I Am A Teacher - Need Advice
Susanna Lane
for the past several weeks in an effort to further my understanding of the
needs of an autism boy who is in my classroom this year. Perhaps some of
you can help me with this and I hope none of you will be offended by my
questions.
I am a second grade teacher in a public school. I won't say where I
teach for obvious reasons. A few years ago my school system began
participating in the inclusion program. This is my first year of having an
autistic child take part in my classroom. The boy is 7 and his teacher from
first grade said he made a little progress last year. He is a sweet child
but as most of you no doubt know he can be difficult at times. He has an
aide with him for some of the day. Sometimes it's all she and I can do to
contain the boy when he gets frustrated and has a tantrum. I feel that his
frustration is directly related to him not being able to communicate very
well. He is somewhat verbal but hard to understand and the other children
frequently don't understand him. I am hopeful that I will eventually
develop a relationship with this child.
I have had a few problems from the parents of my other students
regarding this child. Several of them have taken me aside and said they
have heard that I wind up spending a lot of time with a disabled child in my
classroom, and they have concerns that their normal children are not
receiving enough time or education. I deal with this by explaining the
inclusion program to them and telling me they can help by explaining autism
to their children and by encouraging their children to be friendly and
helpful to this boy. Most of them seem willing to do this but others seem
like they don't want to be bothered.
The boy's parents are my biggest concern right now. I can tell they are
overwhelmed, full of worry, and overworked. I try to be encouraging with
them, but they never seem satisfied. They are constantly debating the IEP
with me and they call me at home about 3 - 4 times/week so far, complaining
about one thing and another. Mostly they are having problems with incidents
that I know nothing about such as incidents with other children.
I have asked my principal and the inclusion program for help on this,
and I mostly get platitudes. Do any of you have any suggestions as to how I
can help this child and also reassure his parents? I am doing the best I
can, yet it doesn't seem to be enough for them at this point. I am feeling
fairly spread thin myself as I am dealing with 26 children and their parents
every day and trying to give them an education, too. If any of you have any
insights for me, I hope you will share them.
michelle
I can tell you are in a tough predicament. The IDEA
legislation states that children must be in the least
restrictive environment in which they can benefit from their
education with appropriate supports. In my experience,
school districts do NOT appropriately support inclusion
unless forced to do so. You do not appear to have been
given enough help and/or training from the district to be
able to support this little boy in the included setting
without compromising the needs of the other children. I
don't know whether your district simply doesn't understand
what is needed, understands but doesn't want to spend the
money, or, like some districts I know of, would prefer to
move this boy into a special day class and is purposely
setting him up to fail in the included setting.
You need to ask for more help from the district, and may
need to enlist this boy's parents to fight for what is
needed. Without being in your classroom, I can't tell you
exactly what help to request; but I can make some educated
guesses.
The first thing I would request is that a functional
analysis be done of the boy's behavior. A school
psychologist or outside consultant trained in functional
analysis will tell you and the aide what data to collect
(basically, what happens immediately before, during, and
after problem behaviors), and then analyzes the data to come
up with a behavioral plan. In my experience, positive
behavioral supports work very well to transform problem
behaviors into acceptable ones once the reason behind the
particular behavior is clear. For instance, my daughter was
hitting people to get their attention. We taught her to tap
their shoulder or even say "Hey!" instead, using social
stories and positive reinforcement. My daughter is 7, has
Down syndrome, and was included in kindergarten last year
when this happened. Does the boy in your class have a
behavioral plan at all? He definitely needs one to succeed
in inclusion, and you may need to suggest to the parents
that they request one if the district doesn't respond to
your input.
Second, regarding communication - does he have a speech
therapist? Can she, or he, make some suggestions as to how
the child may communicate basic needs better in class? Does
the boy use PECS, or sign? If so, some of the children may
be able to learn to communicate with him that way. If not,
or if it's felt he's too verbal to use them, then you or the
aide should be taught to understand him well and then
interpret. The speech therapist or parents should help
you with this. And in this case, I would be willing to bet
that he really needs a shadow aide, not just a part-time
one. Again, the parents may need to take a hand in
advocating for appropriate services.
