Autism Soccer: Safety

Thursday, May 4, 2017

A Proper Environment for ASD Children

It's hard for special needs children to adapt to certain places, always choose the one that fits them best.

In other entries, the topic of the environment for special needs children is commonly discussed, and most of the contents go around it, the meaning of this is because of the importance of proper places for them to feel comfortable and avoid stress.

For children with autism, it’s not so easy to adapt to new places since their behavior is based on repetition. Noises affect them more than normal, making places like malls or a classroom filled with students a hard challenge for them to deal with in the first place. Sometimes, the feeling of alienation causes children to become even more distant, which creates a wall, closes gates of communication and makes it hard for parents to reach their children.

The difficulties of engaging environments are something to be taken very seriously for children on the ASD; this is a factor that can either be detrimental or beneficial for them. The first thing that you need to keep in mind is that there will be situations where your children will be in places they don’t want to be and if you can avoid these, do it. If it’s imperative to go to that location, you can also leave your children at home and save the trouble for them.

For example, if you’re looking for calm or noise-free places, taking them to the park could be an excellent idea. Parks are usually for relaxing and have spaces for your children to play freely, allowing them to feel at ease and comfortable. If there’s an aquarium nearby, it would be a perfect choice for your kids as well: aquariums are great to stimulate them visually.

When choosing the proper environment for your kids to be in, you need to keep in mind how they will feel about it, so asking before going would be a good way to let them know they’re being taken into account. Organizations who work in the awareness for children with autism have places made especially for them, like Autism Soccer team. They have an autism-friendly environment for children to develop their skills quietly and with no interruptions. Contact them to let your kids play for the best soccer team!

If the environment is not proper for your children, it's your responsability to create and make sure they feel comfortable wherever they are.

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Friday, January 20, 2017

Personal Safety: What to Teach Your Children

Teach them how to behave and protect themselves.

When it comes to parenting, there are a few things that come to mind: Nutrition, shelter, education and love at the forefront of the worries of a parent. But there’s another one that although it’s not as pressing or doesn’t pop into their minds right away, it’s one of the things that causes more preoccupation for them: their personal safety. Truth is that most of the children are naturally friendly, and are not as wary of the world as most of the adults in the world

This makes them easy targets for people with bad intentions towards them, and it's a constant preoccupation in the back-burner of their parent’s minds. For that you need to prepare them ahead, to give them the tools to prevent harm from other people in every way possible. But sometimes it might seem harder than it looks like. So, what are you teaching your children to keep themselves safe? These are a few tips that you can use for that! Let them know that this is important for them, encourage the application of this in every step of their lives:

Prepare information: Telephone numbers, address, name of their parents, workplaces and such are great bits of information that your child needs to know in order to be safe. Why? In case something happens to them they’ll know where to find you! You can put a plastified card with that coded information in their clothing.

Trust in their instincts: There’s a survival method that has kept humans alive for the expanse of their existence on earth, and that’s instinctive behavior. Sometimes, children can pick up easily subtle behavioral cues that can help them be safe in dangerous situations.

Speak up their concerns: If something doesn't feel right, let them know it’s ok to voice it over, and make sure that it’s not dismissed. Children can be expressing their feelings to you, and as you know how to interpret them, you can pick up odd behaviors that need to be changed to keep them safe.

Control their emotions: Children that have a high control in their emotional responses are more calm in stressful situations, and this might be the difference between safety and danger. Prepare them and let them know that when they are calmer, thoughts come more easily.

Wariness above all: Parents think that strangers are the only ones that can harm their children. In fact, there’s a great percent of kids that are hurt or taken by people that they are familiar with. Let them know that if they don’t feel safe or comfortable, it’s ok to tell you. In some cases, this makes a huge difference.

Create safety system: Some stranger might lure your child telling them you are in danger. And they will go willingly with them most of the time. Prepare them ahead for this situation, create a safety system where only one people can pick them up in case you are delayed, or something. Use a card of a special sign for them to identify in those cases.

Preparing your children to be safe whenever you are not around is great for them. It will increase their chances of getting away unscathed in case of dangerous situations. The knowledge works as well as a booster, increasing their self-confidence and creating a sense of independence that will accompany them throughout their lives. To keep this behavior and helping them create bonds with strangers in a controlled setting, why don’t you take your children to Autism Soccer? They have great alternatives and practices to help your kid build lasting bonds with other people!