Children with Autism, Aspergers and Choice.

It's not often when it comes to children with autism spectrum disorders do we think about giving them lots of choices.  While this is true that to many choices can be overwhelming for many children with autism or Asperger's, so choices can be good to help them succeed in life.
Let me explain, of course your going to give your child with autism the choice of what snack they want.  Maybe what shirt they want to wear.  Chances are with each of these choices you are placing limits though.  When you ask them what they want for a snack, you don't mean go pour through the pantry and decide.  You mean between a pudding cup, a banana, and crackers.  When you ask them what shirt they want to wear you mean which of these two, and so on.  Putting limits on these choices helps the child with autism to not get overwhelmed in the decision making process.  This decision making process aids in their cognitive development while not over stimulating them and causing agitation and over stimulation.  Its a win-win when limits are placed on choice.
I have a tip I would like to share with you that can work with some children with autism, or Asperger's, or any child on the planet for that matter.  It is a tip I picked up in my behavioral training along the way somewhere.  If your child with ASD can handle minor variations in their schedule. You may start giving them this choice when it come time to end preferred activity time.  Simply tell them its time to move on to the next activity, but since they have been so good, they can choose to stop now or in five minutes.  Strikingly many times I have observed the children make the decision to stop right then, contrary to what I expected.  If they choose five minutes say "OK" then set a timer.  Remind them that they gave you their word and that good boys and girls keep their word then disappear til the timer runs out.  You would not believe how well this works for all children.  Obviously if your child with autism is dependent on strict routine then this will not work for you.  This choice will empower your child to make the right decision.  When you praise them after they keep their word, it builds intrinsic value as to why they should keep their word.  It is just a positive experience all the way around.
Once again just ideas to try.

Children with Autism and the Power Of Praise.

Praise is a powerful tool when trying to motivate your child with autism.  Actually this will work with a child of any intellectual ability.  Attention is a huge motivating factor in any child's life.  This attention can be negative or positive.  If they don't get positive attention then they will get negative attention.  Sometimes negative attention is even more powerful than positive.  One way you as a parent can combat this is through Positive Proactive Praise (PPP).  To break this down into the simplest terms this means no matter what the child is doing they are doing something right and you can let them know that.  It would be great if all things you wanted your child with autism to do had internal motivating factors to it.  That is just simply unreasonable.  So you need to create an atmosphere where the autistic child will crave the positive attention and therefore complete the task you are asking.

Let me explain how PPP can be used effectively.  In the begging when you are first trying out this method, look for the smallest thing to praise the child for.  If you are asking them to transition from one task to another and they are not complying.  Then you need to look for something that they are doing right, then follow it with a prompt.  It would sound like this, "Your doing a good job sitting quietly and not interuppting me while I'm speaking.  Now lets move on to doing your homework".  For every negative there should be a positive.  Remember no matter what they are doing they are doing something right.  Another situation where PPP might work is if you are working on something like social skills.  If you are working on hand shakes and they simply touch your hand.  You should celebrate this then push to move just a little further like this. "That was awesome how you just touched my hand with one finger.  Can we try it again with two fingers?".  Always celebrate the small victories.  The last example I have is a tough one so you can try this or not.  This takes a strong will and determination, but eventually it will lead to good results.  PPP can also be used in some crisis situations.  If your autistic child is becoming destructive towards objects, or just over stimulated and out of control.  You can use PPP to help them calm.  You must use a calm voice and try really hard to find the good.  If they are breaking things, then at least they are not putting holes in the wall.  If they are not screaming then they may be listening.  Like I said using PPP in this situation is not for the faint of heart.

Eventually children with autism will begin to crave this positive attention and do what you want them to do.  You can eventually begin to back off on the praise to where it is sporadic.  This will keep them seeking the praise and doing what is asked of you.  For more detailed information on all things autism related, I highly suggest you get the e-book The Essential Guide to Autism.  It has more information in it than I could hope to provide here.