Autistic Child Stuck on One Way to Play? Teach Variations 👦🏽 | Autism PT #25

👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. 🎥 Watch Eeshwar’s Full Video Series    • Physical Therapy with a Child with Autism,...   In this video, I work with my co-instructor Eeshwar 👦🏽, a 13½-year-old with severe involvement due to autism, on adapting to changes within a familiar activity. Many children with autism can learn a motor activity successfully and then begin to associate that specific movement pattern with the setup around them. Once they develop a motor plan, they may continue using that same plan whenever they encounter a similar situation. In this activity, we use six carpet squares arranged in a straight line. Eeshwar first practices jumping forward from square to square. Once he understands the activity, I keep the setup exactly the same but change the "rules" by asking him to jump sideways and backward. Sometimes introducing a variation within the same setup can actually be harder than teaching a completely new activity because the child must stop using the previously learned response and switch to a new one. I first demonstrate each variation with Eeshwar’s younger brother, Maadhav 👦🏾 (4½ years old), before asking Eeshwar to try it himself. Eeshwar is nonverbal and communicates primarily through movement (often pulling adults toward what he wants), with limited prompted use of a communication app. --- ⏱️ Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 0:18 Learning a motor plan 0:35 Forward jumping demonstration 0:55 Eeshwar practices forward jumping 1:15 Using bubbles for motivation 1:24 Introducing a new variation 1:35 Sideways jumping demonstration 1:58 Eeshwar practices sideways jumping 2:40 Why sensory rewards can help 2:52 Backward jumping demonstration 3:16 Eeshwar practices backward jumping 3:32 Adapting to new rules within a familiar activity 3:45 Closing thoughts --- 🧠 Why I Change the Rules but Keep the Setup the Same Many children with autism can learn a movement pattern and perform it successfully. The challenge sometimes comes when the activity changes. After learning to jump forward across the carpet squares, a child may automatically continue using that same motor plan whenever the carpet squares are presented. For example: 🟪 Carpet squares = jump forward When asked to jump sideways or backward, the child may continue pulling up the original motor plan because that pattern has already been learned. Sometimes adapting to a variation within the same setup can actually be harder than learning an entirely new activity. In this video, Eeshwar practices paying attention to a new demonstration, inhibiting a previously learned response, updating a motor plan, and adapting his movement based on new information. --- 🌐 Stay Connected Website: www.pediatricPTexercises.com Facebook: Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises Email: [email protected] ⚠️ Disclaimer This video is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. It is unethical to provide specific treatment recommendations for a child I have not personally evaluated. --- 📚 Children's Educational Books P is for Poop and Pee Accidents https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 A is for Anxiety https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V A is for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR C is for Cerebral Palsy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP D is for Down Syndrome https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 A is for Autism https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB --- 📘 Professional Books for Pediatric Therapists Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Hips https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Knees https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Ankles https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD --- 🌍 Captions To turn on captions: Click CC To translate captions: Settings → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate