Objective 1:
To design and implement strategies to change the behavior of an 11 year old female client diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Activities/Resources:
· Constantly bringing to her attention my bracelets and how they make noise.
· A visual card that displays a bracelet and due to the fact that she is so visual I will continuously show her the picture.
· I will ask her to wear it in certain time intervals which I will continue to increase
· By the end, I am hoping to have her able to tolerate wearing a bracelet at all times so she will be able to wear a safety bracelet
Evidence:
• A collection of all the research I conducted to prepare for this strategy
• The visual card I had created for her
• Data of my strategies every session showing if it was successful or
unsuccessful
Evidence Overview
The following pieces of evidence are collected from a variety of different sources. I first listed the websites from which I conducted useful research. I used these websites to help me understand why children with Autism do not typically wear bracelets and why it is important for these children to wear an ID bracelet. Most importantly, it helped me brainstorm useful strategies that would help to get my client to wear a bracelet. I then met with one of my supervisor's who is in charge of my client's goals. We had a discussion and she explained to me different ways that she thought would successfully get my client to wear a bracelet. She also instructed me to write a social story. I had never written a social story, nor had I ever heard of one before, so my next step was to research. After I had put in an abundant time researching on the internet and through books, I developed my own social story. I read her the social story during every session before introducing the bracelet. I also printed out a sheet of paper with many pictures of various girls in bracelets which I would show her after I read her the social story. It let her visualize girls her age in the same type of bracelets that I wanted her to wear. Last, I included all of my data. My data states the day of the therapy session, if the goal was successful or not, and details explaining what happened. In the end, my goal was successful!
The process for accomplishing my goal can be found in my data. I have learned so much and it has impacted me greatly. I have learned how to gather research from all different areas to come up with a certain strategy that I believe will best work towards my goal. I have learned how children with Autism are extremely sensitive to touch and how important it is to work with them so they are able to tolerate a safety bracelet. I learned what a social story is and how to create one. Most of all, the most important thing that I had learned was how to conduct therapy for a behavioral related goal. If what I was doing was not successful, I was able to change it and create a different approach. Previously, multiple people had tried to get my client to wear a bracelet but it was never successful. This experience had truly impacted me because I was able to complete this goal and it has shown me that due to my research and work that I put in every session, we were able to complete this goal together. That is above all why it is a testament to my skills and abilities. I was able to create a goal, conduct the necessary research, generate a plan, and carry it out. In the end, this goal that nobody thought was going to work was extremely successful. This shows that I have the compassion and the drive to work well one-on-one with children.
Research conducted from the internet:
1. http://nationalautismassociation.org/help-my-child-wont-wear-a-wristband/
2. http://blog.laurenshope.com/medical-id-jewelry-blog/bid/52012/Why-Every-Child-with-Autism-Should-Wear-an-ID-Bracelet
3. http://www.netplaces.com/parenting-autistic-kids/behaviors/elopementthe-escaping-child.htm
Research conducted from the meeting with my supervisor:
-Write a social story
-Use bracelets of larger sizes
-Make a big deal that both of us are wearing bracelets-holding hands, swinging arms with bracelet
-Use a timer
-If she is in a mad mood-don't do it or else she will associate wearing the bracelet with a bad mood
Social Story
Social stories are great ways for children with autism to understand certain rules and regulations. It allows them to successfully see the world from someone else's view. I created a social story for my client regarding wearing a bracelet.
My Social Story I Created For My Client
Bracelets are pretty.
I like to be pretty.
I am going to wear a bracelet.
I am so pretty with my new bracelet.
I also printed out a sheet of paper with
various girls in bracelets to show my client
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My Data
Date: Successful/Unsuccessful, explain time increments, what happened etc.
11/2: This is the first day that I started this goal. I brought materials from my house that I previously had. We tried to use these materials to make bracelets, however, the materials we used were not the correct materials and the bracelets continued to fall apart. She thought that it was hilarious and I could tell that she wanted to wear it, which was very surprising to me. We made one bracelet, and we held hands and shook our hands back and forth as she wore it before the bracelet fell apart. We decided that we would shop for the appropriate materials during the next session. Throughout this session, I noticed that my client would be patting her wrist because she wanted to wear it. When I mentioned making one the next week she was extremely excited.
11/9: Today we went to the dollar store to buy string that would be better for making bracelets. We picked out pipe cleaners and she pointed to the pink letting me know that she wanted a pink bracelet. We made bracelets out of pipe cleaners and beads, which were both pink. She was extremely happy with her new bracelet. I set the timer to five minutes and explained to her that she had to keep her bracelet on for five minutes. She did not struggle once nor did she pay any attention to the bracelet. She sang through the five minutes but would continue to stare at the timer. She had tapped the bracelet on her wrist twice, but I could tell that she realized that she had to wear the bracelet for the full five minutes. Once I saw her start to tap the bracelet, I distracted her with a game and after the timer went off she forgot about it for one minute until she looked down and noticed it was still on her wrist. She then threw it on the other side of me so she could no longer see it. I will increase the time interval to ten minutes for the next session.
11/14: Today we set the timer to ten minutes. I could tell that today the bracelet was driving her crazy and she continued to touch it. She would tuck the bracelet underneath her shirt so it was away from her view. She left it on for the full ten minutes. After the timer went off, she did not notice and she left it on. She continued to not notice and almost left it on for the entire session. She took it off twenty minutes prior to our session being over. I will increase the time interval to twenty minutes for the next session.
11/16: Today we set the timer to twenty minutes. She wore it for most of the twenty minutes but she took it off twice while I wasn't looking. When I looked at her she understood why and put it right back on. She ended up forgetting about it and wore it for almost the entire shift. I will not set a timer for the next shift in hopes that since we have been making progress she will leave it on for the entire session.
11/30: My client wore her bracelet for the entire session except for once that she took it off to tap it on her wrist and put it right back on.
12/5: This is my last session with Emily! She wore her bracelet for the entire session and did not take it off once. When I was saying goodbye, I asked if she would like to keep the bracelet and she smiled so I gave her the bracelet. We had achieved this goal.
