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in Autism & Special Needs

Autism Therapy: Teaching Your Child About Personal Space

Share & Help Me Grow

Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders all have their own set of… quirky-ness. I mean no disrespect. All I mean is the reason why there is a spectrum is that there are so many different variations.

For Lira, she has an extremely high IQ but cannot communicate that information as quickly as her brain processes it. She likes to flap when her brain races… in her hair, in her face, against a wall or chair… or against someone. She has no concept of personal space.

Simple way to make personal space a more concrete idea for a child with Autism.

In order to help her realize that everyone has a personal bubble, I took one of her miniature princess toys and placed it in a plastic storage bag. I blew air into the bag and sealed it. I also grabbed her stuffed Mario.

We sat down together and I explained to her that everyone has an invisible bubble that is called “personal space.”ย  I asked her to poke at her princess toy and feel the bubble. I asked her what it felt like and explained that you cannot feel someone’s personal bubble but it is there.

Next, I told her that even though we cannot feel someone else’sย bubble,ย that person might be uncomfortable if someone tries to poke through it. Lira watched as I used her Mario to poke at the princess through the bag. As the princess bounced around inside the bubble, I asked Lira if she thought the princess was happy about Mario trying to pop her bubble.

Then, I told her that there are times when it is acceptable to step inside someone’s personal space, like when you give a hug, but that we should ask permission before trying to poke through their bubble. We ended the lesson by having the princess come out of her bubble to hug Mario.

Over the next several days, when Lira breached someone’s personal space, I reminded her that she was in that person’s bubble. After a week, I noticed she no longer flapped against people and that she seemed to respect our personal space more.

Please note: I am not a doctor nor am I a therapist. I am a mother of a child with Autism (PDD-NOS) and just wanted to share something that worked for us.


Filed Under: Autism & Special Needs Tagged With: Behavior, Manners, pdd-nos, Special Needs, therapy

About Tabitha

Hi! I'm Tabitha! But, I bet you expected someone named "Penny." Long story made short, Penny is the coupon binder I started in 2010 when we were totally broke... as in BANKRUPT. Now, as a mom of five, I make 6-figures a year working at home and share ways to help you move from penny to profit while you raise a family with sense on cents.

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Comments

  1. Annie Eskeldson says

    January 14, 2012 at 4:51 pm

    Awesome!! I love because we all ‘talk’ about the personal bubble, but this is FABULOUS for our kids – to SHOW them the actual bubble!! I can’t wait to use this on my daughter – she might just get it now. Thank you SO MUCH!!

    Reply
    • Penny says

      January 14, 2012 at 4:54 pm

      My pleasure, Annie! Thanks for all you do and all the ideas you share with special needs families. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  2. Heather Ryssman says

    January 14, 2012 at 5:15 pm

    Love this idea! I cannot wait to try this with my son

    Reply
    • Penny says

      January 14, 2012 at 5:46 pm

      Thank you, Heather. I would love to hear back about how it goes.

      Reply
  3. SUPAHMAMA says

    January 14, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    This is a brilliant idea! I have a cousin who is high functioning spectrum with a son who is autistic and they both have issues with the bubble. I may be forwarding this on to them. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Penny says

      January 15, 2012 at 1:11 pm

      The idea might be brilliant but I can assure you that I am not. LOL Hope this will help. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  4. Penny says

    January 15, 2012 at 1:43 pm

    This is a great idea for a visual on personal space! Most ASD kiddos are highly visual so this gives them something to reference when you speak of it later. Good job!

    Reply
    • Penny says

      January 15, 2012 at 2:35 pm

      Thank you. I appreciate the confidence very much. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  5. Joscelyne says

    January 25, 2012 at 10:26 am

    I need to try this idea with my sensory kiddo that always seems to want to be right up on us touching all the time. Good visual perspective for her to refer to. Thanks for posting.

    Reply
    • Penny says

      January 25, 2012 at 11:10 am

      I really hope it works for you. We had to try something when a friend told me that Lira was clapping against the teachers in Sunday School.

      Reply
  6. Martina says

    December 29, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    Thank you for sharing. Personal space seems to becoming more of an issue with our youngest every day. It causes a lot of problems between her and her sister. I think I am going to have to try this.

    Reply
    • Penny says

      December 31, 2012 at 8:27 am

      I hope it works for you, Martina. It really helped Lira visualize what I was talking about. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  7. Erika says

    March 20, 2014 at 9:49 am

    Thanks for posting this! My eight year old truly LOVES his little brother who is six. He is constantly rubbing on his hair and hugging him and my six year old is to the point of shouting and hitting because it is driving him crazy! I am desperate to find a way to fix this! Going to try this! All you mothers are in my heart as we deal with all the challenges put before us! God Bless you all!

    Reply

Trackbacks

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    April 1, 2017 at 2:26 pm

    […] Autism Therapy: Teaching Your Child about Personal Space […]

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  2. Encouragement for the Mother Dealing with Autism - Meet Penny says:
    April 1, 2017 at 2:29 pm

    […] Autism Therapy: Teaching Your Child about Personal Space […]

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  3. Our Autism Diagnosis Story - Meet Penny says:
    January 15, 2018 at 3:35 pm

    […] Autism Therapy: Teaching Your Child about Personal Space […]

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