Did your child recently receive an autism diagnosis? If so, one of the many challenges you might be facing right now is figuring out the most effective ways to communicate with them.
Some children who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder don’t have too much trouble communicating. But studies have shown that up to one-third of them will be minimally verbal. They will only be able to speak about 30 words at most if they’re able to speak at all.
If your child falls into this category, autism communication cards might provide both you and your child with the communication help you’ll need. Utilizing these cards could be one of the best communication methods for children with autism and their parents.
Here are the nine biggest benefits of using autism communication cards with your child.
1. Allows Your Child to Let You Know Their Needs
If your child isn’t able to communicate with you effectively, it could make it very difficult for them to express their needs to you. It’ll be challenging for them to let you know when they’re hungry, thirsty, or need to use the bathroom.
With autism communication cards, it’ll suddenly become so much simpler for your child to let you know about all their needs. It may take them some time to get the hang of communicating with you through these autism communication cards. But once they do, they’ll be able to tell you what they need when they need it without either of you getting frustrated in the process.
2. Puts Your Child in a Position to Make Choices
Many children with autism aren’t always able to make choices for themselves. They often have to rely on their parents to make decisions for them, and this can put a lot of pressure on you to make the right choices on their behalf.
This is yet another area in which autism communication cards might be able to help. Your child will gradually be able to take more control of their life. They can make choices on their own when it comes to what they would like to eat when they’re hungry or where they would like to go when they’re feeling uneasy for whatever reason.
3. Helps Your Child Get a Better Feel for Daily Life
There is probably a rhythm to your day even if you don’t necessarily realize it. You know when you’ll eat, when you’ll work, when you’ll relax, etc. You’ve been able to establish certain routines for yourself over time.
For a child with autism, it isn’t always possible for them to fall into this kind of rhythm. They aren’t always able to get a good feel for how their daily life is going to go. But they might be able to get it through the use of autism communication cards.
These cards will make it possible for you to communicate when it’s time for your child to do certain things. As the days, weeks, and months go by, your child will slowly start to pick up on the patterns that exist in their life. It’ll give them a better idea of what they can expect from each day.
4. Gives Your Child a Chance to Choose Their Everyday Activities
Your child is just like other children in that they want to be able to choose at least some of the activities they participate in each day. They might enjoy watching TV, drawing, playing video games, walking around outside, or doing any number of other things.
By implementing autism communication cards, you’ll provide your child with some say over which everyday activities they take part in. It’ll allow your child to get more joy out of life by participating in the activities they like most.
5. Prevents Your Child From Having Frequent Meltdowns
If your child tries to communicate with you from time to time now but you aren’t always able to comprehend what they’re trying to tell you, it can lead to frustration on both your parts. It might also result in your child having meltdowns all the time that quickly spiral out of control and affect everyone in your house.
You might not be able to eliminate these meltdowns completely. But autism communication cards should be able to limit them. You and your child won’t have quite as much trouble understanding one another when you put these cards to good use.
6. Reduces the Anxiety Your Child May Feel
Autism and anxiety seem to go hand-in-hand for some children. Studies have suggested that nearly 40% of children who have been diagnosed with autism have at least one anxiety disorder.
Whether your child has been officially diagnosed with both autism and anxiety or not, there is a good chance that their inability to communicate could cause some anxiety to creep up on them every so often. But their autism communication cards might provide them with the communication help they need to keep anxiety at bay.
7. Enables Your Child to Share Their Ideas
Just because your child has autism does not mean they don’t have great ideas like all kids do. They might just not know how to communicate these ideas to you in a way you’ll understand.
Using autism communication cards may help your child to share ideas with you that they wouldn’t be able to share otherwise. You should encourage them to share their ideas with you more by taking an interest in them and inviting them to let you know about any and all ideas they might have.
8. Gives Your Child an Increased Sense of Autonomy
If your child received an autism diagnosis, they’re going to need to depend on you to help them in so many different ways throughout their lives. But that doesn’t mean they can’t also enjoy their own independence.
Once your child begins communicating with you through autism communication cards, you’ll find that they’ll get an increased sense of autonomy. This might motivate them to want to try to find other ways to be more independent.
9. Connects Your Child With You on a Whole New Level
You’re going to share a strong connection with your child following an autism diagnosis regardless of whether you decide to use autism communication cards or not. But you can make that connection even stronger when you use these cards to your advantage.
You’ll come to appreciate the fact that you and your child will be able to communicate through these cards. They should help bring you closer and allow you to build an even deeper relationship than you already have.
See How Autism Communication Cards Can Benefit Your Child
By using autism communication cards with your child, you can enhance both of your lives. You and your child will bond like never before by learning how to use these cards to communicate better than you do now.
Developmental Pediatrics in Texas can provide you with more services that’ll benefit both you and your child following an autism diagnosis. We might even be able to improve your child’s autism prognosis over the long run.
Would you like to get more information on how our services can benefit you and your child? Contact us today to speak with one of our autism specialists.
