A short video by Ming (Agents of Speech) discussing reasons children on the autism spectrum or with speech delays resist sitting still. Using a parent anecdote, Ming frames the problem as lack of perceived benefit for the child and recommends creating reasons to sit (rewards, making sitting fun, providing incentives).
Let's talk about why children on the spectrum or delay children, won't sit still. Let me tell you a story about a conversation with one of our members and she was telling me how in the car the kid used to be able to sit in the baby chair for a very long time and now he's starting to walk all over because she moved back to USA and they were in the Philippines. And in the Philippines you don't need to do all these things, right? Although I would say safety wise, they should have anyways. But during that time he was allowed to do so. And then when he moved back to usa, it was very difficult for him to sit back at the correct place and stay there because there was a lot of stimuli out there. The first thing I asked the parent, was there a reason to sit down for the kid? Obviously no. There was no upside for the kid. There was only downside because you're strapped onto the baby chair, you can't move, can't do anything. Although you give like a screen time for the child, the outside world is a lot more fun for him. Right. The first question I ask, is there a reason to sit down? If there isn't, make sure that there's a reason. Okay. And that means giving, providing rewards, making it fun. When they sit down, think about what they get when they sit.
