Strengthen bond with autistic kids during coronavirus lockdown

Pune: For the parents of children with autism, the coronavirus lockdown has presented a time to strengthen the parent-child bond, as these kids are spending more time at home now.

As the lockdown has confined all in the limits of their homes, the situation has become slightly more challenging for children with autism and their parents, as the latter have to find different ways to keep their children engaged inside the houses.

“It is possible that as the stress that the autistic children face while following the strict timetables of waking up early, getting ready and going to school and so on, they are still missing the routine that was set. This might lead to increased anxiety in them,” said NGO SaaD Founder Sunita Lele.

She added, “Several autistic children love walks in the park, they like to go out of the homes at specific times in the day. This routine has been disturbed now due to the lockdown.”

Kishori Pathak Ab-Normal Home said, “Autistic children are not very social in nature. So they don’t always need lots of people around them. However, the change in places, day-to-day activities are making them restless now.”

KEEPING CHILDREN MOTIVATED
“Keeping these children motivated throughout the day has become a task for their parents,” Lele said.

“To prevent the children from getting anxious, the parents need to keep them busy, in a variety of activities every day. While this was earlier done at schools, this is causing stress and depression amongst parents now, who are also juggling their work simultaneously,” she added.

Emphasising that the parents need support, Lele added, “It is very difficult to explain to these children why they cannot leave the house.”

PARENT-CHILDREN BONDING
“Taking this opportunity, we have started an activity called ‘Know Your child’,” Kishori Pathak said.

“We have planned several activities, including drawing, craft, simple cooking, and we have asked the parents to participate with their wards. And we have been getting a good response. Many parents did not know what their children could do, and now they can see it first hand,” she explained.

Lele also said, “We have put up videos for parents on our social media page guiding them what activities to do with their children during the lockdown. Many parents are also taking their children out while going to buy groceries, vegetables, etc. so that they can have some time outside.”