Parents of a special needs child can sometimes find themselves in sticky situations in regards to disciplining their special needs child. Most parents realize too late that discipline should start earlier rather than later. While you may not be able to discipline a special needs child the same way you would a child without disabilities, you can adapt your disciplinarian techniques to your special needs child. Adapting is something that a special needs parent know all about.
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Create simple rules for the whole house. Use simplified rules according to your child’s ability to understand them. Cover the most problematic behaviors first and then work from there. However, do not throw a lot of rules and regulations at your child at one time. Start with five or ten and you can begin to build from that. It may take a while to get the first five or ten down before you can move on to others.
Always praise for positive behaviors. Let’s face it what child doesn’t like praise at any age or cognitive level. When you reinforce the good behaviors, children will be more likely to repeat them. When the child preforms several good behaviors in a row, reward the child with something that they really love. The same can go for bad behavior, by taking the object away from the child, the child will make the connection. Not right away but eventually. This leads to the next topic.
Be consistent with discipline, without consistency chaos reigns. This rings true for every child but especially those with special needs. You provide structure for your child to live by and special needs children thrive on structure.
