At
The Autism Treatment Center of America, when we talk about
interactive attention span, we’re referring to the times when a child turns
his/her focus on us. Whether a child is looking or talking to us, or
waiting on our participation, we cherish and love when this happens.
However fleeting, we’ve all experienced times like this with our children. Whether it’s tickling, giving piggy back rides, playing Hide 'N Seek, or singing a song, this valuable time together gives our child an opportunity to practice their interactive attention span. And the more social connection we have with them, the more it helps our children socialize with others – including their neurotypical peers.
These four principles will help you identify and lengthen your child’s interactive attention span:
However fleeting, we’ve all experienced times like this with our children. Whether it’s tickling, giving piggy back rides, playing Hide 'N Seek, or singing a song, this valuable time together gives our child an opportunity to practice their interactive attention span. And the more social connection we have with them, the more it helps our children socialize with others – including their neurotypical peers.
These four principles will help you identify and lengthen your child’s interactive attention span:
1.
Everything and anything can become a game. It’s not about the
activity or the game you’re playing, but how you and your child interact with
each other. Whether it’s a made up game like counting freckles on each other’s
arms or jumping over LEGO® blocks, when your child
is “lit” up, and their eyes are bright and smiling, they are expressing interest
in what is happening, and showing an interest in YOU. This is the goal of the
game and the interaction that you want to foster and lengthen. The important
result is that your child is motivated by this activity, and that the activity
includes YOU. Often people miss this type of opportunity to expand an
interaction because they think it has to look like a traditional children’s
game.
2. Notice what your child
likes and do more of that! When you find yourself in a game with your
child, make note of the particular part of the game they enjoy the most. Do
they especially like action, e.g. watching the way a scarf floats through the
air, or the way the scarf feels as it falls onto their face? Or perhaps they
love what you do in the game, such as the anticipation you create before
throwing the scarf up into the air, or the way you stomp your feet as the scarf
lands. Once you discover what they enjoy, emphasize that part of the
game. It not only adds to the fun, but it also encourages your child to engage
longer in the interaction with you.
3. Lengthen our attention
span! Let’s
look at our own (often short) attention span and beliefs about our children. I
have witnessed parents and caretakers introduce twelve different games within a
15-minute session. This usually stems from a variety of things. For example,
when our child stops playing a game and opts for an ism, I often hear the
following:
· “My child was bored with
the game.”
· “My child no longer
wanted to play the game.”
· “He does not like this
game.”
· “I wasn’t exciting
enough, so he didn’t want to continue playing with me.”
In The Son-Rise Program®, we have a different
perspective as to why our children may leave a game to ism. We believe that it
does not necessarily mean that our child doesn’t want to continue playing the
game, but that they need to break and ism for a while in order to
refocus. The ism actually helps them get to a place where they are able
to interact with you more while playing the game. It’s with this understanding
that we suggest joining in with our children as they ism. Once they reconnect
by giving us a “green light” (i.e. a prompt where your child
either looks at you, talks to you or touches you) we will introduce the same
game we were playing before they decided to ism. This gives them the
opportunity to continue the game and lengthen their attention span. It also
gives your child other social opportunities (e.g. - verbal communication or
physical participation) during one particular activity. For example, if you
asked your child to say the word “throw” within a ball game, by reintroducing
the same activity, you offer your child another opportunity to learn the word.
We may have the chance to bring back the same game five times in a one-hour
session. Of course, if they clearly show us that they are interested in another
game, we’d simply play that one. However, if you initiated a new game, and they
enjoyed it, after they ism, bring back the game you were just playing.
4. Call your child back to
the game! You
can do this by simply asking your child to stay in the game. You could say
something like, “I can give you another swing –the biggest swing yet – if you
come over here again.” Or “There are more scarves to throw into the air, come
and see.” Ask them to come back to play twice, if they don’t respond, then
either join them in another game of their choice, or in their ism. By using
this technique, many children we work with stay a little longer. Give it a go!
You have nothing to lose by asking.
When
you passionately join your child’s repetitive behaviors, maybe by lining up
cars, running to and from a wall, or reciting a line from Star Wars,
you not only help build their attention span, but you also cherish the very
things that make them unique.