Hierarchy+of+ASD+Needs

I am often approached by parents and other caregivers and asked my opinion on a "case" or on a specific child. I have a very specific strategy that I use when looking at these individual cases. I thought I would share that here, as I think this should be the "launching point" for anyone seeking to understand how to approach the wellness of the ASD person in their care (even if that person is you). I have created a video that talks about the approach I see typically applied today versus this approach and I have created a Hierarchy of ASD Needs that clearly outlines (at a high level) how I approach troubleshooting and helping a person with ASD.

Here is my view of the Hierarchy of ASD Needs...



There are a couple of things that I "know" (up close and personal) as a person with ASD that many caregivers and professionals do not know that played a key part in the development of this approach.

1. Meltdowns and shutdowns are exceedingly painful to me and also result in long-term health issues. I avoid them to every extent possible. 2. As a person with a "pervasive disorder" I have a limited amount of tokens (see [|spoon theory]) to use to get through each day. 3. Learning something that goes against deep roots in our foundation system will take great amounts of energy and emotion. 4. Changes in my diet, my exercise and/or my sleep will greatly affect my abilities to process data/the world and to be productive in this world. (AKA, these changes increase ASD symptoms.) 5. Helplessness will send me straight to a state of increased ASD symptoms and anxiety. Long term, this leads to depression. 6. Being unaware prevents me from reaching my potential in life and results in destruction of confidence as well as abilities. It can also lead to health issues for me. 7. Social skills are highly situational. I can do well one day and on another day, I will fail miserably. My success is based on many variables. 8. Social skills must only be applied as icing on the cake of an ASD person who has all the other blocks in place and has achieved a "reduced symptom" baseline.

This video talks to how this hierarchy came to be based on the state of affairs today versus how they should be...

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Look to the left for pages on these other blocks as I will be developing them and updating them over the next year in preparation for the final curriculum.