Third, regarding the other children, I would do some basic
disability education with them as soon as possible. There
are good books available to help children understand others
who are "different but the same." I'm sorry I don't recall
any titles right now, but other parents on this NG might
contribute some. And, if your school psychologist does not
have some good suggestions regarding this, he or she needs
to go have a course in disability education him or herself!
Once the children understand that this young boy is a person
just like them but with special needs, the aide should be
working during all non-academic times to help them interact.
One good way is to assign a "peer buddy," just like you
assign someone to take the attendance sheets to the office
(weekly or monthly, whatever you do), who sits with this
boy, goes to lunch and recess with him, and is helped by the
aide to interact with him at whatever level of which he is
capable. He probably understands more than he can
communicate. The special ed folks at your school need to
give this aide some training and support to accomplish this.
Finally, I would strongly encourage you to schedule a
meeting with this little boy's parents as soon as possible
so that they may tell you exactly what they are hoping for,
what they think the IEP calls for, and what problems they
are having. You can then share your problems with getting
adequate support to follow through on their requests, and
ask them to advocate for their son in the areas of need you
have identified together. If you treat them as
knowledgeable colleagues rather than problems to be dealt
with, everything will run much more smoothly for all of you.
I may think of more suggestions later, though I'm pretty
sure others on this NG will cover all the bases! Feel free
to ask questions here or e-mail me privately. I wish you
every success in this endeavor.
Regards,
Michelle W, parent of 3 children: 12, NT; 7, Down syndrome;
3.5, PDD-NOS. Also a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist.
E-Mail: mmS...@therapist.net (to reply remove "SPAM.")
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
jbowden
is a little girl and is now 12. The gap widen too much and we put her in a
self contained classroom and now she is in residential (so much for
inclusion)
It was fine in many ways but also somewhat ridiculas. She learned nothing
and there were certain little future educational advocates and
special needs teachers (mostly girls) that were great with her. A child with
the mind of a 3 year old does not belong in a classroom of
3rd graders. FIrst of all unless the boy is very high functioning HE NEEDS a
one on one aide.
Also the aide has to have lots of energy , be flexible and understand a very
complex disability due to the behaviors.
Abbie was really sweet in inclusion but grossed kids out by blowing snot on
her hand and taking off her clothing if not watched.
I don't think most public schools can teach autistic children (looking back)
and inclusion is OK when they are really young but it is not far to the
child who is not going to reach his full potentional in inclusion. THIS is
my opinion now after I see what progress she has made in one year in this
special school . If she had gone to that school when really young as a day
student and we all got into the program (us included)
we would have a child living at home now. Also puberty (especially with boys
I hear) can be difficult when they reach that magic age.
Jean
elaine lingard
It seems to me that you are trying hard to cope with a lot of issues here.
Lets start by forgeting the boy for the moment.
First of all - the parents - his and others. His parents obviously think
inclusion is right for their son and it sounds to me as if they will persue
it. The other parents are obviously worried that this boy will have an
effect on their childrens education.
Well in my opinion inclusion only works if it works for everyone. I look at
things from both sides of the coin. I have an autistic child and an NT
child. My autistic child is a borderline decision case as to whether he
could cope mainstream or whether special school is best and sometimes I
think I would love him to go to mainstream. However I also think how I would
feel if a child like him was in my other sons class. Well actually there is
one - only he hasn't been diagnosed by anybody officially but he definetly
has traits shall we say. As for me, I don't mind because he is not as
affected as my son and also my other boy is used to the way things are and
copes well. However, I hear a lot of parents complain about the time the
teacher takes with him. If though I thought the boy was at the level of
Anthony then I would probably be concerned because I know he wouldn't
function aswell in the school and I think it could be detrimental to my sons
education.
So where is this leading. Well it could solve the problem with a simple
comment to his parents. If they have other children casually devise a way of
pointing out very casually how they would feel if they had a boy like their
son in their other childs class. This may just plant a seed in their heads
to consider another placement for him.
As for the other parents then you seem to be doing all you can to help them
understand.
If however the parents do feel as if inclusion is right for their son then
the first thing I would do is try and get the aide for the whole of the
amount of time he is in school.
As for teaching then the other children in the class first and foremost need
to know a bit more about the way this boy 'functions' so they can learn to
accommodate him. If he gets frustrated etc they can just carry on for
example.
