Teaching a special needs child how to wear a mask is the same as teaching him/her any skill. It takes extra patience, time and understanding. AND Now is a better time than ever to teach it.
As parents of a child, with special needs, particularly Autism (ASD), Global Developmental Delay (GDD), or any other condition that markedly makes such children learn things differently, we already know that everything just takes a tad bit longer for our children compared to most, especially for young children between 2 to 6 years old.
Little Sparks wishes to share material that will hopefully help you teach your child to wear a mask for their own protection, through desensitization and removing the anxiety related to masks.
Using Psychology to Tackle your Child's Dislike of Masks
One of the videos we love is this one by Dr. Christy Wegner, a clinical psychologist. She talks about what is going on inside your child's mind and how to increase tolerance of mask-wearing. Through this technique, the child is also desensitized to the idea a mask being close to their face and assuring them that all is ok and that no harm will come to them.
Her approach also makes wearing masks a fun experience for the child and non-threatening, and we absolutely love it!
Dr. Wegner, author of Brody the Lion: Sometimes I ROAR! and clinical psychologist at ABC (Autism and Behavior Center) in the USA, shares the shaping procedure for teaching a child to tolerate wearing a mask.
Tips on how to do it
Here are some of the tips that we have found to be very useful:
1. Let them choose their face mask
If your child is capable of expressing their thoughts, try to engage them in "shopping" for their masks on Shopee or Lazada. Browse together with them and show them how it looks like.
2. Distraction is key: practice while doing something fun
One of the best ways to desensitize a child to a face mask is wearing it while doing something they particularly love. This can be while doing their favorite activities or even while watching cartoons or during their allotted screen time (if any). Here, we share a video by Global Family Support of a therapist slowly easing a face mask while a child is distracted in an activity.
3. Try practicing while around the house
Once a child is more used to the idea of wearing a mask, try wearing it while doing other day to day activities like while taking a walk, riding a bike, or just while inside the house.
4. Modelling by parents
Whilst teaching your child how to wear a mask, model this behavior to them yourself by wearing a mask too. Wear one while practicing with them as well.
5. Sometimes it's the smell of their breath
For children who might be sensitive to smells, try brushing their teeth or chewing a sugar-free gum/candy before putting on a mask. Bad smells can annoy children.
6. Try different types of masks
For special needs children, one of the main issues are, besides making it fit well, is breathing space. One of the masks we would suggest a type called F94 or KF94 specifically for children. You can buy these in either Shopee or Lazada. Here, we show you one of our very own Little Sparks Star, "C" wearing this. "C" is a 3 year old and we can clearly see how this mask is worn perfectly, covering the nose and mouth well. Best of all, there is this space between the mouth and the mask as we can see on the picture on the right.
(Picture of "C" published with the permission of his mother)
A cloth alternative that we would recommend are by MASQ for children that which also has this good spacing between mouth and mask (https://themasqcollection.com/collections/masq-mini). They are also available on Lazada under MASQ Official Store. We are not sure if these can fit very young children like below 5 years old. Best to ask the shop directly to be sure. But as we can see, it is designed to have good breathing space inside and the ear loops are adjustable (credits to the owner, MASQ, for this picture).
7. Make it fit well
The most common type of face mask is the one we typically see on adults, a surgeon's mask and there are children's version of these masks. Masks for children are usually too big for toddlers because they are typically made for bigger children (like 5 and up). Here's a way to make it fit your child's face better.
Remember, if you don't wear a mask properly, then it is rendered useless.
This video teaches us how to tie the bands of a face mask to fit better on smaller children, even using adult surgeon masks. But we can use the same idea on children's masks that are still too big for their face.
In this picture we can see another Little Sparks Star, "L", sporting his typical children's mask perfectly. We can see how well it covers the nose, the mouth, and even the sides of his face (see picture, shared with permission from "L's" mother).
Make sure you bend that wire over their noses for a snug fit and to prevent it from falling off.
Mask-wearing is a behavior best learned at home
Although our therapists can insert mask tolerance activities into your child's therapy program with us, your child is with you most of the time. We always remind our parents that therapy only works if you follow through with the changes needed at home. And the same concept applies with wearing masks.
Learning to wear masks starts from home with the effort and patience of parents or their yaya
You can do it!
Some places in the world are making masks mandatory, even for children. Now is a good time to start while the Philippines is not yet in that stance. And because it does take time to do this, we urge you to start now. Watch this news report from the USA of special needs children with sensory issues and their parents coping with the mandatory requirement to wear masks to go back to school. If they can do it, so can you! We hope that the resources we compiled here helps you and your child tolerate face masks, which unfortunately, will be a part of our lives for some time to come.
Let's keep our children, our families and our Little Sparks clinic as safe as possible without hindering the progress they are slowly achieving through therapy.
#autism #masks #facemasks #specialneeds #asd #gdd #globaldevelopmentaldelay #sensoryissues #sensoryintegration #sensoryneeds #littlesparkstherapymnl #staysafe #occupationaltherapy #speechtherapy #NewManila #QuezonCity
Comments