Social adaptation of children with autism spectrum disorder
For children with autism, the ability to adapt to a new environment and interact with other people is a difficult task, so it is important to teach them these skills from an early age - said Ivanna Yatsiv, a behavioral correction specialist at the Mental Help 365 charity foundation.
One of her suggestions is to create a structured schedule for the child. This will help create a more predictable environment, reduce anxiety and stress, and make it easier to learn new skills.
It is also important to help the child understand the behavior and emotions of other people. This can be done by talking about different emotions with demonstrations using pictures, focusing on cause and effect chains during reading fairy tales, or watching cartoons, and systematically discussing the child’s experience. This will help the child better understand social situations and learn how to react correctly to them.
Finally,it is important to teach the child various everyday skills. For example, how to use the bathroom independently, cook, use public transport, or shop in a store. Everyday skills should correspond to the child’s age and level of functionality, it is best to do this in a playful way and using the method of social stories.
Find out more useful information on the social networks of the charitable organization Mental Help 365:
facebook.com/mentalhelp365
