Need help with 2 autistic children in "childrens' church"

[smurf36]

There are two young autistic children (ages around 4-6 yrs, one boy and one girl) in my daughters group at our church. I am often present in this group when I take my daughter (she has severe separation anxiety from me) and I help out when I can. This is my first experience with autistic children and I would like to be of help and include them in the activities. Can anyone offer me advise on how to do this?

The group ages 2yr to pre-K. There is usually a biblical teaching, a snack, and an activity-anything from physical to creative. It's hard enough keeping the little ones in the group interested and on track, but the autistic ones are ususally left to do as the please on the side, with little interaction from anyone else. This concerns me, but again, I am new to this. Should these two be in a class of there own, or would they benefit more from being with the rest of the children?

I appreciate any help and advice.

[melsmommy]

Whatever you do, please don't separate these children from the others in the class. Autistic children have difficulty in socializing with others, but often benefit from watching the interactions of other non-autistic children. Check with the children's parents - they will probably know how the kids will react to certain activities, etc. Some autistic kids have sensory difficulties, react to certain sounds, smells, etc., so it would be best to know these things before you encourage them to try an activity, etc. Very simple directions, repeated calmly and over and over again, may help them to understand and participate. It may take them some time to "warm" to the idea of doing what everyone else is doing, but do keep trying. If you approach the parents with the idea that you really want to help the kids to feel comfortable, accepted, and happy, and you'd like to work with them to make this happen, I'm sure they'll be glad to help.

Best of luck.

[NadiaRose]

[COLOR=Purple][FONT=Comic Sans MS]At our old church my son spent the whole time in a room seperate from all the other kids playing one on one with a sunday school teacher. Yes, he did have fun, but he learned nothing about church and had no interaction with other children. We have since moved and now my son is in a sunday school class with other children. He is a part of the class and takes part in all the activities. It makes me feel great that my son is included in everything. Being with other children has really helped him a lot. He has really started to be so much more aware of others. He is 4 years old and autistic and very large for his age. If he is ever going to live as normal a life as he can then I feel he needs to be included and treated like any other child. Of course, if he had one of his meltdowns or what have you I would expect to take him out of the class to calm down. There are several easy methods you could used depending on what works with the child and what the parents do. The main thing is consistancy. I have found that if we do the same techniques they use at school we get a much better response than if we do something different. Whenever we take him somewhere we always inform who he will be with on what to do in certain situations. Especially since with autism, it seems like the oddest and slightest thing can start a nuclear meltdown. The best bet is to talk to the parents and get as much info as you can. My son responds to positive reinforcement and visual and audio cues really well. One thing you could try are picture schedules and some sort of audio or visual cue to help them transition from one activity to another. At my son's preschool, they turn off the lights when it is time to go get on the bus and at home I use an oven timer to let him know when it's time to get off the computer or put his games away etc. When that timer dings he will shut down the computer and everything without so much as a fuss. Now if I just told him, "get off the computer", I would have a huge meltdown on my hands and he would fight me tooth and nail. Anyway, I just wanted to contribute a few things to think about. Good luck![/FONT][/COLOR]

[smurf36]

Thank you both for the insight and advise. I intend to become increasingly active in our Children's Church and desire for all of our kids to get the most out of their class. I will definitely utilize your advise. Any ideas for activities that all the children will enjoy and respond well to? Anything would be helpful, as it is rather easy to put a religious spin on it.

Thanks so much!

[Butch01]

I understand your concern, but consider this: autistic children are far different from (I hate to use this term) normal children. If the children are happy by them selves, it might be best to leave them be. Melsmommy stated that autistic children have a difficult time socializing with others, but in my case, I didnt want to socialize with others, and I turned out just fine. So, approch them with the idea of being included, but dont pressure them, It may have a negative responce ( I used to lash out violently toward my teachers and other care givers when they tried to make me interect with others). remember, if an autistic child is by him/her self, its not like another child who might be thinking 'gee, i wish I could join in the group' he/she might very well be thinking ' I'm quite happy to play by myself' and thats ok. we develope at our own pace, so just be patient.

[rangerdanger]

I am having that problem in the school my son goes to. They want him to socialize all the time with other children. My son is very happy playing by himself or running around the school yard in his own little world. I do not understand why they put such strain on my son to have friends. I really makes me mad when they try to push him into having friends when he is very happy in his own circle. I noticed the other children just laugh and talk, but that doesn't bother my son because is his own person and he is very independent and can make friends if he wanted to.