Secondly try to find out what the boys strengths are so that you can build
on them and praise him.
Thirdly try to find out what is likely to upset him and make him frustrated
and see if you can avoid these situations.
I would also see what the aide is up too. Sometimes working too close to
these children is not the right thing. With Anthony he needs somebody who
just hovers in the background saying well done, good boy etc but also
somebody who can work out when a potentially frustrating situation is about
to occur and prevent it from happening.
Take care over what you actually say to the boy. Adapt the way you teach ie.
lots of visual aids and avoid sarcasm etc.
Be aware of sudden noises and movements because these can affect him.
That is all I can think of for now. My personal philosophy though is observe
and learn. I think the more you watch them you learn about the fine line
that makes the difference between pushing them too far and getting the best
out of them.
Hope that helps anyway
Bye for now
Elaine
Susanna Lane wrote in message <7rbvad$bj9$1...@nntp6.atl.mindspring.net>...
Fargo
First I would like to tell you that I appreciate the extra steps you are
taking to help this little boy. And please be patient with the parents.
They are under tremendous stress and there is a fear that presses down on
them telling them that if their child doesn't get all the possible help he
can today...it will be too late.
You mention the tantrums. They do come from frustration but it is not the
same as a NT child. It may be his difficulty in communicating, it may be
changes in the classroom that he is not prepared for (any change can bring
stress). It may be something as simple as constipation or an echo that is
disturbing him. The best thing to do is keep a mental diary of what is
going on and seeing what sets him off. Then learning how to head him off at
the pass.
Communicate with him about a change before it happens so he isn't stressed
by it. And pull the other children into helping, too. They can be a
tremendous support for this little boy and they can learn understanding and
compassion as a result of it. Plus, sometimes helping those who need it
reinforces ideas in the NT child and helps them to excel as well.
Below is a little story that I wrote last year. Several of the parents have
used it to explain to their child's classroom about Autism by adapting it to
their child's own characteristics. Maybe this would help.
Please understand that inclusion is beneficial to this little boy. He will
rise to the level of those around him. Just give him a little time and
understanding.
Thank you again for your concern. You are a good teacher.
Fargo
____________________________________________________________________________
SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT BENJI
Once upon a time there was a Benji. He looked like a little boy. He had
brown hair and big brown eyes and a very sweet smile. But Benji wasn't like
other little boys.
Sometimes Benji was very quiet and the other children at school didn't
think that Benji knew how to play.
Sometimes Benji was very noisy and the other children didn't think that
Benji knew how to be serious.
And sometimes...sometimes Benji was very angry.
There was something very different about Benji.
But all the time, inside, Benji wanted to be like the other children.
He liked to watch them run on the playground. Sometimes they told him not
to stare.
He liked to watch them go down the slide but he didn't like to go down the
slide himself and they thought he was a sissy.
He liked to play characters in movies and sometimes the kids said he was a
crazy guy.
Yes, there was something very different about Benji.
Then one day, the teacher told the classroom what it was that was different.
Benji was Autistic.
Benji could hear and could see and could feel things. But sometimes he
didn't know what was said. Sometimes he didn't know what to do. Sometimes
there were things he didn't like to touch or to taste.
The teacher explained that while Benji was just like all the other kids on
the inside, sometimes things he heard or saw or touched or tasted got
confused before they reached his brain.
And this could make him very angry because, Benji was waiting and wanting to
be friends.
She told the children that each of them was different from the rest of the
class, just like Benji.
Mary was the tallest girl and Angie was the shortest.
Billy had the most freckles, and Charlie had the longest hair.
She told the class that being different wasn't a bad thing because being
tall or short or having freckles or having long hair wasn't a bad thing.
Sometimes it was very special.
She continued to go around the classroom telling each child something
special about them.
Toby told the funniest jokes and Max was the best speller.
Tammy could run the fastest and Richard drew the best airplanes.
Each child was different yet each child was special.
The teacher asked the children to try to help Benji learn how to do the
things the other kids knew how to do. And she asked for them to each find
out the answer to this question.
How is Benji special?
The kids decided to try to help Benji.
When Benji was quiet they would talk to him by saying "It is a nice day"
instead of asking him what kind of day it was.
When he was loud they would say, "Benji, we have to be quiet now. We will
be loud at recess."
