Summer is the season of flip-flops and dripping ice cream cones, of long, lazy days at the beach, and heated baseball games. It’s the season where schedules are looser and spontaneous activities and outings are often the norm.
However, for the parents of children with ASD, summertime can be especially challenging. The change in the child’s daily schedule, lack of a regular routine, as well as travel to unfamiliar places and spending time with extended family who may not understand autism, can all be triggering for the child.
良いニュースは、適切な計画を立てれば、お子さんと一緒に夏を楽しむことができるということです。ここでは、あなたとお子さんが落ち着いてリラックスし、最高に楽しい夏を過ごすための5つのヒントをご紹介します。
- 1日のスケジュールを立てる
学校が休みになると、子どもはどうやって時間を埋めればいいのか途方に暮れるかもしれない。自己娯楽が苦手な子供にとって、何もない日々はメルトダウンが起こるのを待っているようなものだ。
Avoid this and keep your child—and yourself—happy by creating a daily schedule for summer days. You can do this together with your child or work on it alone, being careful to fill time slots from wakeup time until bedtime. Allow for free play in small intervals throughout the day and build daily behaviors, such as brushing teeth and showering, into the schedule as well. If your child will be receiving therapy in the summer, be sure to incorporate these sessions into the schedule as well.
When your schedule is complete, hang it in a prominent place where your child can reference it as needed. You may want to hang more than one copy around the house, such as sticking one up on the fridge, and another on the wall in your child’s bedroom. If your child is too young to read, use pictures to show activities on the schedule instead of written words.
安定した日課を持つことで、子どもは夏の間のゆるいスケジュールに適応しやすくなる。
- アクティビティや旅行を計画する際、子供の能力を評価する。
Before you make any definitive summer plans, take an honest assessment of your child’s abilities and threshold of tolerance. It’s likely not a good idea to challenge that tolerance during your annual vacation or at the family reunion weekend. Instead, try to choose activities and trips that your child can easily handle. Consider hobbies and interests that your child would love to explore during the school months. Look for ways your child can build on those interests during their expanded free time in the summer. Finally, when planning activities and trips, avoid those that can cause sensory overload and upset your child.
- 旅行の準備は入念に
Day trips and longer getaways are a fixture in the American summer. As a family with a child on the autism spectrum, you know that things will be a little different for you and that a change in your child’s surroundings can be triggering. These tips can help keep things calm on trips:
- 子供に事前に準備をさせる。 子供には旅行について話し、出発前に何が起こるかを知らせておく。可能であれば、目的地の写真を見せて、新しい環境に驚かせないようにする。旅行日や数日間の休暇のスケジュールを作成し、子供が旅行中に何をすべきかを知っておくこともできます。
- 事前に旅行先に電話し、感覚的な問題への対応が可能かどうかを確認する。 Let them know you have a child with autism and share your child’s specific struggles. Some venues will agree to lower the music for a child with auditory sensitivity. Some airlines allow a child with ASD to board the plane before takeoff so they can explore their new surroundings.
- 快適さをもたらす。 お気に入りの毛布、テディベア、感覚を刺激するおもちゃなど、自宅からの小さな快適さは、お子様を幸せな旅行者にするための長い道のりを歩むことができます。
- 緊急時のバックアッププランを持つ。 旅行中の不測の事態に備えて、必ず計画を立てておくこと。時々使用する鎮静剤を持参する。迷子になったときのために、お子さんの写真を用意しておく。万が一、第一候補のお出かけ先がお子さんにとって最悪の結果になった場合に備えて、代わりのお出かけ先を考えておきましょう。
適切な計画を立てれば、家族全員で楽しい旅を楽しむことができる。
- 家族への事前の連絡
If your summer plans include visits to or from extended family members you don’t see often, it’s best to communicate with them in advance about your child’s specific needs and behaviors. For example, you can let them know your child is most comfortable seated on their own chair as opposed to squeezing together with their cousins on a bench. You can tell them that your child prefers not to be hugged or kissed and let them know that you will be bringing your own food for your child, if relevant. The more you communicate in advance, the less room you’ll leave for meltdowns and misunderstandings.
- Don’t neglect practicing academic, social and behavioral skills
School is out, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to neglect your child’s schoolwork. Make sure to build time into your daily schedule for summer homework, or for practicing schoolwork in another way, such as through an educational app or online game. Similarly, it’s important to incorporate time for any “therapy homework” your child may need to do at home, such as practicing social and behavioral skills they’ve learned in therapy.
ASDスペクトラムの子供と過ごす夏は、神経型の子供を持つ家族とは少し違って見えるかもしれないが、期待することを少し調整し、事前の計画をたくさん立てれば、家族全員で楽しい夏休みを楽しむことができる。
