Routines: implementing routines will help your child develop the skills needed to learn and interact appropriately with others.
Waiting: Be patient when introducing new activities that require skills they might not yet have fully developed. If we are calm and provide help when needed, children will learn and develop self-regulation skills when tasks become frustrating or challenging.
Use visuals: Show them how to complete a task or play with a certain object. Our brains learn skills by making connections, typically by watching others do.
Give them choices: Giving them choices provides them with a power to make independent decisions. Begin with a choice of 2 to make the decision easier and increase their awareness of self.
Model/Imitation: Model or Tell them what to do. Children learn how to express themselves, follow directions, and complete difficult tasks by imitating what they see and hear. Learning how to copy actions with their body is an important early skill.
Repetition: Repeat, repeat, repeat the same actions/movements hundreds of times. They need to hear and see actions many times before they will begin to use them.
Incorporation of sensory age-appropriate play some ideas:
· Backpacks with their favorite items.
· Painting
· Food play
· Playing with shaving cream, water,
· sand, rice, etc.
· Animal walks/crawls
· Obstacle courses with jumping and/or spinning