When he watched them run on the playground they would go over to Benji and
say, "Benji, will you run with me?"
And when he was afraid to go down the slide, they did not call him sissy.
They told him things they were afraid to do.
They played like they were characters in movies, too, and Benji joined in on
their games.
But most of all, they stopped calling Benji a crazy guy. Because once they
got to know him...they found out what was special about Benji.
Benji was "Cool."
Shf70
Not to get off-subject but WOW! If you posted this before I must've missed it.
What an awesome down-to-earth, easy to understand story.
I am up in the air about inclusion honestly too. For some kids it may be best
depending on their situation but for some itis just not beneficial. Of course,
depends on the individual kid. My Lucas no way no how is at this point suitable
for inclusion. He's in a self-contained autistic classroom which does strive to
get together with the other NT kids in the school as much as each kid can
handle. But I digress....
I think the key to the whole thing is the COMMUNICATION issue. If you can help
him to better communicate, I think you'll see improvement all over the place.
He's very lucky to have a caring teacher like you!!!
Stacy :o)
Phil T
We have a twelve year old autistic daughter in the U.K. and we took
the mainstream school choice after being advised she was borderline
and could possibly cope after intensive pre-school teaching.
I really feel for you! Have you had training in teaching and coping
with autistic children? my guess is you haven't. If not then it is not
your job! you are trained to teach primary children without problems.
It also sounds as if the parents of this boy are in denial as well
ie.. if more time is spent with him on intensive teaching he will improve
more quickly! and will eventually be cured this is not the case.
Sure, in the situation he is in he will advance educationally but the
frustration and consequent behavioural problems that come with this
will be absolutely intolerable for you, his parents, himself and his peers,I
think that is now what they are experiencing when he returns
home from school.
The parents are looking for answers to questions which have no
answers! is this possible in this day and age? it is with this dreadful
problem of autism.There has not been enough research ,the research
that has been done is inadequate, it is inadequately funded compared to
other diseases.Research,treatments,therapies and teaching are totally
unco-ordinated.
IMO the best route is a specialist school with the possibility of being
integrated into main stream subjects if he is capable of holding his
own in certain subjects for his age.(This is what happened in our case after
eighteen hard months but we learned eventually.We only moved our daughter
after her second year teacher had the GUTS to tell us
and the headmaster that she would be better in a special unit)
The most important thing for these children is that they are HAPPY
it is better to have the child fully assessed in a specialist school, over
a few months and push them to higher levels after that (with an open option
to bring them down to their previous level if they have
any problems).
How do you gauge how you are doing(look at the smile on their face)
they can be the most open,honest,faithful,loving human people you could ever
meet. The rewards are fantastic but the hard work and
repetition to teach them the simplest of tasks can be absolutely
soul destroying.
Show your principle my letter, show your governors my letter,show
the boys parents my letter and do everything you can to get this young
person the teaching and help he deserves.
I know you will because I know you care.
Thinks.....nine years,nine long years......to teach my daughter to ride a
bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope some of this helps yourself and the young man in question.
Feel free to e-mail me.
Phil.
Susanna Lane wrote in message <7rbvad$bj9$1...@nntp6.atl.mindspring.net>...
<SNIPPED>
michelle
"Something Special About Benji" is superb. Thanks for
sharing it with us. Do we have your permission to adapt it
for our own children?
Regards,
Michelle W
michelle
It seems this thread has aroused something of a debate about
the merits/drawbacks of inclusion for children on the
autistic spectrum. IMHO, we don't know enough about the boy
in your classroom to be certain if he's a good candidate for
inclusion or not. Again IMHO, inclusion can be the best
possible or the worst possible placement for children with
ASD, depending on their own abilities and whether they are
receiving adequate support for that setting.
This is where I think we all agree - the boy in your class
was "dumped" on you without adequate supports, and this is
a sure recipe for failure. I believe it's possible he may
thrive in your classroom if the school district, and
specifically the special education dept., school
psychologist, and speech and occupational therapists, will
support him, and you, appropriately. And you'll never know
unless you try.
Good luck,
Chaiah J
as I seem to have misfiled it. Thanks.
Chaiah
kath...@talon.net
michelle wrote in message <2d56739d...@usw-ex0108-058.remarq.com>...
