The 4 S's

From "More Than Words:  Helping parents promote communication and social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder." Sussman, F. 

These ideas are also great for any child with a language delay!

Say Less
Stress
Go Slow
Show

Here is an example of what this would look like:
"Johnny, come over here right now and put all of this stuff away before you can get a cookie". (said while Mom is standing in the opposite side of the room from Johnny.)

What message do you think Johnny got out of this direction?  Most likely, "cookie."  He gets excited, then begins to meltdown when Mom doesn't have a cookie for him.  Mom might misinterpret the meltdown to mean that he doesn't want to clean up, and possibly yells at him or gives him a time out for not following directions.  Then Johnny is really upset!  What a mess!   

Using the 4 S's:

"Blocks.  In box.  Put blocks in box." Said while standing next to Johnny and pointing to the box.  In this example, Mom said much less, she exaggerated key words, and she used visual cues to help Johnny understand. 

Receptive language skills are typically impaired in children with autism. Therefore, some meltdowns could be a result of not understanding what has been said.

Proximity is also important.  Be near your child when giving directions, which could increase his understanding.

Try using the 4 S's this week when giving directions, and see if it makes a difference!