I worked for ten years with mentally handicapped adults. I was the ‘one to one’ worker for nine years with a young adult male with autism. He was in his twenties but had the mental capacity of perhaps a four year old. He could become quite violent and he was a big guy at around 240 lbs., so I had my hands full…(lots of stories I could tell!!)
Agreement Routine
One of the routines I developed early on was an ‘agreement’ routine. This would take place usually in my vehicle prior to entering a store or recreational facility.
I would outline what we would be doing and what would be expected of him, etc.
Then I would ask:
1)Did you hear me?
2)Did you understand me?
3)Do you agree with me?
4)And you’re going to do what I’ve asked?
The order of the questions was important because they each asked for significantly different types of information…each question built on the preceding one. For example there was no point asking if he agreed with me if he hadn’t both heard what I had said and understood what I had said. And it was important to get a ‘Yes’ to each question before moving on to the next. Now, I can’t say for sure how much public mayhem this actually averted but I do believe it had a positive affect on his behaviour most of the time.