The Rule Book
Well, we found something that seems to be working well for Zane, so we thought we would share it with other parents with Autistic kiddos.
After noticing that he seemed to respond really well to flow chart type rules/consequences (we later learned it is a form of Social Behavior Mapping), we got an old notebook and turned it into a “Rule Book”. We put all of his little flowcharts in it, short social stories, and other “rules” for him. It seems to really help him.
An example: One of the behaviors that was really becoming an issue is his obsession on whether or not Zora was wearing a diaper. It was getting problematic because he was starting to peek under her dresses and such just to make sure it was there. It got really worrisome when he started checking to see if Zach and I were wearing underwear. We made an “underwear rule” that said he had to either ignore it when people weren’t wearing underwear/diapers, to look someplace else, and if it is bothering him, to go to his room or away from the person. He still gets a little anxious, but after a few reminders, the behavior has stopped. Because he is controlling his behavior, Zora isn’t purposly goading him any more either. She will find another button, but this one isn’t as fun any more.
