Professionals sometimes talk about what is "usual". The one thing I know for sure Billy Ray doesn't do much that is usual. He needs indvidualized approaches. This page will be used to give ideas of things we have adapted. The adaptation for my son may not be the answer for your child. Hopefully it will demonstrate the process of adapting and help you adapt your own methods for your child. My book will have checklists and forms that you use to experiment with your child's reactions to certain stimuli to find patterns of what works best for your child.
The important thing for your family is what works for your child not what works for someone else's children. Think only about how your child response to various things.
Adapting for Summer Vacation Anxieties
One the things Billy Ray had done in a prior school district was greeting his principal or vice principal everyday. He loved that. It used his highly social nature (before the seizures brought out more Autistic like symptoms at 14) and made him feel great about himself.
After we moved to another school district where things were not working as well I suggested that he be allowed to form a relationship with his new principal. It took a while to get that in place but we did eventually. Even though he now had Autistic like symptoms he could still form some relationships. I wanted to try to see if we could get back some of his social skills and the good feeling he got from that type of relationship. The relationship between Billy Ray and his principal, Dale Koger, was a great one and he looked forward to visiting Mr. Koger. They had a routine of looking at pictures, chatting and Mr. Koger always gave him a piece of candy.
The problem came when summer came. I knew that not being able to see Mr. Koger three times a week for the summer would be very upsetting to Billy Ray, perhaps bringing out aggression all summer. I suggested that if Billy Ray could do something for Mr. Koger while he was away it would maintain that sense of connection. It was worked out that Billy Ray and his caregiver would go to the school whether or not Mr. Koger was there. A bucket was hidden in the trees so that Billy Ray could get to it. He would get water in the bucket and water a tree just outside Mr. Koger's window. He was connecting to Mr. Koger even when he couldn't see him. This eased a great deal of the anxiety we might have otherwise dealt with all summer.
Adapting can be done in every activity to use what works for your child and you. It can be as simple as the soap dispenser you use or as involved as the example below about summer vacation anxieties when your child misses school personnel. I will give these two examples. Check back for more as I work on this page.
Soap Dispenser That Works for Billy Ray
Billy Ray has a problem with runny liquid soap but he doesn't do well with bar soap either. I was delighted when I found the new foam soap in disposal dispensers in the store. Then his doctor prescribed a special soap to contend with infection problems Billy Ray experiences. That soap comes in gallons and is very runny. If you put it on the washcloth is runs off. It runs off his hands before he can rub them together. I looked at the dispenser from the foam soap. It appears that the soap was not foam until it went through the dispenser. I tried filling an empty soap bottle with the prescription soap. Sure enough the foam is created because the dispenser puts air or something in the soap to make it foam. We use Billy Ray's special soap in those emptied soap dispensers and it works wonderfully. You have to use more at one time but it doesn't run off his washcloth or off his hands.
