Need Help.I'm a volunteer at a special needs center in IRAQ.

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I joined the center four days ago. And it's my first time helping out directly with children that have autism. And down syndrome. their ages vary from 4 to 11

I have a few questions. That i think are important and need some answers. Hopfully you'd help, cause it will affect lots and lots of children that need special care.

You Should Know: the center is in iraq-kurdistan. In sulaymaniah city. The funds are limited and we have one doctor there responsible for the children. And one girl who specializes in treatment and behavior of special needs. The rest of the staff have been taught a few things to handle the kids but i feel there's lots of room for improvement. The workers are open minded. So i do believe they'll accept and try new methods.
Alright now some questions.

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My Questions:

1- What are group games that we can play with the children. (link me to a list of games or online book)
2- What to do when kids don't want to comply at playing games.
3- When they start playing. I noticed their attention span is limited and their minds kinda resets and forgets about the game or they'll run away to climb something. What to do to make them keep on playing and capturing their attention.
4- How handle screaming and being loud.
5- What to do when they start hitting eachother.
6- How to show them that something they did was bad.
7- Should there be a punishing system. If so. What are you suggesting.
8- Are there toys that i can buy online that will help them or they'll like?
9- the children are usually all over the place what is the best way to keep them together other than playing games?
10- we have a few kids that don't listen at all just walks around punching walls, talking to themselves and no matter the activity they don't comply, care or understand. what is the best form of treatment or action for these kids?
11- the parents of these children are sometimes willing to help raise their children and sometimes they Don't care and just see their own kids as a liability. How can we help in changing thir minds.

12- I'm thinking of designing a pamphlet that's easy to understand but full of information on how to handle their kids. We'll give it to the parents of the children. Is there any sources i can use for this? That have simple to the point information about how the kids aren't a liabilty and a few guidlines to raise them?

If there's anything you'd think i should know and i haven't mentioned, asked or forgot about please feel free to comment or PM me.


Note: I was redirected from the website 'Reddit' your website is the only place left for me to ask for help at. with everyone commenting how great the community is, i rushed to sign up. Sorry for any mistakes in my English, it's my third tongue.

young kids have short attention spans. nothing you can do will get them to focus on one thing or game for a long period. the best strategy is to change activities often, especially for the youngest.

here's a strategy for redirecting kids who misbehave:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... oss-greene

sorry i have no answers for your other questions. your english is very good.

surely someone else, maybe a parent, has some ideas to help out here.

i will bump this thread tomorrow afternoon (US eastern time) when maybe more parents will see it.

There are no simple answers. Here are suggestions from the perspective of an Aspie family:

1- What are group games that we can play with the children. (link me to a list of games or online book)

Remember that for some kids with ASD group games are a form of heIl.

2- What to do when kids don't want to comply at playing games.

If certain kids don't "comply" in the context of group games, I would recommend to find out what their unique individual interests are, and to the extent possible, provide them with a space where they can engage with their special interests.

3- When they start playing. I noticed their attention span is limited and their minds kinda resets and forgets about the game or they'll run away to climb something. What to do to make them keep on playing and capturing their attention.

As has already been noted, short attention spans are not unusual. Hence the suggestion to take time to get to learn about individual special interests, as the attention span relating to these may be much longer.

4- How handle screaming and being loud.

The children may react in this way if they experience sensory overload. If possible provide them with a quiet space away from loud noises, bright lights, and social interaction.

5- What to do when they start hitting eachother.

Separate them if possible. Easier said than done.

6- How to show them that something they did was bad.

Act as a role model. Ask how they would feel if others behaved towards them in the way they behaved. Again, very difficult. Don't expect quick results.

7- Should there be a punishing system. If so. What are you suggesting.

I don't think punishing works. Many children want attention and may have very little patience. If attention is in short supply, bad behaviour is the consequence.

8- Are there toys that i can buy online that will help them or they'll like?

Perhaps puzzles and other toys that are suitable for individual play activities.

9- the children are usually all over the place what is the best way to keep them together other than playing games?

Perhaps try to engage them in creative activity. Making toys out of paper and other simple materials.

10- we have a few kids that don't listen at all just walks around punching walls, talking to themselves and no matter the activity they don't comply, care or understand. what is the best form of treatment or action for these kids?

See suggestions above. Some children with ASD really suffer in a large group environment and need space to retreat.

11- the parents of these children are sometimes willing to help raise their children and sometimes they Don't care and just see their own kids as a liability. How can we help in changing thir minds.

If you can uncover the special interests of a child and encourage exploration of these interests the parents may see the real potential of their children. But tangible results may take a lot of time.

12- I'm thinking of designing a pamphlet that's easy to understand but full of information on how to handle their kids. We'll give it to the parents of the children. Is there any sources i can use for this? That have simple to the point information about how the kids aren't a liabilty and a few guidlines to raise them?

This thread may be of interest: viewtopic.php?t=112787
For children with HFA or Asperger's Syndrome and their parents, this is an excellent source of information: http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/index.php ... Itemid=181
This short interview contains very useful advice for parents: https://youtu.be/LRSazCQQNnA

Wow. Major respect for taking on such a challenge.

Here's what I would do:
- Watch the kids
- Which of the staff do they come to? Observe, emulate, and befriend those members of staff where possible
- Which of the staff do they avoid? Observe them too but try to figure out why the kids avoid them and learn from that.
- Which "good" / useful / uplifting activities do the kids initiate themselves, how can you encourage / harness that?
- Remember good things that parents, teachers etc did for you when you were a kid, and think how you can do something similar
- Be a fellow human.
- Forget about things like compliance, or "making them do stuff", as far as possible.

YMMV.
Remember, most people here on WP live in circumstances that are probably very very different from the ones you are in. Therefore, take anything anyone here says (including my exhortations above) with some big grains of salt. You'll need to use your own judgement a lot.

Again, major respect, and good luck!

This one is close to my heart.
My 4 year old near-nonverbal boy uses climbing on stuff (trees, rocks, whatever) as a way to deal with his problems, relax, and build up his own confidence. He also loves jumping off and having me catch him - a game that builds trust, communication skills etc. In his case, to "make [him] keep on playing and capturing their attention" would be totally counterproductive.

Also, do you have a way to take them outside? I hear they have beautiful mountains in Kurdistan. That's where I would take a bunch of autistic kids, assuming it's safe enough.
Mmmm... I'm off to look at some Kurdish mountains on Google Earth