Predictions & flexibility
James was given an assignment in his English class on Friday that at first seemed normal - record what you do over the weekend on a graphic organizer. Then came the twist - the teacher asked the students to start filling it out in class on Friday. The teacher told the kids that if you do not know what your family has plans write down what you want to do and make it happen. This might work for a sixth grader who knows the family plans for the weekend before starting school Friday morning or for a child who has psychic powers or in a household in which the child dictates what is going to happen. James does not have any of these, so he asked me for help.
With assistance James made four predictions each for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Friday three of the four did not actually occur. On Saturday two of the four did not occur, but he was able to get two of the undone items from Friday completed. Then we threw in two Trunk or Treat events at the last minute. So far of the four activities predicted for today his STEAM club has been cancelled. The instructor announced it is on hiatus until January, after the holiday season. He is now signed up for a Halloween VanGogh type painting class this evening. A second prediction for today, an all-day Halloween movie marathon is impossible, as I need to get a few hours of work done and he has things to finish from yesterday.
For many people with autism having a schedule and preplanning an activity is beneficial, if not essential. Straying from that schedule can result in major meltdowns. Sometimes something as simple as a detour while driving can throw a person off for a whole day. Talking to James about new activities before starting them is a definite plus, especially when I can give him an idea of what to expect. I have tried very hard to keep James from getting locked into a concrete schedule with no flexibility. I also try to drive alternative routes when going places. When driving and there are multiple ways to get to our destination I often ask James to pick a direction at an intersection. I am grateful, he does not always choose the same one. LIfe is too unpredictable.
A great analogy can be tied into his science class. Right now, he is learning about faults and elasticity of rocks. A layer of rocks, much like a person with autism, can be stretched, compacted, or manipulated only so far before it breaks and cannot go back together. Instead of physical breaking the person with autism may have a meltdown or need a break. The person may or may not be able to be redirected and plans for the day may need to be completely changed. But, there is a possibility that the person may be able to "turn things around" and get back on track. In school on Friday, James had an extended homeroom. This altered class times for periods 1 - 3. The rest of the day was a normal schedule. James was thrown off by this schedule change and had a very rough day pulling it back together. It took an extra two hours to get his classwork done after school, a big reason why Friday's predictions did not come to fruition. But, he was able to get it done and move on. He seems to be much better at handling schedule changes and monkey wrenches being thrown in at home than at school, even remote school. New challenge - work on this across all settings.
As he and I were talking about the predictions he had written for his assignment and redoing the graphic organizers for Friday and Saturday based on reality, we came up with the perfect topic sentence for this weekend and for life. "Predictions and plans will change, flexibility is the name of the game."
