basically, she talks about why autitsics need down time in their day, away from social interaction and away from constant orders of being told what to do. she talks about aba and how that pretty much says to autistics that since you are not normal, you need to be controlled much like a dog to do exactly what others say.
there was a disturbing article she posted from a taca parent that you shouldn't give autistics any "down time", aka non theapy time, as you are failing to grow your child otherwise.
In planning your daily, weekly schedule for your child with Autism-Spectrum Disorder (ASD), you should make a plan to fill up the "dead-time" in your child's day.
Try an experiment for ONE DAY. Go through the entire "regular day" with your ASD child and actually count the number of minutes that your child is in "dead time". The result may surprise you.
What is "Dead-Time"?
1. Dead time is time OUTSIDE the ABA therapy sessions.
2. Dead time is sitting in a car going from one place to another. Typical children will look around, look out the window, comment on what’s seen, or just chat. Your ASD child will just sit, absorbing nothing of value - Your ASD child is in "dead-time".
3. Dead time is waiting in any lineup, supermarket, room, lobby, hallway, or classroom, as people around the child are either waiting for something or someone, or engaged in busy activity or conversation. Your typical child is usually having at least some fun (or making their own fun by getting into trouble), absorbing the new elements of a different environment. Your ASD child is in "dead-time".
4. Dead time also can be that late afternoon time (4:00 - 6:00 pm), when everyone is coming home from school/work, snack-time is on, then supper is getting prepared, maybe the house is getting tidied up a bit. Everyone is a little tired and getting ready for the last part of the day. Your ASD child just finished a therapy session, but no one is "on" him or her on a one-to-one basis. Your ASD child is in "dead-time".
5. Dead time is time that your child spends doing nothing while in transit from one place to another, waiting for something else to happen, or waiting for someone to arrive or to go someplace. Whether or not there are other family members around, there is no one focused on that child -- spending one-on-one interaction specifically and exclusively with that child. There is nothing in the child's hands on which to focus his attention and learning, even if only for a few moments.
ALL dead time is valuable time that should be filled with SOMETHING. ...
How can you fill the "Dead Time" with productive learning for your ASD Child?
1) Make every moment count. Everywhere you go, carry learning items and put those items in your child's hand. Talk or sing about them. Ask questions and if no answer (not able to), then prompt answers or give the answers yourself. If you are really busy, just tell your child to hold on to it, stand/sit down on the floor and look at it.
2) Take a PLAY BOX (toys/books/flash cards, etc.) everywhere - Put one in the car, for sure, but also take several regularly rotated items and put them in your purse or a special bag. The child will see the bag and possibly become familiar enough with it to seek out new items from you while waiting somewhere. This is fun for everyone. In driving long distances, it is hard for most children to be patient and "wait". Driving short distances is sometimes tough, too, and usually there are a LOT of these in a typical family's week. Put a toy or book or single flash card in your child's hands. Make sure that it is stuff that can easily require interaction from you but not be too distracting while you are driving.
3) Frequently change what is in the child's hands. Then s/he can't just get fixated on the item and/or totally bored. When driving and coming to a stop sign, take the item away and put another one in his/her hands.
4) Talk - talk - talk -- about what is in his hands, so there is always some form of communication going, no matter how basic or advanced your ABA Program is at any given moment in time.. While you are driving, talk about the item in his/her hands. Try to elicit a response - ask questions, etc. Ask questions and model the answers/statements so that the child practices language EVERYWHERE at every opportunity. Rotate the toys he/she has at every opportunity. At a stop sign, take that one away and put another one in his/her hands. Then talk about the new item. If there are other children in the car, get them involved in the discussion as well. If there are songs related to the item, sing them all together. Do not put the radio on and say nothing ANYMORE. ...
5) Get verbal interaction going with everyone in the car-- get him to repeat words, answer questions, ask him to point to body parts (or make a game with everyone in the car, someone in a line-up, etc. so that s/he can see and copy -- "OK everybody -- touch your nose, etc.)
6) ... Ask your ASD child "Look at that little girl - what color is her coat", etc. Or get them both to look at something and tell you what it is. This is peer interaction. ...
7) For those busy family times where no one is "on" your ASD child - Admit it. You can't do it, so get someone else on the job. If you have older siblings, assign a rotational 10 minute toy/ play task or some gross motor games (hopping, jumping, tossing). ...
i think that this view says that since we don't communicate and interact with the envoriment in the nt way (always using speech as your only form of communcation, saying things the nt way to get attention and talking, etc), we must be defiective and to correct that, we must be in stiumiaton of soical commuication every waking moment, and must talk, or otherwise we'll "escape to our own world" where they think we are doing nothing, but in fact, we are thinking about stuff (my parents knew this all the time when i went hours sometimes without saying a word). i guess this means we need to be stiumlated to become nt otherwise we'll become lost or something.
for example, in the car, i would look out the window and think things to myself, about random stuff, sometimes i would say something, sometimes, i just don't, and there's no problem there. just because you don't say something doesn't mean you're not in the real world or interacting with it. speech isn't the only way to communcate. have these people heard of message boards, im'ing, text messages? those aren't speech based, but i guess nt socitey wants to disgourage those as pure and only talking is legit.
ugh...this is the kind of thing that gets me annoyed. just because i talk doesn't mean i'm there? i'm listening, and i have very good hearing, so if you say something rude, i will likely do something about it.
), and I love rocking! Both have always helped me to think and dream, as Andy Kennett mentions. And I LOVE quiet time alone, couldn't do without it. Being forced to stay socially engaged all the time would feel to me like being forced to stay awake indefinitely, with similar effects upon my sanity. If the author of the above ABA article is reading this thread, PLEASE rethink this siege mentality you think you need to bring to your work with autistic children. How long could YOU endure being talked at every waking moment and never being allowed a private moment to think?!