Being Proactive: Preparing for New Situations

One thing that really helps all young children, especially those with autism, is knowing what to expect in a new situation. Preparing a child with autism ahead of time for what to expect and what they can do in a new situation makes everyone more comfortable. Children on the autism spectrum, and many other types of children also, experience high levels of anxiety when they are in new places or new situations that confuse or disorient them. Throw in the delayed language skills, and it is also difficult if not impossible for them to ask questions, describe their fears or to be calmed by a verbal explanation from a trusted adult.

So what can be done to prepare them? We had a lot of success last summer with using a story book sort of format to prepare Maya for new situations. Often, stories like this that are specifically designed for kids on the autism spectrum are called social stories. Visuals are essential to this, and google images is a valuable resource for finding almost any kind of image. This is a book I made for Maya last summer to get her ready for the airplane trip back to Maryland. It only took a few minutes with google images. I was even able to quickly find pictures of actual books, toys and food we have, in addition to a Southwest airplane and other very specific things. I love google images!! Another thing to keep in mind when making one if these, is to think of all of the steps, including waiting, security, baggage claim, etc. A year ago last summer, I learned that the hard way...I told Maya as we were getting off the plane we were going to see Grandma, but actually we had to go to baggage claim first, which included about 800 strangers, all kinds of noise and a 20 minute wait (all about 3 hours after her normal bedtime), which triggered the only meltdown we had on that travel day. This book worked like a charm and Maya would refer to it before the trip, during the trip to see what was next and after the trip to look at what we did. My mom actually made her one for the trip down to North Carolina the following week and that worked very well too. I'm sure this sort of thing would be effective for any toddler or preschooler, especially the ones who don't like their routines interrupted. Click here to see the book, Our Airplane Trip. It shows up on a website called scribd, which is the only way I know how to post a pdf so far...