Having fun is Important.

When a child is new to intervention, the first thing we do is play with them.

We follow them around the school for 2 weeks and observe what they like, chase them around, hug them, kiss them, tickle them and do things they like with them. This is called relationship building.

Relationship building is a very important aspect to treatment. I can't stress this enough.

Here are some ways to help relationship building.

1. Write down the 5 top favorite activity that your child prefers.

2. Choose a time of day where you can play with your child 1:1 without any distractions.

3. Bring out all the fun activities that you want to do with your child and play with him/her.

4. If your child seems more engrossed in the activity, you can take away the activity, expect eye contact and when he/she give you eye contact give him/her the tangible reward paired with lots of tickles and social praise  What you are doing here is, teaching social consequences by pairing tangible rewards. He/she is learning to appropriately interact with you and not just the item that they like.

5. It is important to pair social interactions. Even if your child's favorite activity is the TV, you can feel free to pause the tv or turn it off , wait for your child to look at you and then give him/her access to the TV once eye contact is given.

6. What if he/she does not look? What can you do? You can use your hands, gently guide his/her head to you and leave your hands there until he/she gives you eye contact. Immediately deliver the tangible reward (e.g., tv, candy, etc.) and pair that with tickles and lots of hugs.

The social component is so important. Many parents say that their children diagnosed with autism don't prefer hugs or tickles. And this may be true. Autism is diagnosed based on social deficits. Therefore, pairing social consequences with those preferred activities, will teach your child to love social consequences. In return, you will be signal for reinforcement (availability for fun stuff) and successfully built a meaningful relationship with your child.

The last component of relationship building  is this: HAVE LOADS OF FUN ! BE A CHILD AGAIN! ENJOY YOUR CHILD'S COMPANY ! :)