Let's take this one, together
Hard to connect
When your grandchild won't look at you or seems far away, it's easy to feel shut out. But many kids on the spectrum listen better without eye contact, and connection grows their way, on their timeline.
Try this
- 1
Get on the floor beside them and follow their interest: the train, the dinosaurs, the lining-up of blocks.
- 2
Try side-by-side instead of face-to-face: a walk, a puzzle, a car ride.
- 3
Celebrate tiny things: a glance, a word, a hand on your arm. Those are their hello.
- 4
Sometimes just sitting together quietly in the same room can be a way to connect.
Not this
- ✕
Don't insist on 'Look at me.' Eye contact costs them the attention they need for listening.
- ✕
Don't fill every silence. Quiet company is still company.
- ✕
Don't measure love by hugs. It's there even when it's quiet.
You are not being kept out. You're being let in slowly, in their language.