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Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 190323" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>Susie, I think we're all in agreement on the need to keep the kitten safe. I think there are a lot of reasons for this - not just the welfare of the kitten, but this does also connect to how autistic kids can learn.</p><p></p><p>If the kitten is still around, then he can still get to the kitten and "have fun" with it. This is also learned behaviour - he's been getting a payoff every time he hurts the kitten and this is going to keep happening as long as he has access to it.</p><p></p><p>So not only for the sake of the cat - for the sake of the child, they need to be kept apart.</p><p></p><p>This begins because autistic kids can, depending on what it is, learn FAST. A single occurrence can be enough to set up the expectation that they will get the payoff every time. Example: we live in a seaside village with a handful of shops. In summer we go to the beach most afternoons. When we need to buy milk I go to the small grocery store. Occasionally after we'd been to the beach, I'd also stop at the grocery store to buy milk. ONE day after we'd been to the beach and I stopped to buy milk, I decided on impulse to buy an ice cream for each of us.</p><p>ONCE.</p><p></p><p>difficult child 3 remembered. Next time we went to the beach he expected me to buy an ice cream afterwards. I didn't. He threw a tantrum. Next time we went to the beach he expected me to buy an ice cream afterwards. I didn't. He threw a tantrum AGAIN.</p><p></p><p>And so on. He would say, "We ALWAYS buy an ice cream!" and I reply (to no avail) "No, we did it ONCE."</p><p></p><p>In difficult child 3's mind, because we did it once, it instantly became the status quo.</p><p></p><p>In this case - the status quo must change. To change the status quo, you need to change the factors that are part of this. It's as if I could transport me and difficult child 3 to a village where there is no shop. No shop = no chance to buy ice cream. No chance to buy ice cream = not my fault. No tantrum.</p><p></p><p>So, removing the kitten = removing the feedback every time difficult child tortures the cat and it yowls.</p><p></p><p>difficult child 3 has now learned to adapt. He is amazing. But although he made the connection between beach and ice cream with ONE exposure, it is because he was ready to learn this. There have been many other times when difficult child 3 has learnt something else just as quickly. But if he's not ready to learn, then no amount of repetition is going to do the trick.</p><p></p><p>So MWM, and Susie - you're both right. Sometimes they just can't learn something. It can be incredibly upsetting and frustrating. And sometimes they can learn something, really well, and brilliantly. When an autistic child is ready to learn - then it is amazing.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 190323, member: 1991"] Susie, I think we're all in agreement on the need to keep the kitten safe. I think there are a lot of reasons for this - not just the welfare of the kitten, but this does also connect to how autistic kids can learn. If the kitten is still around, then he can still get to the kitten and "have fun" with it. This is also learned behaviour - he's been getting a payoff every time he hurts the kitten and this is going to keep happening as long as he has access to it. So not only for the sake of the cat - for the sake of the child, they need to be kept apart. This begins because autistic kids can, depending on what it is, learn FAST. A single occurrence can be enough to set up the expectation that they will get the payoff every time. Example: we live in a seaside village with a handful of shops. In summer we go to the beach most afternoons. When we need to buy milk I go to the small grocery store. Occasionally after we'd been to the beach, I'd also stop at the grocery store to buy milk. ONE day after we'd been to the beach and I stopped to buy milk, I decided on impulse to buy an ice cream for each of us. ONCE. difficult child 3 remembered. Next time we went to the beach he expected me to buy an ice cream afterwards. I didn't. He threw a tantrum. Next time we went to the beach he expected me to buy an ice cream afterwards. I didn't. He threw a tantrum AGAIN. And so on. He would say, "We ALWAYS buy an ice cream!" and I reply (to no avail) "No, we did it ONCE." In difficult child 3's mind, because we did it once, it instantly became the status quo. In this case - the status quo must change. To change the status quo, you need to change the factors that are part of this. It's as if I could transport me and difficult child 3 to a village where there is no shop. No shop = no chance to buy ice cream. No chance to buy ice cream = not my fault. No tantrum. So, removing the kitten = removing the feedback every time difficult child tortures the cat and it yowls. difficult child 3 has now learned to adapt. He is amazing. But although he made the connection between beach and ice cream with ONE exposure, it is because he was ready to learn this. There have been many other times when difficult child 3 has learnt something else just as quickly. But if he's not ready to learn, then no amount of repetition is going to do the trick. So MWM, and Susie - you're both right. Sometimes they just can't learn something. It can be incredibly upsetting and frustrating. And sometimes they can learn something, really well, and brilliantly. When an autistic child is ready to learn - then it is amazing. Marg [/QUOTE]
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