It all started with a BUTTERFLY NET and sight word cards!

My husband and I discovered through a butterfly net and sight word cards that Jayden learns and plays in his own way! Because of this, Learn and Play My Way was born!

Check out the video to the left! Jayden was not interested in learning sight words if I held the cards in his face prompting him to read them. Of course, he held on to his butterfly net (his current safety net object at the time). So hubby said allow him to catch the cards in the net while he reads them aloud. The butterfly net was a positive reinforcer and encouraged him to read! I tried it once and it was a hit! That day was amazing! I legitimately jumped for joy because he was open to learning, but in his own way. Which was fine by me as long as he practiced his sight words that would in turn build reading skills.

Kids with Autism have Obsessions, Rituals & Routines

We did notice that Jayden is much more calm and less anxious when he had his butterfly net. It was only a dollar at the dollar store. Sometimes, us parents think that buying the most expensive toy will do the trick in terms of satisfying their entertainment. Not for Jayden. To date, he's satisfied with toys from the Dollar Tree or Five and Below.

Jayden has always had some sort of object or toy that he was most interested in. Society calls it obsession's. I mean seriously, I love watching YouTube videos so does that mean I'm obsessed? Perhaps.

If allowing him to have an object/toy that he rotates from time to time that is going to allow him to relieve stress and provides comfort - I really don't care. Daily obsessives behaviors that are attached to objects and toys are manageable within our family. At one point, my husband did resist Jayden carrying around a box. He quickly realized that after Jayden had a huge melt down in the car one day while running errands (without the box) - Jayden really needed his box. He currently carries a box around. Any box. They switch up from time to time in terms of color and size. We haven't determined why a box. In any event, it makes him happy. He carries it to school. It honestly has allowed him to transition very well in an academic setting. And sometimes it can be a distraction. We are working on the distraction part.

He carries it to private therapy as well. It's literally with him wherever he goes. It's quite obvious a box makes him feel safe.

For more information on Kids with Autism that have Obsession's, Ritual & Routines:

https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/behaviour/understanding-behaviour/obsessive-behaviour-asd#:~:text=When%20they%20feel%20stressed%20because,children%20developing%20obsessions%20and%20rituals.