How to help kids with autism to cope with the pandemic.

It has been almost over two months since we have been in midst of the coronavirus pandemic and there seems to be no end in sight yet. 

This pandemic has been challenging for everyone across the globe but it has been extremely challenging for families of kids on the spectrum. Children on the spectrum depend on a routine and a structure. In today's times, this all has been thrown out of the window.

 It is very difficult for our kids to understand and make sense of what is going on. Many of them do not have the verbal skills required to ask questions. They are missing their school, teachers, and their extended family. They are missing on the social interaction which is so important for them.

I am going to outline a few strategies I am using with my son to make him feel safe and reduce his anxiety to some extent. My son is nonverbal so I can only imagine how challenging it must be to him to make sense of everything which is going on around him.

The first thing which has helped me is to explain to my son about the pandemic is lots of visuals. There are tons of resources available online for free or at a very nominal charge. I have downloaded some social stories about the coronavirus which we read to him regularly to help him understand the current changes going on. These stories help to explain difficult concepts in simple ways. I also feel staying calm and not panicking helps him as well.

The kids have been out of school over two months now and in many places, summer break has started. Here in Canada we still have one more month of school left before the beginning of summer break. 

Our kids depend on their school to provide them with a routine and structure and provide them with some level of predictability. They miss their teachers and friends.

 I highly recommend being in touch with your child's teachers and have some kind of contact between your child and their teachers in various ways may be a zoom call.,Google teams so your child can see their teachers and classmates maybe once a week which might help them develop some kind of normalcy. My son is very happy to see his teachers and classmates even though he cannot verbalize his feelings.

The other big change we are facing now is we are not able to visit the restaurant or visit family or friends. This is a difficult concept for our children to understand. Social stories can be a very useful tool we can use with our kids to explain why we cannot go to their favorite restaurant or visit grandparents or have playdates with their friends.

The most important thing we can do is to maintain some kind of a schedule during the day as we know our kids thrive on a routine thereby helps in reducing anxiety and frustration. Make sure the kids have a flexible schedule so the children can get used to changes in the schedule and not have a meltdown if there is a change.

One of the other things I have noticed with my son is his stimming has increased to a great degree. It helps him to self regulate and calm down now especially with all the changes. We don't stop him from stimming I am hoping as the pandemic situation improves shortly hopefully we will see a reduction in stimming.

It is unknown at this time to know when this pandemic will end. We are living in the new normal at this time and it is expected to continue for some time. In the meanwhile, we have to take all precautions outlined to keep ourselves and everyone around us safe.