Floating Motivation with Purpose / autism autism parent sped edchat executive function dancing soft skills
Channeling one's energy towards a goal with purpose is more important than the release of that energy without great purpose. Without an engaging purpose by which the student sees practical value for them it will not be long before motivation for the activity wanes away. By bringing an activity like surfing or dancing and presenting it as what could be a life time activity, I look to perfect being keen on delivery and timing. I am careful to roll it out. Dancing is a social activity, it is therapeutic on multiple levels, and a cornerstone concrete activity I use to foster independence with people on the autism spectrum. Since a student may not want to dance for 15 minutes I will mashup dancing with soccer knee/ leg air ball kicks to keep engagement and motivation moving. I call it soccer dancing, but it can be basketball dancing, or you may create your own mashup to pump motivation levels. One game I love to play with another student is 'adventure mine craft...