He keeps wigging out in science lessons.

[oxgirl]

Jay has always detested writing, but he has gotten better. Recently, though, he keeps going totally balistic whenever he has to do writing in his Science lessons. He accepts that he has to do writing in English, but he will not accept that he has to write in Science. His LSA used to do most of his writing for him, but now the teacher is wanting him to do more for himself and he is getting more and more frustrated during lessons. He's gotten into the habit of shouting and crying and he's done it in every Science lesson for weeks now and it's getting worse. All the other kids, understandably, stare at him and laugh and tease him, which just makes him worse. He keeps having to come out of lessons and today his LSA called me at 1.45 to come and get him because he was in no fit state to go to his next lesson and was better off coming home.

 

Don't know what to do now. I've tried writing a couple of social stories for him to remind him of what's best to do, but he doesn't like them, says they make him feel 'stupid'. But it's not exactly good for his image, is it. He's making such a spectacle of himself and it's getting worse and worse. I wouldn't mind, but Science is his top subject, he's top of the whole year, way ahead of the others, but he just can't get his knowledge down on paper, it's so frustrating.

 

~ Mel ~

[curra]

Mel,

Could you talk to the teacher and ask her to keep the TA support for him? Why did he have help from the TA before and not anymore? His needs have not changed. It doesn't seem fair that she suddenly expects him to write without support even when it's clear that he's so stressed. I think that she needs to be reminded that not because he's clever and is top in science he has no need. Or maybe the school could allow him to use a laptop instead of having to write? Is there anything about help with writing in his statement? If you don't have a good response from the teacher, take it to Learning Support. It may be helpful to say that Jay is also stressed with writing in English lessons.

 

Good luck!

 

Curra

[oxgirl]

Mel,

Could you talk to the teacher and ask her to keep the TA support for him? Why did he have help from the TA before and not anymore? His needs have not changed. It doesn't seem fair that she suddenly expects him to write without support even when it's clear that he's so stressed. I think that she needs to be reminded that not because he's clever and is top in science he has no need. Or maybe the school could allow him to use a laptop instead of having to write? Is there anything about help with writing in his statement? If you don't have a good response from the teacher, take it to Learning Support. It may be helpful to say that Jay is also stressed with writing in English lessons.

 

Good luck!

 

Curra

 

 

Hi, thanks for that Curra. <'>

He still has his TA with him all the time in lessons, it's just that the teacher thinks he should be doing more writing because if he writes it himself he'll learn it through the writing of it. It's not really that much writing he's expected to do really and the TA will take over and finish it for him and do bits and pieces for him when he's had enough, it's just that he's got into such a habit of making an awful fuss about it that it's becoming the norm now. This is how he used to be at primary school all the time and now he's doing it more and more at secondary and making himself stand out in this way and I don't know how to help him to stop. It's so embarrassing for him to be behaving like this, it makes him such a target for teasing.

 

~ Mel ~

[curra]

Mel,

Jay seems to be really struggling with writing and perhaps it would be worth asking the school for a laptop to help him. I really don't see the point in making him write in the lessons if he is doing good work anyway. It sounds more to me like the teacher wants to keep him busy and if it's for that purpose, a laptop or a worksheet would be better. The teacher is not understanding his needs very well,- if he's stressed by writing then he shouldn't be forced to because he may start losing his interest in science apart from exposing him to teasing.

 

I wish I had better advice, I hope that you can sort it out with the teacher. Good luck!! <'> <'>

 

Curra

[bid]

Hi Oxgirl,

 

I know your son is at an AS unit, so don't know if these tips are already being done...so apologies if they already are being implemented!

 

My son found science very difficult in mainstream (despite being excellent at the theory side).

 

He needed to have all the equipment for any experiments gathered together on a tray for him before the lesson started, because he couldn't cope with trying to collect different things from different places himself with all the other boys doing the same.

 

He needed the the steps of the experiment written out for him to follow as he did the experiment, rather than being given one instruction at a time orally.

 

Don't know if any of this helps, and in my son's case by the time these things were set in place it was too late as he came out of school shortly afterwards.

 

Bid

[oxgirl]

Thanks Curra. The trouble is that he isn't good at typing either, he finds typing really just as laborious and frustrating as writing. He is improving, but it'll be a while before he's quick enough for it to be useful for him. Really for him, any kind of recording is an enormous chore and he's making more and more fuss about it. I'm worried that the Science teacher will say that she can't have him in her lesson anymore because he's so disruptive. To be honest, the only reason we wanted to send him to a secondary school in the first place, rather than carry on home edding, was because of all the laboratory equipment and experiment opportunities that it could give that we could not.

 

Thanks for your input, bid. <'> Jay is fine with the experiments, he usualy works alone, because he likes to control what he is doing. He soaks up all the facts and figures like a sponge, but it's really just the writing they have to do that is a problem for him. Don't really know how to get around it at the mo.

 

Cheers all. <'>

 

~ Mel ~

[Deedee]

Hi Mel M is much the same when it comes to writing.At our review last week it was discussed how to help with his writing as he just won't do it at all given half a chance! This may (or may not lol) be of some help to you.

The 'professionals' think its because he has such a problem processing his thoughts,organising them into sequence then remembering what he wants to write and on top of this he has trouble also gripping his pencil!! They came up with a few ideas to inspire him like writing it onto a whiteboard rather than paper as he 'doesn't think he's writing' another idea would be to use a dictaphone/pc programme on laptop to dictate into and get him to write it out with support later. Bear in mind M is still at primary so not sure if these strategies would be of use or allowed at highschool??

Hope you get something sorted out for Jay its such a shame when they really enjoy a subject that it has to be 'ruined' by them having to write things down (thats what my M thinks anyway!!!) Dee X

[oxgirl]

Thanks Dee for that. <'> Yes, it's a combination of physical, sensory and organizational probs that makes it almost impossible for some of our kids to get their thoughts down on paper. It sounds like they're trying lots of helpful things with your lad at primary, I think they tried some of these things with Jay when he was younger as well. Problem is that in a secondary mainstream lesson these things aren't really possible, it's a question of he's got to get on and do it really. He is capable of sitting and writing a few sentances, it's just that he's digging his heels in about it now really and making a hideous fuss, which brings about staring and sniggering from the other kids, who are all nearly 14 after all! His Science teacher told him last week to stop having a tantrum and that her four year old doesn't even behave like that, which just humiliated and frustrated him more really, but I can see her point!

 

Cheers and good luck with your lad. <'>

 

~ Mel ~

[Bagpuss]

Mel <'> <'> <'>

[Canopus]

What sort of writing is required in the science lessons? Does Jay have the biggest problem with note taking, or writing up practical work?

[oxgirl]

What sort of writing is required in the science lessons? Does Jay have the biggest problem with note taking, or writing up practical work?

 

 

They have to write up the methods and results of experiments and also just the general facts and figures about the particular subject they're studying. He has a problem will ALL writing, basically. But at the moment it's just the sheer frustration of copying down from the board. He's quite slow and he feels under a lot of pressure to keep up with the teacher as she's writing and he starts to panic, I think. Also, he doesn't see why he has to write it all down in full sentances, he would rather just write notes.

 

~ Mel ~

[Canopus]

Copying screeds of text from blackboards was a problem I had at school that the teachers did absolutely nothing positive about. I can't really understand why in this day and age some teachers still expect kids to have to endure such a demeaning task. Ask the teacher why they can't give out teaching notes to Jay rather than expect him to copy from the blackboard.