One of the first abilities of a child that usually attracts the attention of parents and others after opening the tongue is the ability to recognize himself and his body parts, which arises automatically in normal children. In fact, from about 2 years old, a normal child can recognize and even show his body parts such as: hair, hands, feet, nose, eyes, mouth, etc. Children with autism spectrum disorder often have difficulty acquiring this skill and need help to acquire it. The following is a model for teaching body recognition to children with autism spectrum disorder.
Step # 1- Discovering Your Purpose Start with training. Show the hand to the child as an example. - During the training, draw the child's attention as much as you can to the organ you intend to train - Then touch the child's hand and ask him to touch it himself, and at the same time touch the name of that member. Express. When the child is almost familiar with the organ, ask, "Where is your hand?" Or "Show your hand". Encourage your child if he or she hears your request. Otherwise, guide him by pointing and physical guidance.
Step # 2- Discovering Your Purpose There is no such thing as a "first" part of life. Then ask both members at the same time. At this stage, ask him questions alternately.
Step 3: If the child is completely successful in recognizing two large organs, gradually teach him to recognize the other large organs. Once your child knows all the big parts of the body, teach them to know the small parts as well as the big parts.
Step # 4- Discovering Your Purpose There is no such thing as a "perfect" body image. Place the pictures on the table in front of the child and state the name of each member. The child should show you pictures of each member. If the child has a problem at this stage, start the training with one or two pictures and then increase the number of pictures.
Step 5: In this step, teach the child to express body parts. To teach expression, first ask the child to point to one of his or her body parts and immediately ask, "What is this?" Encourage the child if the answer is correct and teach the other members to speak one by one. Then show the child a body part and say, "What is this?" Encourage the child to name it.
Note: Because it is more difficult for most children with autism spectrum disorder to recognize body parts than objects, fruits, and other items, the following strategies will be helpful in facilitating their education:
A) To be more aware of the body parts, place the child in front of the mirror and ask him to raise or shake the desired organ, then draw his attention to the mirror and ask him to look at the desired organ.
B) Sit in front of the child and ask him to show or hold your hand. When the child responds correctly to your command, exaggerate the "hand" and then encourage him.
C) Another helpful way to teach a child to recognize body parts is to show the doll body parts. In this method, ask the child to show the desired organ on the doll.
