Routines can be the backbone of day-to-day life for anyone and particularly true for children with autism. Creating a consistent daily schedule is essential for children with ASD to thrive and cope in any environment.
Many children have difficulty when faced with new routines or frequent changes of routine. Routines can help your child adapt and transition to even the slightest change. What may seem natural to a typically-developing child may present an array of challenges for a child with autism. These may include:
- Visiting a new place, whether a park, store, or doctor
- Transitioning between activities or tasks
- Tasks out of order, including a different mealtime
- Trying new foods
- Visitors, whether planned or not
- Leaving your house
- Cancelling an activity, even if due to illness
Implementing ABA strategies will help your daily routines tremendously. Positive reinforcements will provide priceless motivation as you begin to introduce your household’s daily routines. It can be as simple as rewarding your child’s behaviors or completions of tasks with a sticker chart.
Reinforcing your child’s routines can help them reduce their reliance on them. Through proper training by highly-skilled professionals, you and your family can learn how to create effective routines while incorporating individualized ABA strategies across all their natural environments.
