Autism Treatment Center of America Forum

[Edna]

hello

My name is Edna David , im from Portugal, i have a lovely 17 year old boy named Edson, who has autism
I went to the start up program, last October here in portugal.
we started doing the program, for about 2 months,i have no voluntiers and i'm working with my son 2h a day(except weekwnds)
my son loves to do only one thing at the playroom and we have been doing that for one month, its for me to pretend that im a dog and then run after him e pretend to bit him or tickle him, we do that over and over again and he never gets tired, if i try to play samething else he looses interest and gets sad.
i feel like were not progressing like this:(
can you tell me please, how can i introduce other games to him without imposing?

thank you for the attention
hugs

Edna David

[BeckyDamgaard]

Dear Edna,

Thank you for sharing your story! What you have been doing with Edson sounds wonderful and I'm sure you make a very fun dog!

I would suggest starting by varying the game that he is so interested in. This is his main motivation and building from this will help him be more flexible while still incorporating his current interests in the game. Here are three things you could try.

1) The dog gets hungry and needs food to continue chasing and tickling him. You can stop chasing him and lie down on the floor pretending to be tired. Invite Edson to feed you so you can keep the fun going. Experiment with bringing some pretend bones in the playroom that he can feed you each time you get tired.

2) He can help take care of the dog, bring in a bowl for water, a leash and collar and a brush and encourage him to use these props to take care of you. Perhaps he cold pretend to be the dog too, you could feed him, brush him and take him for a walk.

3) Use a small tissue box like a dice with a picture of different animals on each side (e.g. elephant, cat, monkey, etc) Throw the dice and then pretend to be each different animal. Invite him to throw the dice when he is motivated.

From these small changes to the game you will find new things he enjoys and then can build from there to create new games. For example, if you find he likes the elephant, then next time, you can draw elephants together, etc.

Have fun!

[Edna]

hello

thank you for the lovely suggestions

i'll work on them right away

hugs and kisses for everybody