Build a Group home for 200 Indians with Autism

‘A’ is a charming young resident of Ananda- the Assisted living for the persons with autism.

‘A’ had a lot of difficulties to complete his morning routines on time. Every day assists used to wait outside ‘A’s room for him to come out after finishing his morning activities and go down to the dining table to have breakfast. The waiting had become a routine as ‘A’ would take a lot of time for his morning activities. 

As a strategy, educators had already extended his breakfast timings so that he doesn't have to miss it. At Ambar (the residential area) everybody follows a scheduled meal time and most of the residents are able to follow it. But for ‘A’ we were lenient as he was taking a longer time in rest room and as a result getting delayed for his  breakfast . We explained it to other residents why we are allowing ‘A’ to have his breakfast after the time is over. 

We decided to work on his long duration morning jobs. As we observed him, one thing became clear that he has significant difficulties while transitioning between multiple activities. 

 So, our first step of the intervention was to break this routine. We gave him visual supports which helped him understand his jobs and transition effectively. We also gave him a timer which helped him finish his tasks on time. We have praised ‘A’ when ever he had shown a little success. All these strategies helped him understand and complete his morning jobs on time.

 At present we set the timer for 30 minutes and within that time ‘A’ is able to complete all the jobs including getting dressed. Now ‘A’ is always on time for the breakfast with the fellow residents.