AUTISM Tip: How To Set Your Child Up To Succeed On A Play-Date
Did you know that there are ways to increase the chances that a play date will go well? Here are the best tips that parents of children with autism who we work with have road-tested:
PLAN: Plan a schedule for the time together and share the proposed schedule with your child’s friend
TIME: it is so much better to have a short play date that succeeds, rather than a longer play date that goes off-track. Keep things short… ideally around 90 minutes.
FOOD: Kids love food and it gives them something fun to talk about. Also, kids who are busy eating don’t have to be talking, so it helps your child escape from face-to-face communication.
MOVIES: movies enable our kids to hang out with their friends and have a good time without having to be talking to each other. It is worthwhile to plan the movie with the other parent ahead of time so that both kids will have a movie they love and haven’t seen before.
BACK-UP PLAN: what about when things go very, very wrong? As a parent we need to know ahead of time when our plan is if things just go very badly. It might be something along the lines of saying to the kids, “I’m sorry kids - Something has come up for me and I need to take [Friend] home earlier - but we can do this again sometime.”
You’re a great parent (Yes, really!)
Always remember that if you are taking a moment to read this, then clearly, you are a proactive parent and your child is lucky to have you. 😊
YOU’RE DOING GREAT: Always remember that if you are taking a moment to read this, then clearly, you are a proactive parent and your child is lucky to have you. 😊
Michael Clark (Course leader for children & teens with Autism)
[NOTE: One of the optional activities in the Secret Agent Society program is to invite a friend over. Often our students are doing this for the very first time ever. www.amazingskills.com.au]
