Teaching Life Skills to Autistic Teenagers

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Doctor Darren Adamson from Argosy University. Today I want to speak with you about teaching life skills to an Autistic teenager. Autism's a very difficult disorder because what it does really is pulls that person for the most part, out of social interaction, which slows them down in their social interaction. One of the most effective things to consider when you're teaching life skills to an Autistic teenager is to understand where they're coming from. Understand most importantly what their strengths are. Every child has strengths, every Autistic teenager has strengths. Make sure you tap into those strengths because in the context of those strengths, that Autistic teenager can learn some additional life skills, which typically the most difficult life skill for an Autistic teenager to learn is the social interaction. Take it slow. Help them to interact with their siblings if they have siblings. Make sure that they're interacting effectively with you as the parent, or both parents if both parents are there in the home. Make sure that that Autistic teenager has every opportunity to interact with family members to start with, then expand the circle of people with whom that teenager interacts. Expand it to include neighbors, perhaps people from their church congregation. As you expand that circle of people with whom that that teenager interacts, they will learn greater skill. As they learn greater skill, they'll they'll gain greater confidence. That confidence will will lead to them being willing to try more interaction, and then they will ultimately develop the life skill of social interaction with a level that works for them. For more information, contact me through: argosy.edu. Look for the Salt Lake City Campus and call me at that phone number."