Useful Tips when reading with young children with ASD

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Parents often talk to us about reading with their child being a difficult task. Sometimes the child may not stay with you while you read, or he/she may not answer your questions while reading. In the following, I will talk about some useful tips to make reading a successful and easy activity for parents to carry out at home.

Pick the right book

Building interest is the first step. You can begin by finding books with topics that your child is usually interested in. For example, if your child is interested in animals, pick a book about the zoo. If your child likes planets, look for a book about the solar system. Or you can also try to have a selection of books out for your child to choose from and see which ones he/she will pick to get a sense of the topics he/she likes.

Questions and instructions

When reading with children, we may find ourselves asking a lot of questions and expecting them to answer. We need to keep in mind that if the questions are beyond the child’s level, reading can easily become a tedious task than an enjoyable activity. To make reading more interesting, we can start with some questions or instructions that are simpler and interesting to your child. Below are a few examples:

1. Let’s see who can find the (object) on the page faster!
2. Let’s pretend to be (animal/ character).
3. What is this called?
4. Let’s do this together (have the child copy an action)!

Of course, when the child is more ready and engaged, you can slowly increase the difficulty of the questions.

Make it fun

Often the original storylines of the books may be over complicated to our young readers. Including some fun elements while you read can make it less of a chore and more of an interesting activity! Here are some tips:

1. Make some funny sounds and have your child do it together with you.
2. Act out the funny scenes in the story.
3. Use some props as you read together.
4. Draw out the characters your child likes while you read.
5. Take turns to read aloud.

Remember that we can always be creative and alter the content of the story to the child’s level. Be as fun and creative as you can be!

Find the right time and place

Right time: Schedule a reading time everyday to read with your child as a habit. Don’t be overly ambitious but start with a shorter duration. Keep the child successful during that period of time. If necessary, small rewards can be given for staying with you and finishing a few pages at the beginning.

Right place: Having a specific space to help build reading habit. Child can warm up faster in a space he/she is familiar with. Besides, away from distractors like his favorite toys can help the child be more concentrated on reading and make the process easier.

Keep in mind that reading more is not the goal. The key is to make reading more of an interesting activity than a boring task. Reading can be very fun and enjoyable if done the right way!

 
 

When a child likes reading, many different training programs are able to carry on easily during storytime. Here is an example:

Teaching Before / After concept by using books & stories:

 

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Information provided by:

Eunice Luk Autism Partnership Behavioral Consultant, MSc, BCBA

Ms. Eunice Luk is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from St. Cloud State University. She graduated from the University of Hong Kong with first class honors in Bachelor of Social Sciences, majoring in Psychology. Ms. Luk joined Autism Partnership in 2011 and began working directly with students in one-on-one and group therapy sessions. She is experienced in parent training and staff training. She has also assisted in conducting workshops for parents and other professionals in Hong Kong. Ms. Luk receives ongoing training from Dr. Angel Au and Mr. Toby Mountjoy.

 

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有些育有自閉症幼兒的家長經常跟我們反映和孩子閱讀非常困難。有時孩子可能在家長閱讀時不願安坐，或者孩子不會回答家長的問題。在此，我將分享一些小技巧及要點，讓閱讀成為家長在家裡可以輕鬆而成功進行的簡單活動。

選擇合適的書籍

首先要培養興趣。家長可以先找一些孩子通常會感興趣的主題的書籍。例如，你的孩子對動物感興趣，就挑一本關於動物園的書；你的孩子喜歡星球，找一本關於星球/銀河系的書。或者你也可以提供一些書給孩子作出選擇，看看他/她會選擇哪些主題，從而了解他/她的喜好。

發問及指示

當與孩子一起閱讀時，家長們可能會習慣問很多問題，並期望孩子可以回答。但我們需要注意，如果問題超出了孩子的閱讀及理解水平，那次閱讀的經歷很容易成為一項乏味的任務，而非一項有趣的活動。為了讓閱讀更有趣，我們可以從一些對您的孩子來說較簡單及有趣的問題和指示開始。下面是一些例子:

1. 讓我們看看誰能最快地找到頁面上的(物件)!
2. 讓我們假裝成(動物/人物)。
3. 這叫什麼?
4. 讓我們一起做這個(讓孩子模仿一個動作)!

當然，當孩子準備更充分及投入閱讀的時候，家長可以續漸增加問題的難度。

讓閱讀更有趣

對於年幼的讀者來說，有些書的故事情節可能過於複雜。家長在閱讀時可以加入一些有趣的元素，讓閱讀變得更有趣，而非成為一件苦差事! 以下是一些例子:

1. 發出一些有趣的聲音，讓孩子跟著做。
2. 扮演故事中一些有趣的情節。
3. 在閱讀故事的時候，使用一些道具來輔助。
4. 在閱讀到孩子喜歡的角色時，把它畫出來。
5. 和孩子輪流大聲地朗讀。

記住，我們可以根據孩子的閱讀水平來發揮創意及改變故事的內容。盡我們所能讓閱讀充滿樂趣和創意!

選擇合適的時間及地點

合適的時間：每天安排一個特定的時間和孩子一起閱讀，讓這成為一種習慣。不要過於雄心勃勃，由較短的閱讀時間開始，讓孩子在這段時間內保持成功感。如有需要，在開始的階段，當孩子能夠陪在你身邊並完成幾頁的閱讀，就可以給他獎勵。

合適的地點：設定一個特定的空間來幫助培養閱讀的習慣，孩子在熟悉的環境下能更快開始進入閱讀的氣氛。此外，撤除一些干擾物，如孩子最喜歡的玩具，讓孩子可以更專注於閱讀，使過程更容易進行。

家長們可以經常提醒自己，閱讀的量越多並不代表越好。關鍵是讓孩子感覺閱讀是一件有趣的事情，而非苦悶的任務。只要用對方法，閱讀可以非常有趣及愉快!

 
 

當孩子喜歡閱讀，我們可以利用不同的故事書來進行不用的課程，以下是其中一個例子：

看故事訓練詞彙識別

 

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資訊提供:

陸皓昕 Autism Partnership 應用行為分析治療顧問
理學碩士, 國際認證行為分析師

陸皓昕小姐(Ms. Eunice Luk)為國際認證行為分析師 (BCBA)，擁有聖克勞德「應用行為分析」的碩士(M.S. ABA)學位，並以一級榮譽優異成績畢業於香港大學社會科學系，主修心理學。她於2011年加入AP，提供一對一治療及小組訓練給不同程度的孩子，亦負責培訓家長及內部員工。陸小姐亦定期到訪家庭及社區指導不同的個案，參與學校的培訓課程及工作坊，協助老師處理學生的問題。陸小姐現定期接受區浩慈博士和Toby Mountjoy先生（董事）的培訓。

 

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