play dates or religious activities.
We hope that these tips and strategies have helped to shed some light in these confusing times. As we keep on adapting to our current situation and the changes before us, let’s keep doing our best to support and care for one another!
