Helping our autistic son figure out what is real

We were so pleased when Anthony started using his imagination. Many children with autism struggle to use their imagination, at least in the traditional sense.  So when Anthony started Tree Fu Tom, Ironman and then Anakin Skywalker we encouraged it.  He can even go crazy and though he's close to teenage years can make a pretty good impression of Godzilla from the lastest Godzilla Vs Kong movie too.  Obviously this isn't real, but it's often still difficult for Anthony to know what could be real from a movie. 

The reality and the ridiculous

Honestly, I don't know what we'd do without the trampoline in the garden and the trees to climb. In the winter I really miss being able to watch the kids throw themselves about in a fit of giggles (them... and me actually).  During the weekends we try and get outside to enjoy the space.  Now the evenings are lighter and warmer so begins the ritual of throwing them out the back door to play, and sometimes joining in.

Siblings, lies and untruths

"That's a lie."

"No, it's not."

I can not even hazard a guess at how many times I've heard this exchange in our house over the last few weeks. Part of this is due to Anthony, our eight year old autistic son who has never told me a lie in his life.  Never.  And he also has difficulty in understanding when someone is lying, and someone is playing or joking around.

Do you have Magic Fairy Wings?

Jane just loves dressing up and role play. Put a foil pencil in her hand and she is a magical fairy or a prince with a sword.   A pirate hat makes her pink beard(!?), pirate of the rainbow seas and when she flips it around she's an astronaut in a rocket and 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..... she's blasted off the back of the sofa and landed on cushion moon. But it's not that easy for all my kids.

She's not been swallowed by a troll after all

Jane's level of imagination is astonishing to me. Her pre-school teacher says she's the 'role play queen' at nursery. Having had two autistic boys who both still struggle to use their imagination, it's been great to expose them to her play.  In this kind of way, Jane's play is the marvel and breath of fresh air when it comes to games in the home... sometimes.

Learning through play - how do you play chess?

By tomorrow all three of my children will be in education. Jane will start half days at pre-school, David will be repeating his reception year and Anthony has just entered year 4. It has flown by.  But of course having three kids in education as I've described actually means only one of them will be sat at a desk for most of the day.

WonderfulWednesday: It's Play Day 2016

I had no idea when I woke up this morning that today is 'Play Day 2016'.  A tweet from Scope that highlighted inclusive play caught my eye and I discovered a day to highlight for my wonderful Wednesday share.

#WonderfulWednesday: The Batman Effect - Could it help kids focus?

This week's wonderful Wednesday share came from understood.org via Life with ASD & the Rest.  It's a blog post by Stephanie M Carlson called 'The Batman Effect: What my research shows about pretend play and executive functioning.'  I know, it's a bit of a mouth full.  So what's it about and why is it my wonderful share of the week?

Mess free picture meal play

Play food is great fun and a way of repeating an everyday task as a play activity. Our play and cut fruit are constantly in use with our little girl but the boys aren't really interested unless they are 'doing' something.  As the boys have autism they are the ones who need a little extra encouragement learning to use their bodies.

This easy mess free activity is great for developing fine motor skills and thinking about food without getting messy if your kids are sensory adverse. You will need:

• Paper or plastic plate (some kids might find it difficult to switch the activity so be careful if you use the plastic plates you have for dinner as they might expect to be play the game again too)
• Food pictures for sticking or cutting up from magazines, photos or print-outs to stick and pens
• Glue stick 

If your kiddie is at the point of using scissors then you can try cutting food out of either magazines or print outs together. Easigrip scissors can help some kids develop a scissor action and won't stay shut so can be useful for those with emerging motor skills. Either way kids will need to use both hands in coordination for either cutting or glueing as they will need to hold the paper or plate still and this helps bilateral motor skills develop.

If you place the cut out food items around the table you will encourage your child to stretch across their midline too which can be another area of difficulty for some kids with emerging motor skills.

Once you've got what you need get sticking and create dinner or lunch. We went for fish and chips (which were fired potato slices) with some bread rolls which was his was related to the 'bread & fishes' story we heard at the church playgroup.  Jane said she was sticking 'toetatoes'. It's been requested that we also add some 'gween peas'.  So we'll be adding some felt tip pen dots I think.  'Dotting' is one of the first ways kids tend to make marks and some peas is a great way to get started.

What will you make?

Links

Our blog - Motor planning skills reminder

Our blog - Dry Easter Bunny craft activity

Our blog - Sensory Banana Flapjack recipe

As listed on:

Beautiful Belle has a point about books for autistic kids

It's not uncommon for Disney characters to appear to have the odd autistic trait. The little mermaid was obsessed with the human world and Rex from Toy Story doesn't like change for example. But maybe the most common similarity is characters who aren't understood by others, like Belle.

Rocky reality: Autism and imagination

We were so pleased when Anthony started using his imagination. It was something we absolutely encouraged. Suddenly Anthony was Tree Fu Tom, Ironman and then Anakin Skywalker. We recently watched the new Star Wars trailer. We watched and waited for the same questions, the questions we've taught Anthony ask so he is able to understand that the movie is not real.

Identifying normal repetitive play

I have been watching Jane repeat the same play sequence whenever she is presented with a tea set.  Jane has two older brothers with autism so she is more likely to be on the autistic spectrum than another little girl who has no autism in the family.  I'm watching to see if this play might indicate that she has a lack of social imagination. 

Difficulty with social imagination is one of the 'triad' of impairments that leads to an autism diagnosis. Our social imagination lets us understand and predict what other people are going to do or how an unfamiliar situation may turn out. Some children with autism find imaginative play very difficult and others can use their imagination but because they find guessing the next step in a social situation difficult, they prefer to act out the same scenes each time.  

However, children also learn through repetition. Practising new words and skills is part of being a toddler and should be typical as Jane is nearly two and a half years old.

Jane has been repeating a game we have shown her about making a cup of tea.  Pouring the tea from a teapot into a cup and bringing it to an adult. She then asks them to drink it, asks if they are finished and then takes the cup away.  Here are some things I've noticed and engaged in that indicates to me this might be normal play.

Jane's routine is usually functional, which means things can be used for what they are.  However, Jane can also use substitution in this routine.  This means if presented with a tea set without a teapot and presented with another object, for example a jug or bowl, Jane is happy to pretend this is the teapot.  If there are no substitutions, Jane can also pretend she is holding a teapot, and this is using her imagination too.  Beyond, this Jane was quite happy to bring me a coffee instead and when I said I was hungry, she offered me a piece of cake. This shows she can cope with, think about and engage in changes to the play sequence. To my delight this was cooked in an imaginary microwave in the bookcase.  And as I'm handed my cake, it's obvious that Jane is having fun. A few minutes later she's left the activity and come to watch the television.

However, I could be concerned if Jane appeared anxious or extremely focused during the tea routine.  I would note if she was upset by changing it or unable to have intervention in the play. I'd also be concerned if Jane was unable to finish her routine without getting upset or persisted in only playing with this set, whether she was enjoying it or not.  I can also look for a specific type of repetitive behaviour called 'stimming' which tends to be a sensory adjustment.

Repetitive behaviours, obsessions and routines can limit a child's participation in other activities, cause stress or anxiety.  However they can also lead to enjoying special interests or help someone stay calm or cope with a situation like David does. I'm likely to continue to monitor Jane's progress with watchful eyes.  For now, it looks like I'll be enjoying imaginary cake.

External links
Ambitious About Autism - Repetitive behaviours and stimming
NAS - About autism