Powered By
Johnny will ask 500 times a day to go fishing! It used to be dinosaur facts, then lizard facts and I would listen and tell him how proud I am of him. Now with fishing it is an activity that requires participation and I'm having a very hard time explaining that many times a day why we can't just go. My family and friends are also bombarded with the question. He is 9 and understands to a point, but the question ALWAYS come up within another hour. I have told him he has an hour a day to talk to… read more
Answer Summary
Members rallied around a parent struggling with their 9-year-old son's relentless repetitive questions about fishing, sharing creative... Read more
Well, what you do is you take a box and mark it as the throw away box. If there is a thought or something that is bothering him or he is repeating that needs to stop you have him put it on a piece of paper and put it in the throw away box. Then it is done with. It really helped at night to "get rid" of thoughts that where keeping him awake. Now to be honest not all the thoughts stayed away. We might have to reenter it into the box the next day, but we did have some success with it. Even at 13 we sometimes throw away into our mental box.
The mental box is a good idea. I guess it depends on how high-functioning he is. For my Aspie daughter (9), I tell her, "think about that question and ask me again." Then she'll repeat the answer I've already given her. But for my high-functioning Autistic ex-husband, I'd give him question cards and he was only allowed to ask me one question (like your son's fishing question), 3 times a day. And each time he asked it, he'd have to give away his question cards. LOL At least it makes them think about quantity and when to ask.
For my non-verbal son who keeps dragging me to the same place, say, to "ask" to go outside... I just have to repeat myself and deal with the tantrum. lol
Fishing games, fishing pictures, fishing tv channel/programs, pretend tackle box, magnet fishing pole and fish..with pretend pond. Make fish related activities that he can independently partake in. Repetitive thoughts/behaviors are common and we definitely have to get creative with helping them manage their Autism. They did not choose this life we created for them, so I focus on how can I make it as easy for them to cope with....which in turn will help us cope. BUT the focus should remain on helping them cope and manage Autism without feeling as if they are doing something wrong.
@A MyAutismTeam Member :Glad I could make you smile. lol I also made a calendar program for him because he kept leaving the toilet seat up (ladies, you know how that can be at 3am...) Every time he left it up, I put a big "T" on that day on the calendar. If there was a "t", I got a night off and got take out. =) It really works if they're obsessed with money and are cheap. lol
I wonder what would happen if you created a "fishing box", a stick and line plus a hook of some sort, i.e. giant safety pin if that would be safe. He can fish for whatever is in there, plastic fish, outgrown clothes, toys not in use. A thrift shop might be a place to pick up a store of inexpensive toys/books/games that could be cycled through so things were different from time to time. I do something similar with our guy; then he when he wants to "fish", (in our case do a complex cowboy thing) I say well, you know where the box is. If that isn't what he wants to do I just tell him that is cowboy for today and if he Chooses not to play then he could read or, or and I end up with clean your bathroom. OH WAIT! I think I know what to do...;-)
Join
Your Privacy Choices
