Four Steps to Gaining an Autistic Child’s Trust
How do you gain a child’s trust when he or she has a severe social impairment and are possibly even non-verbal? Sometimes Autistic children seem distant, as if they don’t care to have relationships, but the truth is they want to be loved just like all of us. If you follow these four simple rules you will be on your way to a lasting relationship with an Autistic child.
1. Create at calm atmosphere with few sensory distractions (like bright lights or loud noises). Too many sensory distractions can heighten stress in an Autistic child.
2. Do parallel play. Don’t force them to play with you right away. By playing next to them, they will start to get comfortable with you, and begin to take their guard down.
3. Try initiating interaction slowly, but back off instantly if they respond with stress. Following their cues is your key to success. Forcing interaction before they are ready will only increase fear.
4. Once they allow interaction, let them lead. Play with what they want to play with, and do what they want to do. Once a relationship is formed you will have more freedom to give direction and have more likelihood of them listening, but wait until then.
This method has been tested in therapy sessions with a 100% success rate. Social interactions can cause a large amount of fear and stress for an Autistic child, so following these four simple steps can help to alleviate that stress, and create meaningful relationships.