Bo the Puppet
The puppet can help with everyday living and everyday tasks, at home and at school, which often are a source of challenging behaviour. You can use any hand (glove) puppet or favourite soft toy, but ideally it will be loosely stuffed, move easily and will have clearly defined or big eyes.
The puppet can help to share the busy and sometimes confusing day of the autistic child. At getting up, meals, learning time and play time, and at bath and bed time, puppets can imitate actions (e.g. tooth cleaning) or extend them (e.g. puppet cleans the child’s teeth); they add fun to tasks the child may dislike (e.g. getting dressed). Puppets can comment on and share feelings (e.g. acknowledge anxiety). Puppets can imitate unwanted behaviour and then you can tell the puppet off instead of the child! Or the puppet can help to practice everyday tasks.
Click here to see a puppet helping in cleaning teeth and here to learn some easy tips for bringing a puppet or soft toy to life.