>Fargo,
>
>"Something Special About Benji" is superb. Thanks for
>sharing it with us. Do we have your permission to adapt it
>for our own children?
>
>Regards,
>
Fargo
michelle <mmwNO...@therapist.net> wrote in message
news:2d56739d...@usw-ex0108-058.remarq.com...
Fargo
Chaiah J <kath...@talon.net> wrote in message
news:06TC3.180$7Q.1...@monger.newsread.com...
> Yes, Fargo! What Michelle said! If so, can you repost it or emial it to
me
> as I seem to have misfiled it. Thanks.
>
> Chaiah
Chaiah,
Here you go.
Fargo
HC
in my
class. I have a classroom aide in with him for half the day - 1/2 hr on, 1/2
hr off.
I sometimes find he reacts badly to her leaving - I think he gains a lot
from one to
one. Also add into the equation that this is my 2nd yr teaching I'm feeling
like
(a) I'm not doing enough for the boy - is he benefiting from me at all?
(b) He gets so much attention when he's having a bad day/moment that the
other children lose out a lot.
I like the Benji story - will tell the class this week - I've already had a
few kids ask
why he does this or that or why he's upset
His reading age is average, maths skills are good too but getting him
interested/focused
etc can often be quite difficult.
i am searching for things to motivate him - so far all I have are library
books (he LOVES
them), and 5 mins tape listening. He hates stickers but loves rubber stamps
I give him on his
work.
I've read a few things off the net about autism but would appreciate
tips/advice from parents/teachers of
autistic children. I feel I'm working on my own a bit. He will get 3/4 hr
each day with special ed teacher
but what can I do for him?Thanks for listening!
HC
Susanna Lane wrote in message <7rbvad$bj9$1...@nntp6.atl.mindspring.net>...
>can, yet it doesn't seem to be enough for them at this point. I am feeling
Boney
year-old boy with Asperger Syndrome (or something very similar) in a
mainstream primary class. (Sorry if this is a repeat, I can't remember
whether I sent it before or not.) Last term he could not cope with
full-class teaching - he appeared totally unaware of the teacher. This term
(in the four days so far!) he has coped brilliantly with whole-class
teaching, sometimes with no input from me at all. :oD What has changed?
Partly the class, a slightly different mix, overall a bit older. But
mostly, a different teacher, who has the attention of all of the children
most of the time, so there is far less background distraction. In PE he
followed almost all the instructions with me standing at the side of the
room doing nothing. Fantastic! (I might be out of a job soon, but I don't
care!). He has even been playing with other children, making models,
without adult intervention.
Small group work is still not very successful (7 in a group is too many for
him to wait his turn at the moment), but inclusion really looks quite
positive here at the moment. That doesn't mean it will be right for all
children (I have seen other less academic children struggling, and question
the benefits for them sometimes). BUT it really has clearly illustrated to
me just how much difference the teacher's style can make.
And please can I adapt Fargo's story too - today I had a boy ask why X
wasn't sharing a book like the others, and starting to make a scene about
it. I went along the lines of "Well, you know how you find maths easy, but
reading is quite hard? Well, X finds reading easy, but making friends and
sharing is hard for him." Last year, when the children were that bit
younger, they were less aware of differences, but it is starting to show
more now, and I think X will cope far better with his class-mates support.
I'd like to take Benji's story in to show the teacher (and a couple of
others with similar children in other classes), as I agree, that the other
children in the class are probably one of the best resources. I was touched
by three girls' behaviour in another class, also with a child with AS, who
responded so well when he got upset, and helped him to calm down, but
without 'mother hen-ing'. I've also seen quite tough boys in an older class
(8-9 year olds) being really caring with a boy, who has since moved to a
specialist placement. He had been in their class since they started school,
and even if he hadn't learned much academically, he had been happy, and had
without doubt taught them a great deal about acceptance of differences.
(I'm not sure that is sufficient justification for full inclusion though.)
Sorry, I've gone on a bit.
(The other thing that has maybe changed a little bit, is using slightly more
rewards - X is another book fiend - worksheets are completed much faster
with a book as a carrot.)
Fargo
By all means use the story.
