Messing with routine

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Registered: 02-24-2004
Messing with routine
5
Tue, 08-09-2005 - 2:17pm

Well, this was really funny, and I couldn't stop laughing....so I thought I'd share!

Lastnight, after dinner, I sat down with Nathan to have him read to me. I also have his words that we go over too (words on flashcards that was given by kindergarten teacher). Anyway, he knows the words....in order. So, I decided to mix them up. NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!! He whined, screamed, he did NOT like that!!! He kept saying that he didn't know the words like that, it's not right! Put them back, put them back!!! That's not right!!!! He did ok last year when I did this, but getting back in the "school" routine is a bit much....APPARENTLY!!!

But then, he read a few words, did really good. And then started asking for the word "like". This word was always at the beginning...the first word of the stack. "where's like? where is it? where's like??" Huge panic!! I couldn't help but laugh. He needed, desperately, to know where this word was!!!! It's so amazing how routine and obsessive he can be some days!! Sometimes change is ok for him. But then the littliest thing can send him completely off!!!! It was the last word.....and when we got to it....he says, "look". WRONG!!! He had forgotten how to read the word!!!!! He knows this word, but it wasn't in PROPER ORDER!!!

Michelle

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Registered: 10-24-2003
Tue, 08-09-2005 - 3:23pm

Jake used to do this with the additional flash cards (1+1, 1+2, 1+3).

Pat

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. --

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 08-10-2005 - 1:14am

Yeah, I find I have to be on the constant look out not to establish new routines that will be a problem, but since it already is I had an idea. How about tomorrow, you keep them out of order (oops I forgot to put them back) and have him help you find the right words to put them back. That way he is still reading them out of order so he is actually reading but he doesn't realize this. Then you can slowly work on switching the routine up nightly until he doesn't notice that the routine is gone. Perhaps after the first night he can find his favorite words or something similar.

Renee

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Registered: 03-31-2003
Wed, 08-10-2005 - 3:31am

Oh, yes, I know what you mean about routines! Ds was born reading, so that was never an issue, but certain routines just have to be done just so. Like, during the school year, he has to get ready by following a certain routine, and he won't budge from it even if that very routine is making him late. Like, if he's waiting for the toast to pop up, he won't put on his shoes, because he can only put them on AFTER he has eaten. We can nag, threaten, plead, explain, you name it. He won't budge. Same thing at bedtime.

Oh, and the whole ROUTINE thing is a big reason why it's so hard to change my boys' eating habits, which I posted about. Certain foods are expected, and others are not. At 8 o'clock, David gets his medicine, ground up with a syrup made of cherry Kool-Aid powder in a 30 mg plastic cup, and then a few cookies or a bit of candy. The cookies/candy started because the medicine tasted so bad we thought he could use some incentive to take it without stalling or making a giant fuss. Now, it's such a part of our nightly routine, that without it he can't move on to the rest of the bedtime ritual. Small changes are so hard for him to handle. (And Nathan, too, although he's still considered NT.)

Evelyn

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Registered: 02-24-2004
Wed, 08-10-2005 - 11:54am

Renee...I think I will try it as "game" tonight and see how that works. Thanks.

Evelyn....my Nathan's eating habits are also because of routine. If he's used to eating a particular food at a certain mealtime, he sticks to it. He has gotten more flexible in the last year though. And your example about the toast thing....Nathan's like that too (although he doesn't eat toast!) At night time, after we have put Nate to bed, he will lie in bed and yell out to me what we FORGOT to do. Sometimes he can be flexible but sometimes it's too hard for him. I think it just depends on whether or not he's having a hard day!

Michelle

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Registered: 12-24-2004
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 7:56pm

Michelle,

One of the techniques I like in RDI is that they encourage you to constantly challenge your child's rigidity with something called, "productive uncertainty." You are told to constantly give your child small changes to cope with and make the changes gamelike. Here are some examples:

1) Taking different routes to school if you walk.
2) Switching the silverware around on the table for a meal (one family I know even put their plates upsidedown for an entire meal - - made a huge mess, but everyone had fun).
3) Pretending everyone's name in the family is "Bob" just for fun.
4) Putting on clothes the wrong way just for fun.
5) Presenting familiar things in a different order.
6) Doing routines differently (e.g., brushing teeth in a different bathroom each night)

You get the general idea. Anyway, this philosophy really works for most ASD kids to make them more flexible in general.

Suzi