How important is it to maintain a rigid schedule for someone on the spectrum?

Question

And is it just as important to teach them to go with the flow?

Answer 1

Just my opinion but it seems like ridged schedules don't always work. I dated a girl with an autistic son and he seemed to do much better when he had more flexibility. When he was forced into more ridged environments it was extremely difficult for him. While it is important to try to provide some sense of structure at some times, I think it can also be good to embrace individuality and the fact that it is alright to do things in a different way.

Answer 2

In my opinion maintaining a schedule is a good thing. Without a schedule I feel like I tend to be unproductive, spending minimal time actually working on things I should be. Just be sure to schedule in some downtime. For example I liked to have 30 minutes to an hour after school to myself, just to unwind before tackling homework. At the same time though, learning to go with the flow is important. Life can't always go exactly as planned, so it's important to learn to work with kinks that pop up in the schedule.