Amanda Haydock, founder of The Rainbow Project, a specialist, supportive environment for pre-school autistic children, gives her top tips on helping pre-school autistic children to develop communication, social and play skills.

Top 5 Tips

1. Trust and support the parents. They know their child best, and from a place of mutual trust, growth is much more likely for their child.
2. Slow down.  If we are always trying to get the next thing ticked off, we won’t take the time to notice the small windows of opportunity for connection.
3. Think about sensory needs and regulation as paramount, above all else. An unregulated child doesn’t have any spare energy left for interaction! If it takes 5 minutes in a swing or on a trampoline, or a weighted vest, or a tight squeeze to get that child regulated, do that before you even attempt to get two-way communication going.
4. Prize communication over independence, at least at first. Put their favourite toys in clear boxes so they have to communicate to get them; give them one small incentive at a time; put the bubbles out of reach but in sight.
5. Follow their interests, however obscure they might be. One of the children in my care likes to scratch their finger along the trampoline surface, so I started doing the same. The child looked at me, smiled, then held my finger and used it to scratch the trampoline. A connection was made!