zaman Report post Posted May 5, 2006 My five year old son speaks pretty much without inflection and it is one of the things that is starting to make him stand out from his peers. For one reason or another (staff shortages, budget cuts, etc) he doesn't have 1-2-1 with a SALT, but she comes into school every term and works with his TA instead. I asked her if she could give me any tips on working on it, and she suggested that when we read together I over do it when there is a question or exclaimation mark. Well I've clearly not done that very well, as now we just have to run through what all of the punctuation marks mean, rather than hearing what they do to a sentence. Does anyone have any other tips? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paula Report post Posted May 5, 2006 My son used to be very very monotone. Hes now 12 and has more variety in his pitch and tone of speech. Its just my opinion but i personally dont think theres that much you can do to alter the montoneness of speech in an aspie.Its what makes them stand out when they appear to fit in in everything else.My son is very formal in his speech also.Its kinda nice and makes me smile. We call him our little vulcan hes like mr spock. I joke about it with him and say hey up why not be dareing why not say hya instead of hello or ta ra instead of goodbye see you later.Im met with a glazed expression. You gotta laugh at them.Its endearing i think. Others may disagree. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss Report post Posted May 5, 2006 Our daughter speaks in a very high pitched sing song voice. The pitch never alters. The teaching staff at school, along with SALT made her aware of using her "proper" voice. Whenever she was reminded to use her "proper" voice, she would lower it slightly, to a more appropriate level. Not very practical at home though, unless you want to say "use your proper voice" every minute Take care, Debs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tez Report post Posted May 5, 2006 I asked a similar question some time ago HERE is the link to the thread and responses I received. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jb1964 Report post Posted May 5, 2006 Zaman, my daughter always spoke in a monatone kind of voice but she does occasionally have a lilt in her voice (if not a bit over the top) - mostly from watching american cartoons etc - she has always copied and mimicked what they say and will try to copy them exactly. The only thing is she speaks now with all american jargon rather than british - like janitor, high school etc. I joke about it with him and say hey up why not be dareing why not say hya instead of hello or ta ra instead of goodbye see you later. Paula that is so my daughter. I finally got her to say ta ra - the other week for the first time (you always have to prompt her to say hello or goodbye and I'd been really trying to make her sound more relaxed when she says it) and she kind of stalled before saying it to someone and it sounded so strange because she said it so pronounced like tah (pause) rah. She always makes me smile when she speaks because it's so proper - although she never swears she called me a 'stupid a***e' the other day and I was totally shocked because it is so unlike her - but later on she was really worried about it and whether she was bad, and was it bad that she said it and it was a swear word and she doesn't like swearing etc etc etc. Take care, Jb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zaman Report post Posted May 5, 2006 Thanks for all the replies, and Tez for the link. Every time I read something that Ian Jordon writes I feel that what he says has a lot of meaning for AS kids with their sensory issues. this has all come to a head for me as my son is getting teased a lot becuase of his speech at school and at an after school club that he goes to on a Friday, and the other boys are saying he speaks 'like he's gay' ((I strongly doubt that anyone knows what they are talking aobut, other than to know that it is supposed to be a term of abuse). I made a complaint to the people that run it this week, and when I picked him up tonight it had happened again. All of the boys involved got a warning, clearly it is going to escalate in one way or another. I just wish that I could take away the cause of it all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jb1964 Report post Posted May 5, 2006 Hi Zaman, It's a sad world we live in that just because a child speaks well he's called 'gay' by as you say kids that have no idea what it means - yet still they do it - kids and adults all around us continue to bully, single out and pick on people from all aspects of life just because they're different and just because they can get away with it - it makes me sick. As for them giving the kids a warning - a warning doesn't mean anything if they don't understand what they're doing is wrong. Hope your little one is ok. Take care, Jb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss Report post Posted May 5, 2006 Zaman, Might be worthwhile if the after school club informed their parents. Might have a greater impact then. I know if I found out any of my kids were involved in anything like that they'd not be doing it again! Take care, Debs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zaman Report post Posted May 6, 2006 The deal was that this week they all got to take home a copy of the clubs equal opportunites statement to show their parents, which explains that discriminatory behaviour is not acceptable, and they all had to sit out for half an hour. If it happens again next week then the parents are going to be spoken to, and if it happens after that they will be excluded. I feel sorry for my daughter as much as my son, as she is the one defending him, and she is getting really upset at the meaness of the other boys. I have told them both that I feel follow it through with the club, and that if anyone is going to stop going then it shouldn't be them but the boys, but I may have to rethink my high moral stand if it is just upsetting them both. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lizzie Report post Posted May 7, 2006 HI Zamen, I can totally understand how you must feel, I hate bullying I believe it is the thing that most kids remember about their school days long after they left school, I know when I think back to school(many many moons ago!!!) its the taunting and hair pulling that springs to mind first, thats sad! My 11yr old also got bullied when he started comp in sept and no matter how many times I got in touch with school it made no difference at all, if anything it made it worse, in the end I lost my patience and had it out with the bully myself, that made a big difference!! That particular bully left K alone, the thing with bullies is, when one stops, there is always another little s___t waiting to take his place!!! Grrrrrr I hope you get things sorted for your little one, I dont thinks these other kids realise the hurt they cause. Good luck! xxx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zemanski Report post Posted May 7, 2006 I came across a game called moods the other day. It's an adult game but with some minor editing (removal of a couple of cards) it's suitable for kids, certainly from upper KS2 if their reading is OK. It consists of 2 sets of cards, a die and a board - we play without the board mostly so it's funny rather than competitive. The first set is 'how to say it' - things like; disgusted, frightened, excited, crazy..... you can choose a handful (10 in the game but you can use a 6 sided die and choose 6) either randomly or ones you want to concentrate on. You roll the die to determine which one you have to use, keeping it hidden. The second set of cards is the phrases you have to say the other players have to guess which of the first set you are using. very silly and the only really motivating way I've found to practice intonation so far don't know if it actually does any good though Zemanski Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elaine1 Report post Posted May 7, 2006 my son is almost 13 and still speaks in monotone, his teacher says shes not sure if its teenage syndrome or aspergers lol <'> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
