Post #14 Wellbeing (2) - Keep Learning

Today's post focuses on an important step to wellbeing - keep learning! 

My first post on wellbeing emphasised the importance of identifying activities that give your son or daughter 'good feelings' and also their strengths, skills and interests. Yesterday's post referred to Caroline Smith's acronym CARES which you can read more about here: Wellbeing - CARES. 

I suggested ways you might provide opportunities for your son or daughter to have some control of their activities and to make choices. By adding 'good feelings' activities to the home learning day, and finding ways for your child to have some control and make choices, we can promote their wellbeing and happiness. 

Promoting Good Feelings when Home Learning (2) Today the focus turns to another essential element of wellbeing and that is the importance of learning. The CARES idea includes learning in relation to: 

• Access & opportunity - to try new activities which your child may learn about and enjoy
• Skills & competencies - opportunities to learn new skills in academic, social, emotional, physical & leisure areas.

Why is learning important for wellbeing? Amongst the general population learning has been shown to build confidence, boost self-esteem and provide a sense of purpose. Learning alongside, or with, others can enhance connections to other people. People who are involved in learning report feeling better about themselves and also feel better able to cope with stress. Setting and achieving learning targets can generate positive feelings and motivation to do and learn more. Moreover, the relationship between wellbeing and learning is two-way, with both affecting the other in positive ways - learning can make us feel good and improve our wellbeing, equally if we are feeling good, confident, have a sense of purpose then our wellbeing impacts our capacity to learn and to enjoy learning.

So what about autistic children and young people? All of the above benefits apply equally to your children, engaging in learning can improve their wellbeing whilst positive wellbeing or good feelings will enhance their capacity for, and attitude towards, learning.  BUT, we need to think and plan carefully in order to gain the most benefits.

Learning for some of our children and young people has not always been the best of experiences. Some will resist anything which sounds remotely like formal learning as this generates high levels of anxiety. There are multiple reasons why this may be the case, but I will not go in to those here. Rather than focus upon what is negative about learning, I would rather focus on  how we can generate more positive experiences of learning - as Peter Vermeulen might say, focus on learning which gives good feelings (previous post). If we can find ways of learning that give our children good feelings, we can then look carefully at why some learning is positive for them and use this information to plan more positive learning experiences.

So, what is learning? Whilst many of you will immediately think back to school days and remember formal, timetabled lessons - not all of which were enjoyable - learning goes beyond the formal route to qualifications. Learning can take place anywhere, any time and in a multitude of contexts. Learning through play can be joyful, not only for young children but at any age! Learning about what interests you can make you feel good and give you energy and motivation to learn more and to tackle those tasks which may usually feel daunting. Most importantly, learning can be fun! 

Learning for your sons and daughters may look different, but nevertheless we can find ways to promote learning which makes them feel good. Learning can be fun for our children, as long as we have considered autism-friendly ways of supporting them to learn the best they can. Whilst I know many are daunted at the prospects of autism home learning, we could actually seize this as an OPPORTUNITY for our children to learn in different ways, to enjoy learning, to pursue their interests and for learning to be fun. Yes, many of you may be engaging your children in more formal academic learning, with support from schools and the amazing resources which are now available, but you are not expected to re-create school at home. Take the opportunity to learn in the widest sense of the term - children can learn from many different types of activity, so do not restrict yourself or your children to 'school work'. Be creative, musical, dramatic, learn in different contexts (kitchen, garden, on your daily walk...), find ways to learn which are joyful or fun for your children and for you. These experiences will be the ones your children might remember for years to come.

Opportunities for NEW activities
Where to start? Always think of the structure you need to support your child so they know what to expect. Add new learning opportunities to the schedule - it's a good idea to 'sandwich' the new activity between two preferred activities, especially if your child resists anything new. Make sure there is a clear finished to the new activity, use a visual timer if your child needs to see how long the activity goes on for. 
What if they resist? If your child is highly resistant to any new activity, make sure the new activity is brief and finishes quickly. If your child resists engaging in the activity, but stands aside and watches while you and/or siblings complete the activity, that's fine - they may not be 'doing', but observing from the side-line is still learning. Repeat the activity on other days and you may find your son or daughter begins to join in and may eventually enjoy. If not, then don't give up, plan a different activity and start again :)

Introduce a learning activity which includes your child's interests. For example, if your child loves dinosaurs, then set up an arts and craft activity featuring dinosaurs or make dinosaur biscuits! Some young people might enjoy starting a new project which allows them to pursue their interests, this could involve researching the topic and creating a scrap book or an interactive poster. Learning how to create an interactive poster or presentation may be appealing and in the process they are learning new technology skills - there are many Apps for making interactive posters and presentations, look at these examples using 'padlet': Tallest buildings in the world Dinosaur time periods Recipes 

Try some physical activity learning - physical activity is another important element of wellbeing. There is an abundance of resources available for physical activities (see resources post for some ideas), or try some new sensory activities (see sensory ideas post). Outdoor learning can be motivating for some children and young people, so if you have some outside space try going outdoors. Go on a scavenger hunt for your daily exercise (support this with visual of what to look for). Sensory play activities can be fun outside. You could take an activity which you know your child likes outdoors - the 'new' learning is the context e.g., learning to play with Duplo outdoors). Many of our youngsters live sedate lives at home, so trying new physical or sensory activities (indoors or outdoors) could be important to teach them to be more active. Again, if they resist, sandwich the new physical activity between two activities which they prefer - this applies even to the most able young people, who actually may be the most resistant to new physical activity!

21.04.20

English

Break

Maths revision

Lunch

Computer time

Physical exercise

Play station

Plan tomorrow’s schedule

Try some creative activities, there are lots of ideas around, for example: TWINKL craft activities Lego projects. Learn some new songs and signs, Fight song songs & rhymes This is me Watch this activity designed by a  parent:

Learn to play an instrument (using you Tube Lessons!) or make your own instruments.  Creative activities can be enjoyable and fun, at the same time providing many opportunities for learning. 

Make use of opportunities that are part of daily life - for example, some children and young people love to help and learning new chores can be fun! Or teach some simple gardening activities which can be an enjoyable physical and/or sensory activity. Try some cooking activities, see these examples of visual supports for cooking: Recipes with symbols Recipes with photos Or make your own photo recipes - ask your child to take photos of each stage of the cooking.

Create opportunities for social learning. Future posts will give suggestions for developing social learning in more detail. For now, think about how you might add a social element to a solitary activity which your child enjoys. For example, take an interest in your son's or daughter's special interest - for example, research a topic and create an interactive poster together. If you child plays at length in a sand tray, sit alongside and mirror their actions as they sprinkle the sand - lots more on these types of activities in future posts. Involve siblings - autism home learning is a great opportunity for siblings to spend more time together and to learn together at home (future post on siblings).

Key points:

1. Learning is an essential element of wellbeing.
2. Autism home learning is a great opportunity.
3. Use structure to support learning (schedule, visual supports, finished). 
4. Use your child's interests to teach new skills.
5. Create opportunities at home to teach new skills or activities - think about physical, creative, daily life activities and social learning opportunities.
6. Most of all try to help you son or daughter to enjoy learning at home. Use learning to build their confidence and self-esteem and to give them good feelings.