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If your child is diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), chances are, they probably have some issues in the area of communication and socialization. Difficulties in communication can range from a child being not verbal to having high vocabulary while displaying repetitive speech and an inability to read social cues. Once your child receives an ASD diagnosis, seeking professional help is the first step towards helping your child reach their full potential. Early diagnosis and early intervention services show promising results to help your child live a fulfilling life. ABA therapy has shown empirical evidence to increase socialization skills, improve communication skills, build adaptive skills, decrease problem behaviors, and increase overall confidence. Below are some ABA techniques that parents can implement to help their child increase socialization and communication. Finding a System of Communication Each child with ASD has a different communication abilities; some children communicate with verbal language or word approximations; others are not verbal and may need professional help to develop a system of communication, such as gestures, using pictures, or/and a communication device. If your child is receiving ABA therapy or/and speech therapy, work together with the your child’s clinician to figure out what is the best way for your child to communicate at this point in time. If your child does not have verbal language in their repertoire, that does not mean that they won’t be verbal in the future. Fostering current abilities will help your child get to the next level of communication. If your child is displaying problem behaviors, they might be communicating wants and needs in an inappropriate way due to communication barriers. Teaching your child a more appropriate way to communicate, while not rewarding with preferred items during problem behavior, decreases the problem behavior and increases appropriate communication. Set Up Opportunities for Communication   Once you and your child’s clinician found the best communication system, start setting up opportunities for your child practice expressing wants and needs in an appropriate way by using preferred toys, activities, and/or food items. For example, if your child likes to pop bubbles, have your child request “bubbles” every couple of minutes. If you are playing with blocks, have your child request the color/shape of block that s/he wants. If your child wants a particular item, put it within your child’s view, but out of reach, so your child can request it. You can even set up opportunities during snack time. Give your child a little bit of food item at a time and have him/her request more. If your child doesn’t communicate within 5 seconds, prompt them to use their current communication method. Prompts are signals to help a person complete a task. You always want to fade your prompts to avoid your child becoming prompt depended. Talk to your child’s clinician about the best prompt sequence and a prompt fading program for your child. Do not provide your child with preferred items during a problem behavior. It is important to reward only appropriate communication. When your child requests items independently, provide a lots of praise and preferred item within 2 seconds. If the item is not available, let your child know when it will be available, and/or if there is alternative/ replacement item. Building Language During Playtime A good way to help your child build receptive and expressive vocabulary is to label items and actions during play. For example, while playing with blocks, saying “red block goes on top”. When playing with cars, saying “car goes zoom”. The repetitive statements associated with items will help your child increase vocabulary, especially during play. Any time your child labels an item or receptively identifies the item by pointing, provide a lot of verbal praise and encouragement. Make sure this activity is rewarding and fun. It is important for your child to associate play and the use of communication with good things. If your child is verbal and has the ability to label items and answer questions, ask your child various questions regarding toys such as, “what color is the truck?” “What color is this block?” If your child enjoys looking at books or reading book, have your child describe to you what they see in pictures or/and tell you what the story was about. This can also be an opportunity for learning various emotions by labeling the feelings of each character. Provide lots of verbal praise and rewards during this activity. References: Sunberg, M.L., Partington, J.M. (2013). Teaching Language to Children with Autism or Other Developmental Disabilities (Version 3). Pleasant Hill, CA: Behavior Analysts.  

If you have a child with Autism, most likely, you have experienced tantrum behavior. Most children on the spectrum have difficulty communicating wants and needs; tantrum behavior is a form of communication. They are basically saying ” I don’t like this” or “I want ….”. Below are some ways to decrease the likelihood of a tantrum occurs. Keep Track of Your Child’s Triggers Keep track of what happens before and after your child has a tantrum. Do they have a tantrum when they are asked to do something they don’t like to do? Do they have a tantrum to gain access to a toy or an activity? Are transitions a problem? Are there sensory issues such as loud noises or bright lights? Is the child trying to get your attention? Knowing the triggers can help prevent and/or minimize the likelihood a tantrum occurring. Knowing triggers can also help teach children skills such as asking for a break when frustrated, asking for a weighted blanket, requesting food, taking deep breaths, and appropriately asking for attention. Routine Most kids on the spectrum like to have a routine throughout the day. A common trigger might be an unexpected schedule change in a common routine or a sudden interruption in an activity. One way to help with transitions is to create a visual schedule. Sit down with your child and create a schedule with them at the start of the day. If there is a schedule change, let your child know ahead of time. If there is a transition from a fun activity to a less favorable activity, give your child at least a 5-minute warning. Set a timer to help with the transition. Use a ” First….Then…” statement. For example: “First we will eat breakfast, then watch YouTube.” Encourage Communication As previously mentioned, children on the spectrum have difficulty communicating wants and needs. Set up opportunities for your child to communicate when they are calm such as asking for food, toys, play, attention, taking a break, etc… If your child practices communicating when they are calm, they are more likely to communicate wants and needs when frustrated. During a tantrum, remind