MILD
TIPS FOR PARENTS
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, but through my experience of understanding my diagnosis of ASD (Mild), I have found certain techniques/exercises/practices to be extremely helpful in remediating my ASD (Mild) Symptoms. I am sharing these techniques below, with the sincere hope that these will help you or your family member/loved one also.
CONVERSATIONAL THERAPY
When conducting conversational therapy with a child who talks and never reaches their point there are some tips to follow. It will be easier to monitor your child’s progress if one or both parents conducts 5 practice conversations a week with your child. It is also helpful for your child that they are not corrected for their lack of conversational skills outside of the practice conversations. There will be a natural carry over to real time conversations. When such carry over occurs it is important to compliment your child. The goal is to build confidence in your child’s ability to have a balanced conversation. You will know when to progress to 3 way conversational therapy when the two-way practice conversations become actual conversations.
Another tip to consider is that the brain loves repetition, so when you progress to the three-way conversation the parents will want to have at least one two-way practice conversation a week. This will continue to build confidence in your child to have successful conversations.
When progressing to three-way and then four-way conversations consider asking grandparents, aunts, uncles or trusted friends to work with you and your child. The ideal set up for the three-way conversation is that both parents work with the child.
Also when progressing to three and four-way conversational therapy phone-conversations can be used successfully.
My doctor at the U.C. Davis Mind Institute recommended that I remediate my monologues. A monologue is talking and never reaching your point. I created conversational therapy to remediate this symptom of ASD (Mild).
Conversational Therapy is important, because when you have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A characteristic is to talk in a monologue, rarely allowing the conversation to be two-way. This comes from not knowing the social cues for conversations.
One of the goals of conversational therapy is to have balanced conversations, where both parties are engaging in dialogue. These “practice conversations” can also help you develop a firm foundation for picking up both verbal and nonverbal social cues.
I like to have 5 “practice conversations” a week. Each practice conversation will last a half an hour. You will need a person you trust to be your team member. The team member who I am working with, will need to monitor me. If I begin to talk in a monologue or miss some other conversational social cue, like missing the social cue to end the conversation, my team member will need to gently, but firmly correct me.
The two-way practice conversations will continue, until I begin to self-monitor conversational social cues, like having a balanced chat and picking up on the social cues to end the conversation. After a while, the practice conversations will become actual chats. And help you engage in meaningful, mutually engaged interactions socially.
TWO WAY CONVERSATION
After getting a handle on two-way conversations, my doctor at the U.C. Davis Mind Institute felt it was time for me to begin three-way practice conversations. During the transition from 2 way to 3 way conversations, I will continue with 1 or 2 two-way practice conversations a week. This is a practice you can do too, to help your social interaction skills.
The goal for the three-way conversation is to have a balanced dialogue with 2 other people. The duration of the practice conversation will be half an hour. The three-way practice conversation is more challenging for me. Therefore, one of my conversation team members acts as my coach during our chat. This person will helps me during the conversation. They monitor me to make sure I am participating in the conversation. They also watch to see that I am not interrupting to join the chat or talking over one of my conversation partners. Both these traits are symptoms of ASD (Mild).
At first the coach corrects me during the conversation. Over time, like with the two-way practice conversation, I begin to self correct. It’s important to do the three-way practice conversations, until I am “self-monitoring” during the chats. The practice conversation will become an actual chat, for me, not a therapy session to remediate the language dysfunction. The goal is to be able to enjoy the three-way conversations. The amount of time this will take is varied depending on the situation. The brain learns through repetition. So it’s best to schedule 5 practice conversations a week, if possible: 2 two-way conversations and 3 three-way chats.
THREE WAY CONVERSATION
FOUR WAY CONVERSATION
Once you are comfortable with three-way conversations, it’s time to advance to the final stage of conversational therapy, the four-way practice conversation.
The goal of the four-way conversation is to have a balanced conversation with three other people. This goal may be more challenging to obtain. Therefore. you will need a coach during the practice conversations, until you begin to “self-monitor”.
The coach’s duties are to assist with the skill of entering the conversation without interrupting or talking over a practice conversation member. Both of these traits are symptoms of ASD (Mild). The coach will also watch to see that you are simply joining the conversation, and to make sure you are not monopolizing the conversation. You will need help with this last item as the therapy advances until you become more comfortable with the four-way conversation. The coach, as with the three-way conversation, will need to correct during the practice chats. As you become more skilled with the four-way conversation, you will begin to “self-monitor”.
The four-way practice conversations will last until they become actual chats for you, not therapy sessions. As with the two and three-way practice conversations, the brain loves repetition, so you should plan to have 5 practice conversations a week: 1 two-way, 1 three-way, and three 3 four-way chats.
