I continued to stay involved throughout the year, asking for regular updates, visiting or volunteering in the classroom and offering any pertinent information from Ben's therapy sessions. Even though I dealt with frustration from time to time, it was very helpful to establish a rapport with the teachers and letting them know you're there to support them.
I took a lot of advice from Ben's therapists and asked for certain things that weren't necessarily in his IEP, but that would help throughout his day. Here are a few:
1. Sensory Input
Kids on the spectrum need sensory input. They don't seem to get enough of this in school. Whether it's auditory, visual or physical sensory input, it can help your child regulate himself. This can kids focus and attend better, and help provide the stimuli needed to calm anxiety--which can lead to unwanted behaviors. For Ben, he needed regular sensory breaks throughout the day. Sometimes did jumping jacks in the hallway or rolled his body on an exercise ball. Sometimes he sat on the exercise ball to bounce.
He also became very overwhelmed with the noise of the lunchroom. I sent in noise-cancelling headphones he was allowed to wear during lunch, and sometimes the teachers would allow him to eat his lunch in the classroom while they worked. If you know your child's particular sensory needs, find ways to work with teachers to incorporate sensory activities into his school day.
2. Help with Transitions
Ben has always had trouble with transitions, The need for "sameness of routine" is very typical for kids on the spectrum, so even the smallest transition from one activity to another can provoke a meltdown. To help with this, I asked for visual schedules on Ben's desk that showed the progression of his day to help him remember what would happen next. We also tried timers, and verbal reminders ("In five minutes, we'll be putting our work away and going to lunch"). At one point, the teachers even allowed Ben to remain in his homeroom classroom to do his reading work instead of leaving to go to that classroom. It helped a lot.
3. Motivation to Learn
Since kids on the spectrum struggle with non-preferred activities that are required of them, it can help to ask for slight modifications. Ben hates to write, so I asked if he could use a computer to type his work. Ben loves reading, so I asked if he could go to the bookshelf and read for a few minutes as a reward for completing non-preferred activity. When he was younger, Ben was really into ocean life. I used that as a motivator. I printed out ocean-themed math worksheets, we did reading activities with ocean themes, etc.
4. Calm Down Techniques
The biggest hurdle was getting Ben to calm down when he got anxious. Whether it was reading aloud, doing long math problems, joining circle group, etc., there were certain things that set Ben off, inevitably leading to a meltdown. Because some teachers perceive this as "bad behavior" they would discipline Ben, and the situation would escalate, and the full "fight or flight" reaction would occur. Instead of disciplining, explain to teachers what's happening and suggest a "safe" spot for the child to go to until he calms down enough to talk about the situation.
5. Be Clear and Concrete
High-function ASD kids tend to interpret speech literally. Idioms usually don't work because kids don't understand them. Things like sarcasm and double meanings also cause Ben a lot of grief. It helps to explain this to teachers so you avoid frustration from both sides.
The best thing to do is offer and ask for frequent communication, beyond what's required by a 504 or IEP. For great information about helping teachers work with your child in the classroom, visit the OASIS website and read the work of Tony Attwood, a clinical psychologist and expert on Asperger's Syndrome.
He also became very overwhelmed with the noise of the lunchroom. I sent in noise-cancelling headphones he was allowed to wear during lunch, and sometimes the teachers would allow him to eat his lunch in the classroom while they worked. If you know your child's particular sensory needs, find ways to work with teachers to incorporate sensory activities into his school day.
2. Help with Transitions
Ben has always had trouble with transitions, The need for "sameness of routine" is very typical for kids on the spectrum, so even the smallest transition from one activity to another can provoke a meltdown. To help with this, I asked for visual schedules on Ben's desk that showed the progression of his day to help him remember what would happen next. We also tried timers, and verbal reminders ("In five minutes, we'll be putting our work away and going to lunch"). At one point, the teachers even allowed Ben to remain in his homeroom classroom to do his reading work instead of leaving to go to that classroom. It helped a lot.
3. Motivation to Learn
Since kids on the spectrum struggle with non-preferred activities that are required of them, it can help to ask for slight modifications. Ben hates to write, so I asked if he could use a computer to type his work. Ben loves reading, so I asked if he could go to the bookshelf and read for a few minutes as a reward for completing non-preferred activity. When he was younger, Ben was really into ocean life. I used that as a motivator. I printed out ocean-themed math worksheets, we did reading activities with ocean themes, etc.
4. Calm Down Techniques
The biggest hurdle was getting Ben to calm down when he got anxious. Whether it was reading aloud, doing long math problems, joining circle group, etc., there were certain things that set Ben off, inevitably leading to a meltdown. Because some teachers perceive this as "bad behavior" they would discipline Ben, and the situation would escalate, and the full "fight or flight" reaction would occur. Instead of disciplining, explain to teachers what's happening and suggest a "safe" spot for the child to go to until he calms down enough to talk about the situation.
5. Be Clear and Concrete
High-function ASD kids tend to interpret speech literally. Idioms usually don't work because kids don't understand them. Things like sarcasm and double meanings also cause Ben a lot of grief. It helps to explain this to teachers so you avoid frustration from both sides.
The best thing to do is offer and ask for frequent communication, beyond what's required by a 504 or IEP. For great information about helping teachers work with your child in the classroom, visit the OASIS website and read the work of Tony Attwood, a clinical psychologist and expert on Asperger's Syndrome.
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