| home |
Helping Your Child Overcome Social I . . .
| |
Helping Your Child Overcome Social Impairments
Diagnosis
According to the DSM-IV (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition), children with Autism, Asperger Syndrome and PDD share the same impairment in social interactions "and is manifested in at least two of the following ways:
- marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction;
- failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level;
- a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests or achievement with other people;
- lack of social or emotional reciprocity."
Parents often feel frustration when dealing with their child's social impairment and are not sure what they can do to help. Some children will be "locked" in their own world and give very little social interaction. Others may have demonstrate some social skills and periodically interact with others, but prefer to stay in solitude as they line up their cars in a row or play with their dinosaurs in their favorite hidden corner.
How You Can Help
Helping your child develop social skills and learn to interact appropriately with others is not an easy task. It is however, well worth the effort as you develop a closer, more meaningful relationship with him or her. As mentioned before there are many professionals who work with children using techniques like those mentioned above. While professional intervention can be very helpful there is much you can do on your own to give your child much needed help.
Here are three easy techniques you can start using today. As you experiment with each of these please remember that you are not likely to see massive changes overnight but will more likely see a slow progression toward the desired results. Give yourself and your child time to learn and adjust to each new level of interaction and keep in mind that there is no single right way to use these ideas.
1. Set aside a time to play with your child and focus on finding ways to create interaction. For example if your child is playing with a car, use another car and crash into his car with it. Say something like, "Uh-oh, we crashed". Don't be surprised or frustrated if your child becomes upset with you. Remember, if your child does get upset or say something to you, then that is an nteraction. Try to turn the interactions into a game. For example when my son was lining cars up bumper-to-bumper my husband sat next to him, grabbed a car from the middle of the line and drove it under his legs as if they were a bridge. My son immediately got up and grabbed the car saying, "Not there!" and put it back in the line. After several repetitions of this it eventually became a game as my husband emphasized that he was driving the car under a bridge and my son began to drive the cars back under the bridge to put them in their place in line. Always remember not to get upset with your child during this time. Overcoming social impairments is very difficult work for a child and even small steps can be a big accomplishment.
Next >>
| 