Two things I think worked well for Benji early: the teacher offered rewards
(like the stamps); and she was rather animated. And the other children in
the class are a tremendous help. It is so nice to pick up Benji at school
and walk down the halls with kids of all ages calling out "Bye, Benji."
But the most progress came when he was assigned to a teacher that we thought
would fail miserably. She kept strict order and expected Benji to be a
normal little boy in both behavior and performance. We waited for the
explosion...nothing but progress. He was proud that she believed in him and
he rose to her expectations.
Fargo
Boney <curt...@themail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:7rk0mr$2bc$1...@supernews.com...
Fargo
received. Benji is very proud to be a part of it.
Fargo
Chriffer's Dad <chriff...@nospam.badghill.pair.com> wrote in message
news:37f554bc....@enews.newsguy.com...
> re Something Special About Benji
>
> It made me laugh. It made me cry.
>
> It gives me hope that someday Chriffer will have a class and teacher
> and learning environment like what Benji has.
>
> Thanks for posting this.
>
> Chuck
>
> On Sat, 11 Sep 1999 06:32:05 -0600, "Fargo" <wynds...@zianet.com>
> wrote:
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
Phil T
My point in the previous posting in this same thread was not to say
whether inclusion was a good or bad thing,that very much depends upon the
individual child.
No my point of view is that children should be thoroughly assessed at
the outset of education to determine what they may be capable of
or otherwise. They should also be started off at the easiest level for
themselves and build up to higher achievements,NOT start off in a situation
they are going to struggle in without assessment and with a
try it and see attitude.They may really do very well BUT there are going to
be children who will suffer sever setbacks putting them back years if it all
goes wrong.
There are people who say that teaching a child to swim it is best to
throw them into the deep end and let them swim! but if it goes wrong
the child will drown.NO it is much much better to start them off paddling
with just their feet, build up confidence then let them stand
in the shallow end,again building up confidence etc. etc.....
Yes I stand by what I said before, that these children are HAPPY is the main
thing and whatever makes them happy help them with.
I've also introduced confidence here,build up their confidence slowly
but surely and don't let them down.
As for the two boys who like books why make them do worksheets?
when you have something like that to work with, No use the characters in the
books they must aspire to some of the characters?. How many books will you
give them? when they have read two of their books
how many have they got left to read? The character in the book plays with
his friend maybe you could play with your friend.Get enough books to make up
letters of the alphabet etc...........
My daughter had an obsession with princesses when she was younger and
everything we taught her was connected to princesses
somehow, ie. a princess marries a prince how many people are there? A
princess has her dinner at twelve o'clock it is twelve o'clock now shall we
have dinner too? the girl in this story book is just like a princess shall
we read about her? etc..........
Yes we used the obsession to teach her to start with and then later
started to flood her obsession with videos and princesses hiring her
a new video each week about fairy princesses until she couldn't remember the
last video and then found it hard to be obsessed by
something she didn't remember we also made her ride her bike to
the video hire shop something she didn't like doing but had to,to get
a video. After years of this it has enabled us to teach her to ride a bike
at last without stabilisers
The thing is all of this means individual assessment and imaginative
personal tuition which doesn't fit in well with the usual classroom
group teaching. No build them up slowly until they swim.
Sorry to go on so but I feel my wife and I have been there and would
now genuinely like to help other people if possible.
Thanks.
Phil.
Boney wrote in message <7rk0mr$2bc$1...@supernews.com>...
<SNIPPED>
partkr
Phil T <Phi...@turgoose.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:7rmpdg$40d$1...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk...
(SNIPPED)
> Sorry to go on so but I feel my wife and I have been there and would
> now genuinely like to help other people if possible.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Phil.
This is the best resource for parents, parents who have been there. I
missed many of the first posts, entered around the time Fargo posted the
most amazing story of Benji.. have that filed to let teachers read!
When my son entered school, preschool and then kindergarten, he was
completely in his own world and almost nonverbal. It was obvious that he was
incredibly intelligent and I knew that he was in desperate need of peer
models to help him mature. (We had no diagnosis at this time, just many
tests done over and over). I wanted him in a "normal" classroom and would
do anything I could do to get him through in the least stressful way to him.
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet the teachers and when I
spoke to one of them I knew she would be perfect. I fought to get her and
when he got her, I stayed in constant touch with her and we worked as a
team. She learned to love him and he showed everyone as he strived to
please her.
