(One minute read)
What is the #1 antidote to resistance and behavioral problems in children with special needs?
Parents of children with special needs know better than anyone else that typical and simple tasks that happen every single day and should take no more than a few minutes to complete, can take hours and hours, and can become a major fight and hassle. For example, getting dressed in the morning, brushing teeth, going to school, doing homework, and cleaning up can become major sources of resistance and behavioral problems.
What is the antidote to these challenges? To develop routines and habits. In other words, it should become so ingrained in the child to do these expectations, that they don’t even think about it.
The question is, how do you develop good routines and habits?
Here are three simple, yet powerful, ideas: 1. Create visual schedules that delineate exactly what the expectations are for different parts of the day. 2. Set up a reward system to make it enticing to follow the visual schedules. 3. Be super consistent and expect it to take about three to four weeks until the positive habits take hold. In other words, be patient with yourself and your child. And don’t give up too soon
Have a wonderful and successful week!