your child to use their known system of communication. Address Sensory Issues Your child may have sensitivity to noise, bright lights, textures, and food. If you are aware of any sensory issues, plan a way to address them ahead of time. For example, if your child is sensitive to noise and you know that you will be somewhere loud, bring noise-canceling headphones with you. Remind your child ahead of time that they can request a break from the environment or wear noise-canceling headphones. If you are going to a restaurant and your child is sensitive to food textures, take a look at the menu ahead of time to assure the restaurant can accommodate or bring your child’s favorite food with you. Social Stories Social stories are learning tools for kids with autism that explain communication, socialization, safety skills, and coping skills. If you noticed that your child has a tantrum surrounding certain situations, that might appear confusing, a social story might help them understand what is happening. Social stories also help teach skills. This website has a collection of free social stories: https://www.abaresources.com/social-stories/ What to Do During a Tantrum When your child has a tantrum, the best thing you can do is stay calm. Do not scream or show frustration. Have a calm and neutral face and a calm tone of voice. Make sure that you do not give your child access to rewarding items or attention. This will help your child understand that tantrum does not equal communicating wants and needs or gives them the attention that they crave. Remind your child of coping skills or/ and ways to communicate. For example, if your child needs a break prompt them to ” say break”, provide you a card that says break, or sign for a break. Remind them to take a deep breath or put their noise-canceling headphones on. Implement planned ignoring: this means that you are ignoring the behavior and not your child. Do not talk to your child about the tantrum. Just remind them in a calm way what you are doing, what they are supposed to do, etc… Wait until your child calms down. Once your child is calm, praise them. For example, “thank you so much for calming down”. If your child made a mess, have them clean it up. If you were in the middle of a task, have your child finish at least a portion of it. Provide praise for cleaning up or finishing the task. Also, provide lots of praise for appropriate communication. If your child has severe or/and frequent tantrum behaviors, seek help from Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental- health diagnoses in the United States. Forty million adults experience some form of anxiety every year. It is our prehistoric lizard brain, that is giving us a false sense of danger. Furthermore, anxiety is affected by a variety of factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events/environment. The good news is anxiety is highly manageable. With treatment and lifestyle changes, relief is possible. Below are some ways to help manage the symptoms of anxiety. Relaxing Self-Care   If you are experiencing anxiety symptoms, exam your self-care routine. Self-care has been a buzzword for a couple of years now for good reason. We are so busy with work and family life, that we put our needs last, causing burnout and other mental and physical health issues. In this busy world, taking time out to care for yourself will help be more centered and feel more energized to take on your day. Self-care looks different for everybody. For some people, self-care might be vegging out and watching reality shows and for others, it might be working out. Take time each day to do what relaxes you. For me, it is reading, hiking, painting, cardio, yoga, and watching light-hearted shows on Netflix. Each night, after a long day, my husband and I curl up on the sofa and watch our shows or movies. This is the self-care routine that we do together. Get in Touch With Your Feelings   Feelings of anxiety can occur when we are suppressing our feelings and are not aware what is the root of the problem. Writing in our journal or talking to a trusted friend can help us process a situation or a past event that has been bothering us. Sometimes anxiety is our body’s way of telling us that we are exhausted, burned out, or we are faced with a situation that we are not sure how to handle. Taking a day off from work and rest, reflect on your current situation, or do something that makes your heart happy might be just what the doctor ordered. Practicing Deep Breathing Our breath is the path to our serenity. The correct way to breathe is to have our breath slowly reach our stomach and slowly exhale out. However, when we get stressed out, our breath often reaches down to our chest. This causes us to build up carbon dioxide in our body, which can cause panic attacks and anxious feelings. Practice taking 10 deep breaths daily will help you breathe correctly during stressful situations. Meditation and Yoga   Studies show that yoga and meditation help decrease anxiety symptoms by producing serotonin levels to manage anxiety and depression symptoms. Meditation and yoga are not all the same. There is power yoga, light yoga, aerial yoga, hatha yoga, and yoga-pilates fusion. Furthermore, there are different times of meditation that include mindfulness, transcendental meditation, mantra meditation, and more. Explore various forms of yoga and meditation to see which one is right for you Exercise It is no secret that exercising has a lot of health benefits such as improving heart health, increasing energy, losing weight, and building muscle. Did you know that exercise can have the same effect as an antidepressant? It releases feel-good chemicals such as endorphins and serotonin. Exercise does not have to be strenuous. It can be taking a walk, dancing around the house and singing, or going for a swim. Always check with your doctor before starting any kind of exercise program. Examine Your Diet Past studies have shown that processed foods, foods high in sugar, and fried foods can cause or increase anxiety. Eating rich greens and whole grains can increase serotonin levels, which help ease anxiety. Also, eating often and drinking plenty of water can decrease the likelihood of nervousness due to a drop in blood sugar. Keep track of any food sensitives you may have such as gluten, dairy, or soy. An allergic reaction can cause symptoms of anxiety. Talk to a Therapist The first step you may want to take if you are experiencing anxiety is to talk to a licensed therapist. A therapist will help you process your emotions, help you identify triggers, and build some good coping skills to help manage anxiety. Just like going to a doctor if we break a leg, going to a therapist if we are experiencing uncomfortable emotions, experienced trauma, or/and are dealing with stressors. A therapist will help you find your zen and help you live a more fulfilling life.