All parents on the spectrum have homework. From speech therapy, ot therapy, physical therapy (for some not all) to school homework. I've seen so many parents make just about the same mistake. The sucker or lollipop as the reward. I watched in horror as the parent on The Real Housewives hunted down not only camel milk to cure her child on the spectrum but to reward speech with a sucker. Seriously? You're going to give your child a sucker for saying a word and then expect them to continue on with speech homework? But it's a small sucker. No! Just No! Use a skittle. One little skittle and it smaller then the small sucker. They will continue coming back for more skittles but a sucker. They are done! Do yourself a huge favor and save the sucker for when you are truly done with the work.
I can't tell you how many times I've seen the news and there was a child that was found. Usually, it's cold and the child only has on a pair of shorts. But what's in that child's mouth. A sucker. That's the first clue to me it's a child on the spectrum. It's not the shorts and no shoes or shirt. It's the flipping sucker. Why would the child have a sucker you ask? Because it's a tell tell sign that the parents are using suckers to try to teach their children. And they are failing miserably! For Doodle a hard piece of candy as a reward showed me quickly when she was done. Just two more words and you can have a piece of candy. And I really can't tell you for the life of me why I used hard candy or suckers myself. It wasn't until Doodle was in the first grade her teacher told me, "There is nothing Doodle won't do for a skittle." And that's how I learned the hard way I was doing it all wrong.
Don't get me started on bubbles. You know kids love love love bubbles. My best advice to you is to go to the craft store or some place that sells tiny bottles of bubbles. Kids just don't understand when your cheeks are tired from blowing bubbles as rewards and we are done. A tiny bottle of bubbles gives you the outlet to be done and get on with other pressing matters like dinner and other kids and their homework. If you have a stash of suckers or lollipops your using to get homework done or your way of encouraging, please just throw them out! Go buy little bags of skittles and save yourself the headache and frustration of doing homework.
Do you have any other ideas of things you use to encourage more work out of your child for therapy homework?
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