Autism, RPM and Handwriting

Aiden and I were beginning our day together when I spoke. “Your mom tells me you hate writing sentences. Tell me about it.” I handed him the letter board and he spelled, “its hard work.”  I answered by stating, “Do you want to know why I have you write sentences?” He nodded a yes.

“Soma wants you to write sentences because it helps your brain work better and makes it easier for you to remember things we go over with your studies.” I then write down some of the reasons why hand writing is important:

1.      It can have a calming effect as it keeps your mind focused on doing something rather than feeling anxious.

2.      It balances the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

3.      It strengthens your cognitive, thinking skills.

4.      It inspires creativity.

5.      It improves memory.

6.      It uses more part of your brain, like a muscle to make it stronger.

After that, he was quiet and calm, doing his academic work with me.

Autism, RPM, Communicating Feelings

In order to have a sense of how Aiden is feelings, I usually begin our day with checking in to see how he’s feeling emotionally and where his anxiety level is when presented a number line from 1-10.  He’s given a laminated card with colors on one side and numbers on the back.

The colors are:

·         Black—melt down time

·         Red—I’m angry and mad

·         Yellow—I’m a bet frustrated

·         Green—I’m happy

·         White—I don’t know how I’m feeling

I place the card in front of him and he chooses which color he’s feeling in that moment.

I flip the card over to show the number line. It gives him a chance to show me how anxious he feels. He often chooses 5.  After that, I present the number board and ask him to tell me how anxious he’s feeling right now.  After he chooses a number, I ask, “What would make you feel less anxious?”  Then, I show him the letter board and have him either spell a word or a sentence. If he wants to go to the gym to walk, I tell him that’s a great idea.  “Let’s do some work first and then we can go for a car ride to the gym.” If he’s in a fairly good mood, we’ll begin our RPM lesson.

            I often check in with his feelings and anxiety a couple of more times during the day to see if there are any changes.  If his mood fluctuates, showing anger and/or anxiety, I back off and give him more space.  Even when he’s walking around the house or in the garage, we can discuss a history or science lesson. As long as he’s answering my questions, I know he’s listening and processing.