Autism: you hear this concept discussed more and more often. Autism is a complicated disorder and someone who has this disorder can experience a lot of problems. Often those around him or her do not even notice this because many things are self-evident to him or her. Making connections is much more difficult for someone with autism. However, something can be done about this.
A brief explanation about autism
In fact, it’s like this: when you get new information, you usually see it as a whole. Someone with autism divides the information into separate puzzle pieces. Before the observation or information can be seen as a whole, all these separate pieces must be put together. Imagine how difficult this is! If you don’t put the pieces of the puzzle together, chaos will ensue. You need time to process the observation or information and to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
A child with autism has difficulty seeing things through; This is mainly because they are unstructured, loose fragments and there is a lack of overview. As a result, someone with autism often has difficulty planning, organizing and carrying out tasks. The brain of a child with autism processes observations like puzzle pieces and therefore he or she has great difficulty seeing the connections between the particles. This means that he or she cannot properly connect the impressions he or she gains. He or she does not always see cause and effect and relationships between people can also escape him or her. What a child with autism needs is help in creating coherence, structure and overview.
How do you help a child with autism to gain coherence and overview?
There are five basic questions that can help a child with autism to create coherence and overview:
Who
Does he do it himself? What do others do?
It is important for a child with autism to know what another person does when he or she disappears from his or her field of vision and when he or she will see the important other person again. It is important to also mention this and link it to time or an activity.
What
This includes everything a child has to do; or tasks. Waiting, listening and transitions from one activity to another are also part of Wat. What has to happen? In fact, this is further elaborated and clarified in How, When, Where and Who.
Where
Where should the child perform the task? A permanent place can provide something to hold on to.
When
When does the task start? When is the task done?
This is not just about the day or time, but also about the order. For example: the task starts when the child has cleared his or her plate.
Why
Why does the task need to be done?
Clarity and transparency are important here and link this to rules and agreements.
How
How should it be done?
For a child with autism, details help to create cohesion.
Finally
Clarity is very important for a child with autism. Be clear in communication; say what you mean, provide clear information based on rules and agreements and take the pieces of the puzzle into account. When you give an answer to a child with autism, try to go through all the puzzle pieces in your head and see if your answer answers everything. This clarity gives a child with autism a lot of peace, overview, structure and coherence.