Stories and sitting still

[LizK]

DS (4) isn't really into books unless they are sensory, have flaps or doors he can open or are letter, colour or number related. The only story-type books he's interested in are Maisy or other simple stories with just a line or two on each page. I love books and try to read to him every day but do find it frustrating at times that I can't read age-appropriate books to him. I'd love to read him fairy tales or books like The Gruffalo but the former tend to be too long for him to concentrate and he just doesn't get The Gruffalo type books at all. So we read what he likes and feels comfortable with Sometimes actually though he appears disninterested in a book, staring at the wall or fiddling with something else and doesn't appear to be listening but it's obvious later from something he says that he was so you never can tell.

 

I think his difficulty with books is due to several factors. In addition to likely ASD and concrete thinking he also has a receptive speech delay of 1 yr, processing problems and short concentration span.

 

He goes to nursery 3 days a week. When I went to collect him yesterday the children were sitting down listening intently to a story which was quite long and involved, all the children except for Adam who was wandering around the room fiddling with a switch. Chatting to the nursery nurse she said he usually has problems sitting down at story time unless it's a simple or interactive story and as long as he's not beign disruptive they let him get up and wander or play with something else. She put this down to poor concentration though I think his difficulties with understanding and processing play a part too. My concern is about when he starts school next April as I don't know whether the class teacher will be so tolerant and may expect him to sit down and listen. This issue has also been raised by the preschool SEN teacher who is doing regular home visits as a potential problem. I don't know whether nursery should be continuing as they are letting him get up, he's not doing it out of naughtiness but just because he doesn't understand and is bored. Alternatively should they be encouraging him to sit down and not move during story time so he gets used to it. I think he has to learn to manage boredom appropriately too I suppose. After all I'd expect my NT child to sit still at school even if they were bored but maybe it's different for Adam.

 

What do you think? How should this situation be managed. I know it's only something minor but been mulling it over since yesterday.

 

I would be interested too in the sorts of books that other ASD preschoolers like and whether anyone else had a similar situation with stories like we do.

 

Thanks

 

Liz x

[mum22boys]

Hi,

 

My son is 5 and will not sit still for us at all. When he asks for a story he rocks back and forth and i'm not sure how much is actually being taken in or not. At school he will not undertake any task unless he has 1 to 1 from the teacher. he is now in Year 1 and last year in reception his teacher would leave him if he didn't do a task or if he refused, she would come back to him later and go through it 1 to 1. he was also like it at story time, if he didn't want to sit he was allowed to wander round the classroom and tidy the pencils etc away. This allowed him to be away from something he couldn't concentrate on and channel his energy into something he wanted to do like tidy without it drawing too much attention to him. I worried at the time that things would not be so easy when he hit year 1 and was expected to sit but this has improved. he has poor concentration but his teacher understands and manages him well. I gave her some leaflets on ASD from the NAS and she read them and understands him more as a result. His reading is a problem because he won't sit still long enough to go through his book but this is gradually improving. however his choice of bedtime reading which is very complex for a five year old is on electricity he does however still rock and appear uninterested.

 

What I am trying to say is don't worry too much just yet as M is improving and the school have adapted in the things that haven't improved. Explain to his teacher when he gets to reception and hopefully she will understand him better.

 

Good Luck <'>

[Zemanski]

I wouldn't advise trying to make him concentrate now in the hope he gets used to it, it seems your son is still at quite a young level of development in terms of speaking and listening and he needs to go at his own pace with that development or you risk creating anxiety which may actually make it worse in the long run.

 

he is getting access to books at his own level with you and I'm sure the nursery are doing other things to improve his ability to concentrate on tasks and develop his speaking and listening - at the end of a session he is probably too tired to participate in a group activity that requires this level of control from him, in a year or two I think he will probably be more able to cope with it and you will see an improvement. He may be at a younger level but he will still develop the skills as he matures.

 

Zemanski

[Noetic]

How about introducing books that have accompanying tapes or something? That way he can get into it by listening to the tape first.

[something vague]

Hi,

 

I think that its great that you son's nursery aren't pressuring him to sit through storytimes. He is still very young and in time he will develop an interest. As long as he is given the opportunity to join story time, thats enough for now. I'm sure many ASD children's anxieties about school begin with schools and nurseries having expectations that arent appropriate for their levels of understanding. Perhaps when your boy starts school they may expect him to sit for a story but will allow him to hold a favourite item or play seated nearby when story time is happening.

 

I work with much older pupils with ASD and severe learning difficulties. The favourite books in our class are: - Peace at Last, THE GRUFFALO Giraffes Can't Dance, Rumble in the Jungle, The Bear and the Scary night and Owl Babies.

 

Peace at Last is the all time favourite tho and I'm getting very sick of it!!

 

Does you son like computers? Our boys enjoy stories on CD roms especially Dr Suess stories which are very slightly animated but also have an interactive option.

One boy who struggles to stay seated during our story times can manage to sit through several playings of 'Green Eggs and Ham' on the CD rom.

[forbsay]

Hello

 

My son used to do this and prob still does! However, I have a suggestion you can put down a rug/square of carpet down on the floor and encourage him to sit on it for short periods of time and maybe give him some sort of reward. This worked for my son when he was at nursery.

 

Forbsay

[Klou]

Hi

 

My son loves his stories. It did go in fits and starts and he rarely askes for stories during the day although this is changing recently. He is a bedtime story boy, the more the better but he doesn't sit still. Sometimes I have to say he has to be still or I won't read. He is bouncing next to me and I hate the seasick feeling it creates. He rocks, wriggles and rolls about. Sometimes more than others. YEsterday he was rocking wih his legs crossed up on the bed. He rocked so much he lost his balance and toppled off the bed, did a forward flip and landed on his back. I was very worried he hurt himseld but he seemed more bemused than anything else. But he is listening and he does love the stories.

 

His favourites are Room on the Broom, The snail and the whale, Bob the builder and Thomas T Tank. I am really strict about reading only once through and I refuse to read certain books if I am thoroughly bored with having read them night after night. It seems to have encouraged more variety.

 

At one point he only liked certain books but now he is prepared to have others. He doesn't really like fairy tale type books that much. He loves rhythm and rhyme.

[Brook]

Hi Liz,

 

My son is now seven but, when he was pre-school if I got a book out to read to him

he would grab it off me and throw it across the room .

He is very verbal but, at his speech assesment a few months back I said that I was concerned about his understanding of language, the test results revealed that his receptive language was delayed by two and a half years.

 

Going back to when he was pre-school, I started to make up stories about things that had happened to him, like, one day he got his finger stuck in a ticket machine and we had to go and buy some plasters, he was very interested in this repetitiveness, also he understood it because it had actually happened, I also make up stories about the characters on his video games and draw pictures of them (although no artist ), also I try and use these for social stories.

 

My son loves having stories read to him now but, he cannot take in the lengthy stories, if we go to the library I pick up a book and can tell straightaway if it is the right length for him.

 

This is a link to a good site (for classrooms but, I have found lots of useful tips on there) if you scroll down there is some good info about stories.

 

http://www.hanen.org/Hanen2002/pages/Langu...AndLiteracy.htm

 

Under CREATIVE IDEAS press 'click here'.

 

HTH

 

Brook

[LittleRae]

Hi Liz

 

Have you tried e-books, where he can read a book online? There are lots of sites to choose from. This one has active pictures and highlights the text - it's also sort of interactive, as he can click to go on to the next page

 

http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/boo...ry=PictureBooks

 

It might help keep him interested and you can start with short stories. (BTW some books are free, but you need to buy others)

 

A