The importance of stretching one's mind.
One of the problems children with autism face is rigidity in thinking. This might lead to learning difficulties and often times difficulties with communication and social interaction. Creativity in thinking is important both academically and socially. Lacking creativity, one might find looking for solutions to problems and interacting with others challenges that could be resolved if only thoughts are more flexible.
However flexible thinking is not something that one masters overnight or in a few sessions of therapy. Flexible thinking is an on going training of the mind, an exercise that has to be continually done and the skill consistently practiced and applied in everyday life. I would like to call flexible thinking as the soul of creativity. Can anyone stop being creative? Of course - because the mind has stop thinking flexibly.
It is no longer enough to just think. While thinking has to be encouraged at all times, thinking flexibly has to be emphasized.
What are some advantages of flexible thinking?
Reduce incidents of anxiety and temper tantrums. A child who is less rigid may be more willing to try out other options than melt down just because standard routine has been disrupted.
Better learning behaviour. A child who is less rigid in thinking may be more willing to try out other options of using a skill other than the methods he is used to for learning. for example, a child who thinks flexibly is more willing to draw a circle using the clockwise motion as opposed to the anti clockwise motion which he has been so used to.
Promotes better social and interactive skills. A child who is more flexible in thinking may be more willing to accommodate the change of rules in games. A child who is less rigid may also be more sporting when it comes to losing a game.
Can you think of more advantages that flexible thinking might bring?
Flexible thinking is a powerful brain tool that is going to benefit anyone and everyone but in order to harness the power that is of flexible thinking, we have to teach the child when as young as possible. Not to say that it is not helpful if we start later but it is always good to get a head start.
There will be more posts regarding flexible thinking coming up on the Triumphant Kids blog. I am going to discuss more about what can be done to teach flexible thinking. I hope that the suggestions will benefit your child in many aspects of his or her life and learning journey. So do watch out for more 'Flexible Thinking Series' posts brought to you only by the Triumphant Kids Blog!
Till then, if you have any queries or comment, please do not hesitate to email me at davensim@triumphantkids.com.
Also, please do visit my website to find out the services I provide.
Deepest regards,
Daven
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