7 yr old stuck in a mind set

[CormacksGirl]

My son has ASD and once he gets something in his head it is there and there is no shifting it.

He is in mainstream school and is very bright and is very factual/literal in his thinking even in imaginative play!

He is obsessed with trains and know that if something is on the track the train can't swerve so has to crash into what ever is on the track, so you can imagine what it's like when he is pretending to be a train in the playground, if kids don't move out his way with adequate warning ( he'll sound his 'horn') then he just ploughs through then resulting in kids getting hurt and him getting in trouble.

How can I get him to realise he can't do this in real life? Anybody got any strategies?

 

[DobbyForever]

Hey! Quick reply will pop back later

My son is 5.5 with ASD and I teach elementary, but I’m not an expert so take this with a grain of salt.

1. Has the school assessed him? He doesn’t necessarily need a 1-1 behaviorist but some services they can supply include consulting with a behaviorist or small group/individual counseling around this specific behavior

I think if he’s seeing this literally, then you can work with that. Find some videos online of trains and other vehicles making emergency stops. Yes, trains can crash through things because it’s HARD to stop but it’s not IMPOSSIBLE and in most cases they DO stop

Remind him that his body is like a train and can cause damage. Talk about how running into friends impacts them physically and emotionally. If I run into someone then they _.

remind him that there are things trains have or do to be safe just like him. He should try to always be looking around. If someone is in front of him, yes he can announce himself but he should also either change his track OR do an emergency stop

that’s where I’d start. Practice at home and make sure the staff at school practice. Use consistent language between home and school. Then just praise praise praise when he has a safe body and remind him gently of expectations when he does crash

 

[CormacksGirl]

Hey! Quick reply will pop back later

My son is 5.5 with ASD and I teach elementary, but I’m not an expert so take this with a grain of salt.

1. Has the school assessed him? He doesn’t necessarily need a 1-1 behaviorist but some services they can supply include consulting with a behaviorist or small group/individual counseling around this specific behavior

I think if he’s seeing this literally, then you can work with that. Find some videos online of trains and other vehicles making emergency stops. Yes, trains can crash through things because it’s HARD to stop but it’s not IMPOSSIBLE and in most cases they DO stop

Remind him that his body is like a train and can cause damage. Talk about how running into friends impacts them physically and emotionally. If I run into someone then they _.

remind him that there are things trains have or do to be safe just like him. He should try to always be looking around. If someone is in front of him, yes he can announce himself but he should also either change his track OR do an emergency stop

that’s where I’d start. Practice at home and make sure the staff at school practice. Use consistent language between home and school. Then just praise praise praise when he has a safe body and remind him gently of expectations when he does crash

Thank you so much for the reply, will definitely be looking into this!