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ROYAL BOROUGH OF GREENWICH ASD OUTREACH SERVICEADVICE SHEET ON SUPPORTING CHILDREN AT EARLY DEVELOPMENTAL LEVELS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK:Name of Child:School/Setting:Date:Have a look at the following YouTube video which is a great summary of everything below: are also lots of resources on the Royal Borough of Greenwich Local Offer, including online exercise classes for children with additional needs, storytelling sessions at the Big Red Bus etc... Look on the rolling news at the top of the age and scroll through ...They are being added to all the time. to your child about Covid 19?The current situation causes stress and anxiety for most people. The news alerts, the measures that have been put in place and the closures have all added to people’s levels of anxiety. Children and young people with autism often have higher levels of anxiety and can have a tendency to worry even more. Most very young children will not understand what is going on at the moment. What they will understand and remember is how their parents/carers reacted to the situation, and what the family home felt like during the outbreak. So the best advice is to try to:Keep calm – your child is more likely to be calm if you are.Stick to your normal routines – or create one if you don’t have many routines in place. Difficult situations are best managed by sticking to what we know – routines help us feel more in control.Try to reduce the amount of news about the virus and its effects available to your child to reduce their levels of worry.The following Social Stories may be accessible to your child. Read them as you would read any other stories without focusing or overemphasising the ‘scary’ bits. You could use props/make props to bring the story alive – think of making a Coronavirus puppet out of an old sock! your child’s dayRoutine and structure are now more important than ever. They help both children and adults feel in control and, as a result, reduce the level of anxiety we all experience from time to time. The National Autistic Society has 8 ‘Golden Rules’ when supporting young children with a diagnosis of an ASD:Use structure – think of activities your child enjoys completing while making sure your child has regular opportunities for movement and/or play based breaks. Repeat them in the same order every day.Your child’s school may have all put in place home learning activities that the children can engage in. Some children with autism struggle to engage in academic work at home and its important children with an ASD are not overloaded with “school” type learning. Assisting in household activities such as cooking, cleaning, gardening etc. are also equally valuable educational and therapeutic experiences.We are not allowed to visit friends or family at the moment – Could you introduce regular timetabled Facetime/Skype calls with grandparents or uncles/aunties/cousins? Perhaps invite them to make/have breakfast with you every morning at the same time or ask them to read a bedtime story for your child in the evening, so there isnt too much pressure on interacting.Give clear rules and be consistentSet clear and consistent boundaries – our little ones feel safer when they know what they are/are not allowed to do. A friendly, but firm ‘finished’ is the one magic word we would advise all parents to include in their dictionary. It is so much more powerful than loudly shouting ‘No’ or ‘Stop’….and makes everyone feel more positive, too! You can first introduce the word in a more positive way, i.e. ‘Dinner finished, now ice cream’.Use visual support for communicationIf you do not have access to any symbols, draw your own – a simple drawing with the key word written underneath the picture tells so much more than 20 spoken words. Remember to use natural gestures to reinforce the meaning of spoken words. If you are interested, you may want to look into the following apps/links to print your own symbols:'Choiceworks' app (?9.99) can create timetables, now and next boards etc.'Visual cue lite' (free) has some symbols and visual routines‘Twinkl’ also has some visual timetablesFree word/vocab games symbols are offering families a free trial of their resources which you can access via offer And quoting the code WIDGIT30Build in opportunities for ‘chill out’ timeWe all need free time when we can do what we like, as long as it is safe, of course! For your child it may be spinning around, stomping their feet or playing with a piece of string – and that’s okay! As adults we may need to restrict the time and/or place where our child engages in these activities.Think of a place where your child can go when they need a bit of ‘me-time’: Can you make a dark den by throwing some blankets on a couple of chairs? Could they make a castle out of sofa cushions? Is it okay to hide under the bed with their favourite teddy? Exceptional circumstances require exceptional measures…and a bit of creativity!Recognise stressful situations….and have a plan in place to get through them! Think of distracting your child with something they like, or diverting their attention to their favourite activity/toy. If you live with other adults, work as a team. Allow yourself some time out, too – even if it means that you need to lock yourself in the bathroom for a few minutes just to have break.Adjust your communicationReduce your own language – less is more! Particularly important if your child is having a meltdownUse child’s name first, to get attentionGive available choicesUse ‘then’ to help your child understand a sequence of events, i.e. ‘First bath, then snack’.Use ‘finished’ to help your child understand duration of an eventSay things in order in which they will happen, only using key words. Notice the difference between 'Get your shoes and coat on and then we'll go' versus 'Shoes, then coat, then park'...Tell your child what to do, rather than what not to do, i.e. ‘Good sitting’ rather than ‘Stop jumping!’Use everyday visuals to help your child understand Small steps approachNobody suggests this is going to be easy but recognising the little things that go well help us focus on the positives and give us hope: You can do this!Supporting sensory needs?Children with autism often have difficulties in managing their sensory system and can benefit from activities to aid their sensory regulation. Engaging in sensory activities can help children to reduce anxiety and remain calmer generally.You may notice that due to the change in your child’s normal routine (no school/nursery) he/she may be exhibiting more sensory behaviours than usual. This is normal and to be expected – sensory behaviours help us all self-regulate and feel calmer. Please do not try and stop these behaviours but instead think of making the environment safer, i.e. if your child is running around perhaps close some of the doors so he can around just in one room. If your child is banging doors, put some large bath towels on top of the doors to stop them catching their fingers. If they are jumping, try a small trampoline or the largest bed you have whilst putting cushions on the floor in case they fall. If they aretearing up paper/books, give them free newspapers/Argos catalogues they can tear – but only if they put the papers in a box you have given them.Our local complex needs special school, Willow Dene, have lots of fantastic ideas for sensory fun activities on their website: useful website for more sensory based ideas is: to keep in touch with others for support for your child?The fact that we can’t see each other does not mean that we can’t stay in touch with each other. It is important to keep in touch with friends and family but also seek help and advice when you need to. You may find the following links useful when accessing information and/or help:Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Local Offer: ‘Contact a Family’ is the only national charity that exists to support the families of disabled children whatever their condition or disability.‘Mind’ offers help, support, advice and awareness of mental health issues Autistic Society’s website includes information about autism, the NAS and its services and activities. child’s school/nursery SENCO (Special Needs Co-ordinator) – please call the school and ask to speak to the SENCo.Greenwich Autism Outreach Service:Please email the Service Manager Roz Weeks: roz.weeks@.uk and she will forward your enquiry to your child’s Outreach Worker or Advisory Teacher/Speech and Language TherapistOther useful resourcesThere are lots of online companies such as Amazon offering free audio books and other activities for children. Dene staff have made some amazing videos of their staff demonstrating their children’s favourite activities Riverside School’s website has multiple links for a wide range of activities:’s fileSENCO ................
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