April ~ Day Twenty Eight

We do like our slow days.

In fact, taking our time and going with the flow is more meaningful than rushing hither and thither! We get to experience the little moments and share them with each other.

I enjoyed reading this short article written by Lisa Palasti. Slow Down in Autism Treatment

April ~ Day Twenty Two

Nick makes me laugh. I casually mentioned that the dishwasher needed to be unloaded. He looks at me, makes the sign for 'finished' and plonks himself down on the sofa. I'm like 'whatever' and I carry on drinking my morning tea, while pondering over a Sudoku puzzle.

No more than five minutes later, he gets off the couch and heads to the dishwasher!

Now this is where it comes in handy being a veteran RDI mom. Before joining him at the dishwasher, I had already figured out my plan.

My goal:

Working together and adding in a little challenge. Edge+1.


The Activity:    

Unstacking the dishwasher.


Roles:                

I pass items to Nick.
Nick places the items on the counter.

I change the pattern

I put the utensil basket on the counter.
We remove items at the same time and put them in the utensil drawer.

I change the pattern

We go back to the dishwasher and proceed to unload the top shelf.



Limits:                

I check that there are no distractions. I suggest that we turn off the CD.
I remind myself to go with the flow.


Communication:

Lots of declarative comments.
Pause the action and giveNick time to respond.
Non verbal facial expressions and body language. Eye gaze.


What happened:  

Our activity went smoothly. Nick was really mindful about placing the items (he used to bang them down). I liked that I often paused the action and waited to see what Nick would do.... thus giving him opportunities to make his own decisions. To be honest, Nick managed really well with the little challenges I threw his way. It's great that the experience was stress free and that Nick felt competent in his role, no matter the role he was playing.


Next time:

I need to put some thought into further engagements. It's fabulous that this familiar activity is now easy for him, however, what is my next step/challenge in order for Nick to make further progress.                  

April ~ Day Eight

Here's the plan for today's RDI engagement.


My objective for this activity is to work on edge+1 and encourage experience sharing.


Activity:

We are going to be picking up cotton buds with a pair of tweezers. Kind of a crazy activity, I hear you say! Big smile. To be frank, Nick's fine motor function is not the best, therefore, the use of tweezers is going to be so interesting.


Our roles:

*  I take a turn picking up a cotton bud and place it into a container.
    Nick takes the same turn.

We will do this for a few cotton buds. If I feel that it is going well, I will add a variation and little challenge. Edge +1

*  My role will be to hold the cotton bud
    Nick's role will be to collect it from me using the tweezers


Communication:

I plan to make lots of declarative comments. I will pause the action and wait for Nick's response.


What happened:

First up, Nick was very unimpressed and definitely in *chore mode*. I persevered and Nick picked up his role with ease. He has the strangest way of holding the tweezers, which meant it was difficult for him to grasp the cotton bud. I had to show him a few times how to hold the tweezers correctly. I was able to add a variation to our pattern and thus give Nick an extra challenge. As for the experience sharing..... Nick's body language certainly threw out a few negative vibes on what he thought of the activity. Oh well, win some and lose some!


What next:

I would like to carry on with the tweezer practice, so will put some thought into some more interesting activities.

Living in the moment

Yes, I know.... I did say that I wouldn't be sharing any more video footage of Nick. BUT, this clip makes my heart sing! It is only a small segment of the original footage; therefore, you are not getting the whole story.

I have chosen this particular piece to spotlight a few things that stood out for me. The video runs for less than a minute!

The connection between us is just too precious. Nick is enjoying the interaction with me. He is focused and continually references my face and body language for information, enjoyment and experience sharing.

We each have a role to play. In this case, we were using a reciprocal pattern (I take a turn, you take the same turn). Although, it has to be said, Nick expanded on his turn! He decided to take a brick and then deliberately knock some of the others off the stack. Not once but twice. I love that he took this initiative and then looked at me each time to check out my reaction.

I am providing guidance by slowing down the activity, really drawing out my turn and building up the anticipation. I use noises and declarative comments to spotlight different aspects of our interaction.

We have a lovely co-regulatory pattern happening and we are sharing the experience. It's good fun and Nick will have a really nice episodic memory of our time together. Moments like these are highly motivating and addictive. Mindful guiding really works a treat. #RDI

~*~

"Mindful of being in the moment and really enjoying what you have now."

Dr Sarah Wayland