classroom aides - Autism Spectrum Message Board

pddmother · 09-18-2006, 07:32 PM

My son is in a regular classroom part of the day and in sp-ed the other part. My problem is he does not even seem to know how to look up what he needs to in a text book. He is in fourth grade and dx of PDD-NOS. I think he has been and is continuing to be overlooked and just allowed to do the work he can, no higher expectations of him. I have heard of children having aides in their regular classroom to help them, is this possible, and how do you make this happen?
Robin

elmhar · 09-19-2006, 11:37 AM

IME, aide allottments are usually written into the IEP. The first step is to request what you think your child needs. It's possible that he may need some testing to be repeated, if it's been a few yrs. since his dx.

If your child is quite high functioning, it can be difficult to get services. But ALL parents should be welcome to point out their child's specific gaps to his /her teachers, and ask for special attention to those matters.

There's nothing to stop you from tutoring your son a bit at home. Looking up information can be broken down into skills for: alphabetization, dictionary, Table of Contents, Index, & encyclopedia use. Also, skill in use of library catalogs (more often computerized these days) is a plus. A lot of these skills can be practiced/demo'd at home, 5 min. per day over a few weeks, and you'll see lots of improvement, unless there is a more basic deficit like spelling or numeration.

It's very common for kids at the 4th grade level to still have trouble with the complexities of alphabetization. They know the alphabet, but putting into order things like: sup-str-spu can be very complex for them. To use dictionaries, indexes, and encyclopedias proficiently, one needs a little skill with complex alphabetization.

I wouldn't be surprised if your DS is better at finding things online. A lot of schools are spending more time on computer literacy skills than on traditional info routes, and that could be part of the problem.

Best wishes.

pddmother · 09-19-2006, 01:55 PM

elmhar, Thank you for your reply, I have worked alot with him at home, but I guess I never really thought about working with him on how to use a book, duh, I can't believe I overlooked something so simple. Spelling is a strong point for him, so I think he will be able to get alphabetization fairly well. The school kept sending him home spelling homework last year, even after I stressed that it was not the area that would be most benificial for him. This year he has not had any homework at all yet, I talked to them yesterday and that's when they sent home a science textbook for him to do homework for, it was an assignment he had not finished in class, I think he finishes very few. So I'm hoping they continue to send home that work. I worked with him on math too much last year I think, he is very poor in math and still adds both numbers up on his fingers, I'm starting to teach him how to use a calulator and the school has agreed to let him use one in math so that maybe we can advance above simple addition and subtraction a little bit at least. I've noticed by previous posts you've made that you seem pretty knowledgable about the teaching aspect, do you think it would be hurting him more than helping using a caculator?
Thank you
Robin

9CatMom · 09-20-2006, 07:52 AM

Good luck to all of you.

Spelling and alphabetizing were my main strengths. I have always loved anything to do with words from the time I could remember. Perhaps that is why I love working at the library so much.

elmhar · 09-20-2006, 11:31 AM

Hi PDD Mom,

I think a calculator is a great tool to help reduce stress & get assignments done. Sometimes kids suffer from a little 'math anxiety,' and that alone is enough to prevent long-term memory for math facts from solidifying.

Having said that, I also would continue working on those basic math facts. What is your son's main learning modality? Some of our kids have fantastic auditory and/or visual memories; less common is memory facilitated by tactile or kinesthetic means. Any learning strength can be used to get math facts into LT memory. My own PDD-NOS son memorizes extremely well when things are put to music & rhythm. There are commercial tapes available -- or you can make up your own music.

I'm wondering whether your son might have an ADD and/or anxiety and/or perfectionistic component that is contributing to the lack of completed work. These are very common in our kids, and there are all sorts of things -- special coping techniques, meds, and alternative therapies that can help.

However, if your gut instinct is telling you that your child is being sloughed off in the classroom, I think I would go with that for a while, get as much mileage as you can out of classroom interventions, an aide, or whatever you can arrange.

Best wishes.