05 December 2007

Break the Monotony

Caregiver Support Daily Living Skills Quality of Life Social Skills

“I feel like all I’ve done for ten years is get my son fed, bathed, dressed, and toileted,” commented a mother of a youngster with autism who needs assistance with nearly all daily living tasks. Another parent commented that it seemed like caring for her daughter was an endless cycle. For a variety of reasons, some individuals with autism need continual supervision and assistance with even basic needs. Their family members, teachers, and other caregivers are always looking for ways to enrich lives and to break the monotony of the repetitive daily routine.

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Quality of Life, Daily Living Skills, Caregiver Support, Social Skills
Especially when a family member or student with autism has significant issues that hinder daily functioning, we tend to focus intently on logistics of meeting their basic needs. The trick to maintaining quality of life for these folks and people around them is to take purposeful steps every day to make personal connections and to inject joy into even the most routine tasks.

Unless they are super-human, teachers and family members will not be able to fill every minute of the day with exciting, enriching activities, so avoid trying to reach unrealistic goals. Instead, make a point of doing something for just a minute or two each hour that helps you make a one-to-one connection with your family member or student with autism. You can read a cartoon strip together or order a new song from iTunes. You can crunch a handful of pretzels or sip a fruit smoothie. You can look at pictures of past family events or classroom activities. You can work side by side to feed the dog or get the mail. You can swing together or take some cookies to an elderly neighbor. The nature of these mini-moments will, of course, depend on the interests and functioning level of each individual with autism.

You can do more involved activities, of course, but these little mini-moments every single hour can strengthen the connection with our friends with autism. The goal is to purposefully and systematically take time from the mundane routine at least once an hour to enjoy an brief activity or work on a quick project together.

Two points to keep in mind when you are planning your daily quality moments are as follows. (1) In some cases, your friend with autism will not show any interest in the activities and will not seem to make any connection. My experiences over the past 30 years have proven to me that nearly every single person eventually responds. I encourage you to keep up the routine. It may take years, but, over time, you will see that your effort makes a real difference. (2) Most individuals with autism, even those who seem non-responsive, are more likely to participate in activities if they are actively involved. So give your friend choices when possible. For example, they can decide whether to feed the dog or the cat first. If they are non-verbal, just hold the dog bowl and the cat bowl in front of them, and wait patiently until they pick one.

We welcome your ideas about quality moments that can help enrich the lives of individuals with autism and the folks around them. Just send a message to talk@FAQautism.com

Note to FAQautism.com listeners and readers: I am Cathy Knoll, a board certified music therapist and long-time friend of many folks with autism. At FAQautism.com we are committed to providing free, practical, everyday tips for making life better for people with autism. You can click on a button to send me an email with your thoughts or challenging situations or innovative solutions. Check out our website for a wealth of ideas and a glimpse into the world of autism. www.FAQautism.com

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