All of us have different levels of enjoyment or even functionality in increasingly busy situations. Some of us do our best with quiet, routine, and fewer unexpected changes. Others of us do best when we have a nice balance of time alone, quiet, routine mixed with occasional social, busy, and novel experiences.Still others of us seek and thrive on the unexpected, busy, chaotic, and always on the go lifestyles.
I know that I have always considered myself someone who thrives in change, novel, and I am incessantly curious. However, the more I have gotten to know myself, I simply do not function well without some significant down time full of quiet, routine, and decreased demands on me.
Take a moment to think about which one you might be. Are you the fish that is nervous about all of the change and chaos or the cat who thrives on it? Maybe you are a little of both depending on the other stresses in your life at a given time.Through my experiences with people with autism, they vary quite a bit, of course, but tend to be more on the thriving best under quieter, less dynamic conditions. Please remember that this tendency does not mean the person does not seek new, novel, intriguing experiences to learn, grow, and develop. We may just have to ensure a the new experiences in learning are manageable and not overwhelming into a realm causing stress and confusion.
Take some time this month to play with the levels of dynamics you are offering and when. If you are teaching a new game to your student or child, consider dropping all words except those that are absolutely essential to the game. You may see a huge change in your child/student's ability to integrate that new learning. Try eating a meal or snack with your child/student. Put music on, start talking more than usual. Observe not only your child/student's reaction, but your own. Is it easier or harder to focus and interact?
This month, we will be using the book The Cat in the Hat by the wonderful Dr. Seuss, to guide our activities. The book demonstrates so well the fear and anxiety that is provoked with the unexpected! Other topics that are explored, which you can too, are:
1. Adding small changes or additions one at a time, deciding when too many is too much! (e.g., play ball with just one ball then add more and more until the two of you are feeling a bit overwhelmed, then deliberately remove one ball at a time until it is back to just one).
2. Anticipation of what will happen next on each page (what will the Cat to next!?)
3. Opening a box that you do not know what is inside... the anticipation, excitement then playing with whatever you had put inside for the discovery to happen.
4. Saying "no!" for self-advocacy purposes... and sometimes needing to say it again more clearly (and ensuring others respect this answer).
5. Cleaning up after oneself after playing (always a good one!)
And of course there are TONS of resources on the internet for fun activities surrounding this book:
PBS Activities Online and Printables
Dr. Seussville Online Games and Educator Resources
A printable maze for the cat to find his hat!
Specific activity ideas:
Creating a list/visual representation of rainy day activities vs. those you can do when it is sunny
Writing down words that come up frequently (e.g., cat or fish) on separate pieces of paper to then highlight when they come up when reading it
Make a recording of reading the book out loud.. for future listening more independently
Make and wear hats like the cat's
Playing ball
Making a cake
Hanging things on hangers (helpful around the house, too!)
Pouring water from one container into other containers (e.g., teapot) and measuring amounts
Tying and wearing bow ties and red ribbons in your hair
Using a rake in the yard for a bit of yard work
Carrying and balancing things on a tray (be careful to start with non-breakables!)
Making and flying a kite
Oh there are so many many many more ideas from this book! Have fun and add here, if you feel so inclined! I and others would love to hear and share ideas!
Barb
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