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Routines & Schedules For Children With Special Needs

How to set a routine and schedules for children with special needs? How do they help?

It is usually remarked that autistic children struggle with an intolerance to change, which is one of their main issues. However, a daily routine can be a useful tactic for handling uncertainty.

Knowing what to expect every day at particular times may lessen the destructive actions that frequently take place when unforeseen circumstances occur. When adjusting to novel situations, the routine provides a comfortable, secure environment to readily return to. Many autistic kids dislike some tasks but can readily perform others, just like adults. Children can learn through the use of daily schedules that completing unpleasant tasks is a prerequisite before moving on to the desired responsibility.

According to research that has been around for while daily routines are crucial for children with special needs both at home and at school, youngsters who have regular schedules are more likely to sustain good social and emotional well-being as they age.

And they're not just for bettering one's physical and mental wellness . Regular activities can also:

  • Put an end to power struggles

  • Maintain consistency

  • Develops trust between parents and children

Taking on that burden day in and day out is stressful, but as a parent, you have to be C.A.L.M. Visit The Adity Birla Integrated School for detailed information.

Listed below are a few steps that will help you to establish a daily routine-C.A.L.M.

Create.

If you don't create a routine, you can't have one. To begin, make a list of all the tasks you want your child to perform and set up a planned schedule. The routine should be visually engaging and something your child will like.

Alert.

Creating a schedule is one thing and following the same is another. The alert helps us to stay on schedule. Create an alert on your phone that both you and your child may see whenever a task is due to be completed. For time-sensitive circumstances, such as making sure the child sits for 5 min for a given activity.

Like.

Reinforcements can go a long way. Keeping in mind what a child likes will help them to complete the task on a regular basis.

A key component of creating routines, especially early on, is communication. Communicate to the child regarding each day’s routine, and make their point to tasks which they have to accomplish in a day. Praise them for every task they accomplish.

Maintain.

Maintaining the routine will be difficult at the beginning. The longer you will keep the schedule it will be easier to follow. It will help you to establish the expectation setting i.e., what a child is expected to do.

Once the routine is firmly established you can fade out certain elements like an alert for completing the task for 5 min. You can even add more elements depending on the child’s needs.

Monitoring the progress.

Understanding the child’s progress becomes very important, as it helps us to understand if a particular strategy used for the child is working or not.

The monitoring of progress can be done in the following manner.

Completion of Activity

Completion of Routine

Problem Behaviour

Prompt

  • Completion of the activity or entire routine.

  • Occurrence of any problem behavior.

  • Amount of prompt required.

Along with this, learn the teaching hack for children with special education needs .

Use of visual supports in the schedule.

It is crucial to know that a child can understand the concept in order to keep them motivated to complete the activity. Children are better able to comprehend the work when there are visual cues. Using visual schedules can help develop daily routines for young children who are unable to read as well as older children who may be more visual learners.

To conclude, making events more predictable enables autistic children to gain stronger anxiety management skills. When things are uncertain in the future, it provides them with overall security.

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Also read -

How therapy can help children with autism?

Unique Academic Challenges & Solutions for Special Needs Students.

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