Teaching adaptive behavior is one of the areas that is often overlooked for individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD).  These skills are important if our children are going to experience success without our daily assistance.  Of course, every child is different. Often it is not possible to master these skills by the end of high school.  However, most of our children can improve and become more independent if we consciously work on skills in these areas.

1.Wake up to an alarm clock. 

It is common for parents to wake their children for school.  However, as your child grows older it’s a good idea to teach him to wake up to an alarm clock.  You may have to experiment with buzzers, music, and various degrees of volume. Sometimes, for individuals who are particularly hard to wake, you may need to have him/her walk across the room to turn off the alarm clock.  Eventually, this skill would include having the child learn to set the alarm clock. A more advanced skill would involve developing the child’s ability to accurately estimate the amount of time needed to get ready and determine what time the alarm should be set.

2. Refer to a clock and/or watch.  

A visual timer, such as the Time Timer may be helpful. The Time Timer dial graphically shows the child how much time is left. One way to begin teaching your child to complete a task in a certain period of time, is to have the child guess how long the task will take and then compare how long the task really took to accomplish. 

3. Grooming.

Our children find routines comforting. Therefore, help your child establish healthy routines.  Many children find it easier (in the long run) to follow rules such as having a shower or bath every day, rather than every two to three days.  Specifically teach your child each step in washing properly (i.e. 4 times across each armpit with a soapy washcloth). Often resistance to specific aspects of grooming is due to sensory issues. So, you may need to try various products to find one they can tolerate. Poor hygiene is a problem poorly tolerated by the community (Peter Gerhardt, personal communication).

4. Responsibility for his/her own belongings.  

Start with things such as being responsible for keeping track of the toy train that he/she brought to your relative’s house. Build into the routine that it is the youngster’s responsibility to find the toy after the visit, bring it to the car, & bring the toy from the car into the house. Teach your child that school papers should be kept flat inside a folder or notebook. Progress to items such as organizing their school backpack & being sure that they have their homework & necessary school supplies.

5. Learn to use visual cues to remember tasks.

This might be keeping medicine in a certain place, so he/she remembers to take it at breakfast each morning. Or, it might mean, writing lunch on a piece of paper and taping it onto the school backpack to remember to pack lunch.

6. Cooking.

Young children can learn to make a sandwich and prepare snacks that do not require cooking. Later, teach your child to follow a recipe independently and use kitchen appliances safely.

7. Use the phone.

Start by teaching your child to answer the phone, take a message, and relay the message to the appropriate person. Progress to skills such as calling information to obtain a phone number, calling a store to see if they have a particular item in stock, calling technical support to fix a computer problem, calling to schedule a doctor, and ordering take-out food.

8. Go places independently.

This may be walking to areas nearby, riding a bike, using public transportation or driving.

9. Carry certain items when he/she leaves the house.

These items would include: Important phone numbers, money, a house key, and possibly a cell phone.

10. Personal safety.  

Consider skills such as knowing who to hug and kiss, and when it is more appropriate to shake hands, how to discreetly carry money, NOT giving personal information to others over the internet, and what to do if you are walking down the street and someone unfamiliar approaches you or you feel that you are being followed.

Dr. Diane Adreon is an internationally recognized autism expert, award-winning author, and public speaker. For more information on her consulting services, contact her at 929.249.1960.