"SOCIAL SKILLS"

I believe in having your child with autism to be around peers their own age to help with their social skills. Children learn from watching and imitating others around their social environments.

I have seen many improvements with my own son diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

He is in early childhood class, 4k. 2 days a week for 8 hours he is involved with normal childhood activities within his class and peers his own age. Monday and Wednesday are his classes. On Fridays he is involved in a more special education class with other students of learning disabilities.

On Fridays he has one on one therapy with a Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Behavioral Therapist, Psychologist, his teacher and a Musical Therapist. He has developed to socialize with other students a lot better than he did over the past school year.

2 days a week we have our children in childcare for 5 hours. Tuesdays and Thursdays. The daycare consists of the mothers own 4 children. They are aged from 7 down to 3. There are also several more boys and girls throughout the day that my son has social interaction with.

Watching these kids eat, play and get dressed has helped my son with autism learn abilities he should be doing in his own age group. Instead of playing off in the corner by himself, he has learned to interact more with these children.

Taking my son to the playground has had positive effects on his social skills. Children want to play tag with him but he didn't understand what to do. He was off in his own world putting wood chips down the slide. Either way, getting him around other kids still made him happy.

We choose to have as much social interaction with my sons autism. This is a most definite plus in learning what children do to socialize with one another. Set up play dates with other families. Take your child to the zoo and playground. Get them away from their autistic traits. Get them into the world and be a part of life. "The worst thing a parent can do is do nothing." Quoted by Temple Grandon.