chores

[Guest guest]

I think we decided on the rewards system rather than the

" everyone contributes " philosophy because my mother followed

that idea and it was such a disaster for us; we fought about

chores all the time. Looking back, I see this was because I

(like my son) was very self-centered and rarely saw another

person's point of view. I approve of the idea in theory, but

think it's one autistic kids may have trouble relating to.

I also think it's good for my son to learn about working for

something that you want, and about how money works, and to

have chances to earn money for himself, which he is too

young to do anywhere else but at home.

We don't reward him for personal chores, btw. He's expected

to clear his dishes and to clean up his own messes (though

we do help him with the big tasks, since they are so

overwhelming for him.) I'm very pleased that he has started

spontaneously cleaning up after himself without having to

be reminded.

Willa