My 2 year old son has autism

You are very welcome.  It was a minefield when I realised my son had autism, and I wanted to help him as much as I can, just didn't know how.  That time is really difficult.

Wow, it really reminds me of my son at the age.  He had no understanding either - for example, he didn't understand that it was not a good idea to tip his cup and drop water everywhere!

It is fantastic that you have a lovely supporting family, really helps. Don't worry about putting him in nursery. I put my son in the term before his 3rd birthday, and he has really excelled there. There is a SENCo who does 1-1 sessions with him, as well as his key worker. They set targets in trying to get him to achieve things, for example, longer attention span. At first, he couldn't even stand being near other children – now, he happily plays alongside them. The other children are too young to think that he is in any way different.

1. We try to do messy play as much as we can. We have been going to a Play and Communication group with the NHS Speech Therapy department in our area has set up, and this is done in every session. My son hates different textures, and at home we have been introducing him slowly with things, such as uncooked rice/pasta/lentils, playdoh, paint etc.

2. We play games with him, and try and increase his attention span little by little. With my son, I know that if he paid more attention he would be more aware of his surroundings and pick up language easier. This was what we were told to concentrate on when we went privately to a Speech Therapist.

3. We always try to give him choices – does he want to play this car or that one? Does he want to eat these crisps or this biscuit? Giving him a choice enables him to start making his needs known.

4. We play games with 'Ready, Steady, Go'. In the beginning, we said this and then pushed a car for example. Then on 'Go' he would push the car. Then we would say 'Ready, Steady – and the leave a silence for him to fill in with 'Go'. Once he got the hang of that, we would say just 'Ready' and he would fill in the rest. Nursery has been doing this with him also. He now happily says it all, even though he has no other conversational speech.

5. We play games where we take turns. We say 'Toby's turn' when he is to do something, and 'Mummy's turn' before I do something. This helps him with social skills and patience. Again, nursery do this with him as well, so everything gets reinforced.

Hope some of this helps you, and good luck! Give me a shout if you need anything else x

You are very welcome.  It was a minefield when I realised my son had autism, and I wanted to help him as much as I can, just didn't know how.  That time is really difficult.

Wow, it really reminds me of my son at the age.  He had no understanding either - for example, he didn't understand that it was not a good idea to tip his cup and drop water everywhere!

It is fantastic that you have a lovely supporting family, really helps. Don't worry about putting him in nursery. I put my son in the term before his 3rd birthday, and he has really excelled there. There is a SENCo who does 1-1 sessions with him, as well as his key worker. They set targets in trying to get him to achieve things, for example, longer attention span. At first, he couldn't even stand being near other children – now, he happily plays alongside them. The other children are too young to think that he is in any way different.

1. We try to do messy play as much as we can. We have been going to a Play and Communication group with the NHS Speech Therapy department in our area has set up, and this is done in every session. My son hates different textures, and at home we have been introducing him slowly with things, such as uncooked rice/pasta/lentils, playdoh, paint etc.

2. We play games with him, and try and increase his attention span little by little. With my son, I know that if he paid more attention he would be more aware of his surroundings and pick up language easier. This was what we were told to concentrate on when we went privately to a Speech Therapist.

3. We always try to give him choices – does he want to play this car or that one? Does he want to eat these crisps or this biscuit? Giving him a choice enables him to start making his needs known.

4. We play games with 'Ready, Steady, Go'. In the beginning, we said this and then pushed a car for example. Then on 'Go' he would push the car. Then we would say 'Ready, Steady – and the leave a silence for him to fill in with 'Go'. Once he got the hang of that, we would say just 'Ready' and he would fill in the rest. Nursery has been doing this with him also. He now happily says it all, even though he has no other conversational speech.

5. We play games where we take turns. We say 'Toby's turn' when he is to do something, and 'Mummy's turn' before I do something. This helps him with social skills and patience. Again, nursery do this with him as well, so everything gets reinforced.

Hope some of this helps you, and good luck! Give me a shout if you need anything else x