Cheat Sheet for Driving Heidi
Heidi communicates well if key words/phrases are used. The sentence structure always needs to be very basic, no more words than she uses herself. Make sure you crouch down to her level and if necessary grasp her chin firmly but briefly to gain her attention. Heidi needs one on one communication as she finds it difficult to follow if you address the group in general. Also do not expect Heidi to make a great deal of eye contact as this is very difficult for her, often she will not appear to be listening as you crouch down and talk to her but she is absorbing everything said. Often Heidi will not respond unless words are used in the same order and example of this from my home this morning, we had puzzle pieces all over the floor and I asked Heidi “pick up puzzle” she did not understand and wandered around confused, when I said “pack away puzzle” she picked up the pieces and packed them away. Time to go..... (insert where Heidi is going or what she is doing next eg story, snack, puzzle. Heidi will use this when she wants to do something) Pack away ... (when it is time to pack up / clean up ) Finished .... (when it is time to finish an activity eg finished painting, time for puzzle. Heidi will also use this when she has finished doing an activity or eating, often in conjunction with the sign for finished – thumbs up, waved back and forward) Quiet sitting (when you need her to sit at a table for an activity or snack) Quiet hands (if you need her to keep her hands still and focus on something) What do you want? (if she is trying to get your attention, Heidi will usually respond “I want...” and state item she wants eg “I want playdoh” or “I want blankie”) Why sad? (if Heidi is crying) Where hurt? (if she might be injured, usually she will point or try and stick the injured body part in your mouth for a kiss) Grubs up (meal time/snack time.) Heidi... if I want Heidi to do something specific I put her name at the beginning of the sentence eg Heidi share ball or Heidi quiet sitting. This gives Heidi a chance to absorb that I am addressing her and that she should listen to what follows. Heidi Stop. (if you want Heidi to stop running away / stand still, we are still working on this one) More... (for when you are asking if Heidi wants to do something again, “more song”, “more puzzle”,) Heidi Come (if you want Heidi to follow you somewhere, I usually hold my hand out to her at the same time to reinforce the 'come with me' message) Heidi Choose (if you need her to make a decision, always clearly hold the choices in front of her and try not to offer more than 3 options at any time as she has trouble coping with choice) Try Again – if Heidi makes a mistake we tell her to 'try again' as this has very little negative overtones (children on the autism specturm are often highly sensitive to criticism and the least hint of making a mistake will lead to them avoiding that situation completely). Good Job – when Heidi does something well we follow it up immediately with postive reinforcement “Good Job” and a high five to a give her a visual cue that she has done well.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are visual learners so if you can not communicate something to Heidi using words then often using a picture will get the message through more effectivly. It is best to try and keep the visuals consistent so that Heidi is not confused, if you need visuals made up please talk to Marita (also Marita already has access to a large range of visual symbols for Heidi so often will already have something you can use). Heidi's speech contains many repetative phrases or strange word combinations eg “I never my fambly” when she can't find one of her family members. Words that have more than one meaning or are very similar cause much confusion in Heidi's world and we are working hard on correct labels. Examples – straw and strawberry – Heidi calls straws “strawberry”. Also donut and coconut – donuts are often referred to as 'coconuts'. Also words without a concrete visual symbol to associate them with are difficult, examples of this would be joining words, 'and' 'be' etc. Heidi can get fixated on words that sound good to say and repeat them constantly and in inappropriate situations (at time of writing those words would be 'donkey' and 'underpants'). If she starts doing this it often means she needs some sensory stimulation – usually oral, try giving her a drinking straw to chew on or her chewy necklace. Echolalia is also present and can cause confusion. Heidi often repeats phrases she has heard on television or that her family members use. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolalia
“Echolalia is the repetition of vocalizations made by another person. Echolalia is present in autism, Tourette syndrome, Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, developmental disability, schizophrenia and, occasionally, other forms of psychopathology. When done involuntarily, it is considered a tic. The word "echolalia" is derived from the Greek ἠχώ meaning "echo" or "to repeat",[1] and λαλιά (laliá) meaning "babbling, meaningless talk"[2] (of onomatopoeic origin from the verb λαλείν (laleín) meaning "to talk").”
Instructions - if you are asking Heidi to do something specific then limit the instructions to 2 things at once, she still struggles greatly with following sequential instructions but needs to practice to learn how to follow sequential insturctions. More often than not you will find Heidi will do the last thing you said. Example – Heidi colour in the picture and then cut it out – Heidi will cut out the picture but not cut it out. She will need prompting to do step 1 (colour in the picture) and then do step 2 (cut it out). Children on the Autism Spectrum have a very literal interpreations of words. A great example of this is from Temple Grandin's book “Thinking In Pictures” (pg 17, 2006 edition). The Lord's Prayer was incomprehensible until I broke it down into specific visual images. The power and the glory were represented by a semicircular rainbow and an electrical tower. These childhood visual images are still triggered every time I hear the Lord's Prayer. The words “thy will be done” had no meaning when I was a child, and today the meaning is still vague. Will is a hard concept to visualise. When I think about it, I imagine God throwing a lightning bolt. Another adult with autism wrote that he visualised “Thou art in heaven” as God with an easel above the clouds. “Trespassing” was pictured as black and orange NO TRESPASSING signs. The word “Amen” at the end of the prayer was a mystery: a man at the end made no sense.