When he went into first grade, we moved to a different state and a wonderful
school district to give him the best opportunity. Again he was given a
wonderful teacher, she was young, completely inexperienced, but willing to
work with me to help him succeed. When he went into second grade she picked
a teacher and supportive children from the class that she knew would be
perfect for him and the process has continued. I can truly say that
everyone of those teachers are a dear friend of mine. They grew to know my
son and worked above and beyond to see him succeed. I really never could
understand what drives these teachers to work so hard to help a child that
has so many difficulties, it is added work, and in this world people seem to
back away from doing more than what is expected. I think it is that we have
built a bond, my family and the school are a team, we work together to solve
problems and not against each other. We communicate via email and the phone
almost daily to find solutions to problems as they arise and as a result I
see a boy who is doing very well. He is in a normal fourth grade class,
made the honor roll last year, and is amazing me everyday with what he is
able to accomplish.
I don't think it is possible to say which child will succeed and which won't
in inclusion too many things are factored into the end result.. the child,
the parents, the school, the teachers, the children in the class and how
they are taught to treat the child. I know that in his first school
district they were completely against inclusion for my son and they were
obviously wrong. I do know that the right teacher is essential for your
child's future.
Tracy
Fargo
Your son's history sounds so much like Benji's. At first the school
district did not want inclusion but we pushed for it so that Benji would be
able to learn to talk from his peers. We found the perfect teacher and each
year have relied on that teacher to make recommendations for the next one.
It has been a great success.
Fargo
HC
(in this case animals - the more exotic the better , and books [about
animals of course!!])
I'm afraid that if I over use his obsession with aniamls it will make it
difficult for him to
develop other interests. Also there's the problem of subjecting the rest of
the class to
animals,animals and more animals (and denying them their other interests) or
else
the option of setting completely different work for him which is in turn
isolating him
from the rest of the class which is surely not what inclusion is about!!!!
Still, I can see how it might work - it's just the problem of trying to get
the balance right!
Phil T wrote in message <7rmpdg$40d$1...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk>...
>Sorry to go on so but I feel my wife and I have been there and would
>now genuinely like to help other people if possible.
>
>Thanks.
>
>Phil.
>
Boney
Thanks for your very helpful responses. I couldn't agree more with the idea
of using the child's fascinations to help get them into other things (like
your daughter's princesses) - I only really got to know the little boy I
work with when I started asking him about the stories he tells himself at
playtimes (fantasy worlds, space, dragons, that sort of thing).
Phil said:
> As for the two boys who like books why make them do worksheets?
though.)
'Doing worksheets' (or other forms of written work) is a more or less
inevitable part of mainstream education. If the child were unable to cope
with doing them, I'd agree, forget them, and use books instead. However, in
this case, he can do the worksheets, and does show a sense of achievement
from completing them, and it makes him more included if he can do the same
work with the others in his class. Using the books as motivation to finish,
helps him to keep on task. Writing is hard work for him (and lots of the
other children too) but it doesn't get any easier without any practise at
all! Sometimes I will talk about the books with him, to practise
conversation, and talk about social themes in the stories, but at other
times he prefers to read to himself just for pleasure. And when he has
worked hard with his peers all morning, perhaps he deserves a bit of time
off! :)
It's hard to get the balance right - some days the right approach seems to
be to encourage him to do the same as the other children, and to be firm
about it. Other days, it seems all a bit too much, so we go off somewhere
quiet, and do some one-to-one, letting him take the lead more. We're also
probably starting a circle of friends for him soon.
Fargo on the one hand said one of Benji's most successful teachers was the
strict one with high expectations - and then he said 'learn from the
child' - well, we are trying to combine the two, but it takes a bit of
doing!
I took Benji's story in yesterday - we will probably use something very
similar. All your comments are so very helpful to us. Thank you. This
group is the most useful source of information that I have found. I keep
passing on bits from here to various members of staff, so several children
are benefitting. (Plus I have a close friend with a child who seems to fit
AS, who is currently not coping at all well socially at school - they are
going through the referrals nightmare at the moment. Any tips (UK) - please
email me directly. Thanks)
Boney
Fargo
Hope everything works out for this little one.
Boney <curt...@themail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:7rrp0t$dee$1...@supernews.com...
