Comparison: Structured routine vs. free-form day for my autistic kid. No contest.

I tried letting my son just flow with whatever for a week last month, thinking I was being flexible. It was a disaster. He had three meltdowns by Wednesday because he didn't know what was coming next. We went back to our visual schedule on the fridge with times written down, and he calmed right down. Has anyone else found that rigid structure actually reduces anxiety way more than any 'go with the flow' advice?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarahh482d ago

Oh man, this is bigger than just kids. I see the same thing everywhere, people say flexibility is good but knowing exactly what's happening is what actually keeps people calm.

emerycarr1d ago

Right? Nothing says "relaxing" like being kept guessing all day long. Could just skip the middleman and hand everyone a mystery box instead.