FASD, Now What?

Children with FASD often do not understand consequences or connect cause and effect. This is a chore chart that my 7 year old son helped me to make so that he could pay for a board game that he destroyed. The game is pictured at the bottom right of the chart so that it was a visual reminder of why he needed to do the chores. We wanted him to understand that it cost us $9.99 to replace that game and we talked about how much work he would have to do around the house to earn that much money. (Money is also a difficult concept for kids with FASD.) He was able to pick 2 chores each day from this chart until they were all done and he had earned enough money to replace the game. Consequences need to be understood or they will not be effective.

***It should be noted that 95% of our parenting energy goes towards preventing behaviors, not consequencing them. Kids with FASD do not generalize their learning so this lesson might have only taught my son that he should not destroy Scrabble Junior boards, if even that! The chart was given in a calm and matter of fact "you need to do this work to pay for this game" kind of way, not as a punishment. The game belonged to the school and the teacher had sent home a note last May saying "He destroyed the game. We play with it everyday. It costs $9.99 at Target. Love, Mrs. ___ " (Ok, I admit- it didn't really say "Love"!) Remember- Punishment does not cure brain damage.