> Phil, Tracy and Fargo
(snip)
> Fargo on the one hand said one of Benji's most successful teachers was
the
> strict one with high expectations - and then he said 'learn from the
> child' - well, we are trying to combine the two, but it takes a bit of
> doing!
>
Maybe I didn't explain this very well (and by the way, I am a she :o). What
I meant to say by the first is to never underestimate what the child is
capable of accomplishing. And by the second, each of these children are
unique in their own right. What may work for one, will not work for another
and will set a third off in Autistic panic. So, watch the child for clues.
When he reacts a certain way that is unacceptible or uncontrolable,
backtrack and see what was done earlier that may have caused this. This
way, you can head off panics, minimise frustration and accomplish much more.
That doesn't mean that you don't expect him to behave in class. Rewards
work well for these kids and, although they get spoiled easily, it is much
better to see a little spoiling than loose the valuable opportunity to teach
him.
We have found that it was fairly easy to separate a "spoiled" temper tantrum
from an Autistic "panic". We look at Benji's eyes. If he is just mad, he
will focus...if he is paniced, he has a blank stare. We haven't seen that
in a very long time.
Fargo
Phil T
An obsession as I meant it is an all consuming,single minded one
thing obsession!
It would not be Exotic animals but one animal ie a camel and nothing but a
camel.
If this is the case then the only way to get their attention at all is to
start talking about it! This is then when inclusion becomes a problem and
their obsession WILL distract the rest of the class and if they should be
there at all ought to be questioned ,I would have thought.
If they are in a mainstream class, then they should be capable of being
taught as the rest of the class with small concessions.
What I was referring to is if it is necessary to get the attention
initially,
then you can associate what work you wish to do ,with the obsession
in some way, so with our girl if we had a book to read to her we would
simply say look at the girl in this book darling doesn't she have
lovely hair... just like a princess....do you think she may become a
princess one day shall we read about her and see?.........and then go on to
read the book which may be about a girl at the seaside or whatever! or in
maths how many points on this princesses crown etc...
We have found though that these obsessions do change. They suddenly start to
take an interest in something else and you think thank goodness they are
taking an interest in something else.....
Before you know it you are looking at another raging obsession
AGHHH!!!!!!!!! the minimum we have had an obsession for is about
a year some though last two or more.
So although exotic animals are very difficult to associate with this might
change into something more workable at any time!
By the way I can't take all the credit for this post...I had to refer to a
higher source The wife.
Thanks
Phil.
HC wrote in message <7rrg29$bhu$1...@scotty.tinet.ie>...
>Am I right in assuming that it's a good idea to feed off an obseesion
>(in this case animals - the more exotic the better , and books [about
>animals of course!!])
>I'm afraid that if I over use his obsession with aniamls it will make it
>difficult for him to
>develop other interests. Also there's the problem of subjecting the rest of
>the class to
>animals,animals and more animals (and denying them their other interests)
or
>else
>the option of setting completely different work for him which is in turn
isolating him
from the rest of the class which is surely not what inclusion is about!!!!
<SNIPPED>
Phil T
It sounds like this young man is an excellent case for inclusion!
The obsessions I was talking about are all consuming,single minded
ones i.e. an obsession with books would be just that! where this is the
case you HAVE to use this as they won't pay any attention to anything else.
This is not the case here and I think you may just have to mention the
current obsession to get his interest, do the worksheets and as you
say the reward can be some time with the obsession afterwards.
Something else that worked extremely well with our daughter was
a reward for the class teams at the end of the week/month and through the
week/month they worked for team points (say six in a team). If they did
their work well they got a team point as an individual or two if they had
done exceptional work! Work this out so they just qualify for enough points
at the end of the month maybe the boy in question could just rescue the team
at the end of the month by getting the remaining two points needed??? What
a hero!
maybe the reward could be a lollipop at the end of the week and to watch a
video at the end of the month with a fantasy theme that all the kids would
enjoy????
Best wishes
Phil.
Boney wrote in message <7rrp0t$dee$1...@supernews.com>...
>Fargo on the one hand said one of Benji's most successful teachers was the
>strict one with high expectations - and then he said 'learn from the
>child' - well, we are trying to combine the two, but it takes a bit of
>doing!
>