Eva Report post Posted June 27, 2007 Hi, I wasn't really sure where to post this... My son is 6 and in prep (the first year at school) and yesterday we were given their reports at parent/teacher interviews. The teacher mystified me a bit by commenting on how he speaks - stilted - and she wants him to copy her to help with his fluency. Good luck to her - but isn't how someone speaks part of having AS? Unusual intonation, etc? Then she said that he needs to work on his comprehension, in regards to predicting, sequencing and making inferences. Do many people with an ASD have problems with doing that? Is there anything I can do at home to help? (Part of his anxiety is due to the fact that he can't predict what will happen, and as for making inferences from a text, well, he's not very good at understanding others' motives). I'm worried - this is only prep!! Any advice on how I can help him would be much appreciated! Regards, Eva Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bard Report post Posted June 27, 2007 (edited) You are going to have to support his teacher in understanding AS and some of the characteristics. I take it that your son has no learning difficulties as such? This makes it more confusing for teachers who are not familiar with spectrum traits, as some of them struggle to understand areas of difficulty that are more subtle. Teachers, that is. Yes, stilted speech, sometimes precocious or pedantic use of language is a trait my son, 12, has always had. He's a good reader, doesn't get emotional content, point of view, figurative or metaphorical language, irony, sarcasm etc. The teacher may try modelling speech for him, but he's unlikely to get it. He could learn to put the inflections in the same places she does, but she'd need to teach him every phrase that she wants him to use...what a waste of his time, and how tedious for him and her. Not a good strategy in my opinion. Predicting, sequencing, empathising with a character, predicting actions and outcomes. These are also areas that my son found very challenging. Use non-fiction texts for sequencing, texts that focus on events rather than people. Stories that have simple characters instead of complex ones, like traditional fairy stories where the characters behave along predictable lines. Get him enjoying guessing and talking about what might happen. Let him tell you, and ask you in a relaxed and informal environment. Move on to a series of books that have a main character he likes. That way you are changing one variable at a time. It takes time, and the progress is in small steps. Build on it, gradually increasing the complexity, and he will cope. Try and teach him like an NT child, and all of you will get stressed and not enjoy the experience. Mumble has AS and is a teacher. I bet she'd have some great ideas. P.S. Don't get worried, go with the flow. Find out what he likes and can do and work from that point. What is he into? can you link some of the skills he needs to acquire into material he wants to read? Edited June 27, 2007 by Bard Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eva Report post Posted June 30, 2007 Thanks so much for your great reply Bard - it's very helpful! Yes, the teacher does need to be supported more in her understanding - this is despite the literature I've given her, the DVD a local psychologist made called 'Imagine Having Aspergers' I gave her, and the ASD-related PD's she's been on! I think part of the problem is that a speech therapist works in the classroom every few weeks with another ASD boy, and she gives the teacher suggestions for helping my son, yet the teacher doesn't really get it, in ASD terms. (The speechie is a bit of a flake and it's impossible to get much sense out of her). Anyway, thanks once again and let me know if you have any more ideas! (Mumble, I'd love to hear any ideas you have!). Cheers all, Eva Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mumble Report post Posted June 30, 2007 Anyway, thanks once again and let me know if you have any more ideas! (Mumble, I'd love to hear any ideas you have!). Mumble the Magnificent to the rescue . . . Hmm, erm, err, can I sleep on it (well actually on my bed and think about it) and get back to you tomorrow when there's a possibility I might be slightly more awake and slightly less frazzled. I've been writing up the minute details of classroom interactions all day and I've only just noticed the time - I've been at it for hours and hours. Actually, I think Bard gives some excellent ideas, I'd probably just be repeating them. Bard - can I borrow your bolshieness mentioned in another post? I've got some very supportive people (ha, ha, ha, grrrrr ) who could do with a good dose of it. Mumble the May-born (not feeling quite so) Magnificent (Bard, this is getting terribly long - I need a shorter version!! ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bard Report post Posted July 1, 2007 Well, just call yourself Mumble. We will all know what it stands for! And if I have to list all of your qualities before I post, then I'll never have time to type a message. :smile: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
