I’m struggling with a 3 year old diagnosed with Autism who avoids interacting with others. He would be perfectly happy to seclude himself and be alone. It’s difficult to find anything motivating enough to get him to interact and communicate in treatment.
The Benefit of Having Friends:
- Talk to the child and read books about the benefits of having friends.
- Help the child explore his emotions about interactions with other people and see if you can figure out what’s holding him back.
Find Things that are More Fun with 2 People:
- Provide opportunities for the child to engage in activities that are more fun with two people (playing catch, being pulled in a wagon, riding a teeter totter, playing a 2-person game, etc.). Look for the activities that the child seems to enjoy the most.
- Talk to the child about how those activities are more fun with friends and therefore, friends are good!
Move Slowly Through the Levels of Play:
- If the child is super resistant, don’t jump straight to making him interact fully with others. Start by encouraging him to just play near other children and then parallel play with the same materials as other children.
- Give classroom teachers help on how to encourage this in the classroom.
Look for Signs of Over-Stimulation:
- When the child is around other children, look for signs that he is getting overstimulated. Try to find ways to reduce over-stimulation (helping him understand what’s happening around him or lowering lights and noise levels).
