20 month old ASD tips

[~clover~]

We suspect my 20 month old niece is on the spectrum. Very little doubt about it at all. Non verbal, extreme sensory meltdowns, limited actual interaction.

My sister is waiting for her referral for the child development team to go through to go through the steps of OT etc.

Yesterday they had to go into hospital. Poor bubba had ear infections in both ears & really wasn't well. But getting a look in her ears & even just a general check up was extremely traumatic for all involved. She didn't handle the poking/prodding at all. They gave her a trauma teddy & got there in the end, but there is often vomit & hour long melt downs after anything like this.

Any idea's for future doctors visits etc? Anything I can pass on for all aspects of life in general would be great While all of us have our challenges with our kids, it's extremely hard when she's non verbal & you can't tell if she's heard anything you say or not, because she doesn't often acknowledge that you've spoken.

Thanks guys

[trishalishous]

would she be able to role play certain situations? Have a doctors kit and do a check up on parents, then they do one on her?

We try to have a practice run of new situations before they happen.

[Santosha]

I keep coming back to this and want to offer strategies but honestly don't know where to start. There's lots that can be done - simple social stories, role-play and rehearsal (she's too little to participate but might watch a video of others doing it), using simple, repetitive language to cue in the process, sensory stuff to help regulate, visuals, being allowed to explore the environment and the instruments first, people engaging by entering her world first (if she's lost in twirling something, go twirl next to her).... Just to start. But the actual details of how to do these things requires a whole lot more info and fine tuning to suit her interests, level of engagement, cognitive skills etc. She will get all this and more from the OT and other therapists.

Perhaps, until then, encourage your sister to experiment with what elicits engagement. What happens when she gently enters her daughter's world. What makes her smile? What calms her? (Try counting, repeated phrases or sounds, tapping rhythm, deep pressure, music). This trust and engagement will be fundamental to the effectiveness of other strategies.

[~clover~]

Sorry, it's been a while since I've been in here.

They've started OT & speech recently & are learning to sign. I think at this stage they're just trying to keep her away from germs & as healthy as they can to avoid this situation again.

They're working on a sensory diet at the moment & sleep issues, so hopefully the OT may be able to cover these things some time in the future.