Learning disability
This is not going to a hugely intellectual post with lots of facts and figures or research, it is simply based on our experience.
Little Man is classed as having a learning disability. He is struggling to read, write and grasp the concept of maths. At 8 he is still young and has time to catch up but having said that, the biggest thing we have to do is ensure his self esteem and confidence is not affected.
Reading wise he seems to be flying through the reading level suddenly. Even though we are praising him and telling him how well he is doing, and I hate myself for this, I don't actually believe he is doing as well as everyone thinks. Cover the picture over or given him a book that doesn't involve Kipper, Chip and Biff and he is struggling with the simple words such as 'and' 'in' 'that' 'the' - you get the picture. He reads the pictures and not the words. His teacher said just before Easter that she has realised he has an amazing memory for books as she has discovered he can recite word for word stories that interest him. He loves the Kipper, Biff and Chip books. To encourage him when he gets his 1:1 reading, the teacher goes through his new reading book with him before he has to 'read'; it. I don't want to believe it but he is not 'reading'his book. No picture - very little reading, random words and signs of words he 'reads' in his books - no comprehension.
What can we do though? I have found a reading scheme on the Internet which claims it can help. It claims to just use words and not pictures for children like Little Man. I intend to check it out. However I am also scared of setting him back.
Writing is well, a scrawl at best. We are now practising our writing and until he sounds his words out properly and reads, his spelling is going to take time in coming.
Maths - well what can I say. his 3 and 5 and 7 are always backwards but the teachers claim this is entirely normal - really for an 8 year old? He is still struggling to count to 20 - he seems to have an issue with the number 17 and won;t remember it. We are being asked to work on his 2 times table, addition and subtraction. Surely we need the basic counting to be mastered first. He gets so upset every time we approach maths. It is so hard to know how to best support him at home.
The school are great. The school offer a lot of support. The school constantly reassure us we are doing well at home and a great job as parents. But are we? Could we do more? Do we push him too much?
It is so hard to know.
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Friday, 13 April 2012
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
A-Z of Blogging - B is for Baking
So today is all about the letter 'B'.
B is for baking. I love baking and often bake with the kids making all sorts - biscuits, cakes, cupcakes, rice crispie cakes. Both boys love baking and more so the eating of the end product!
I think baking offers a great opportunity to have fun with your kids and teaches them all kinds of new skills with the weighing involved, the mixing and the aiming the cake mixture into the cases. School bake with the kids weekly as well, the PTFA having provided a baking kitchen for their use.
As you all probably know it was Sport Relief on the 23rd and like all school's ours got involved. The kids from 3-1 years old all did the Sport relief mile which involved running round the school, and the field, loads of parents helped out and it was generally a fun day with lots of sporting activities laid out.
The PTA then organised an after school event with a cake stall, teas and coffees, Easter Egg hunt, name the cuddly rabbit and a 'B'ake off for the juniors.
The entries were fantastic for this baking competition. Some were very creative, some had obviously had a lot of love and time put into them by both children and parents and were amazing, others were obviously the child's own work. Each within their own right though were fantastic. It was free to enter but after the judging the cakes were for sale to raise money.
The baking competition was judged by a local cupcake company, the school cook and a Grannie who volunteers at the school to bake with the kids on a weekly basis.
They decided that they would award the prizes to cakes which were obviously done by the children with no help. Amazingly despite the stupid mother dropping the prize winning cake as they got out of the car the morning of the competition and wearing a good proportion of the chocolate butter cream down her right thigh for the rest of the day (a hasty repair job with fingers was required), that cake won - yes the winning 'b'aker was my Little Man (and yes I was the stupid mother).
Little Man was over the moon. He rarely wins anything as the aspergers makes it difficult to take part in many team events or understand the basic rules of a game. His little face lit up and he has checked every paper he sees looking for the photo they said would be in the local paper - it was a week later.
I was so proud! I love my cake decorating as some may of seen with the creations I show off on here so for Little Man to have his skills recognised meant alot. What meant more though was the huge confidence boost it gave Little Man, having beaten some truly amazing cakes and winning on his own merit.
Proud mummy moment!
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Back to school woes
Over the past week or so I have red a number of posts from other bloggers with children on the autistic spectrum blogging about difficulties their children are experiencing with returning to school, after the summer holidays. Compared to some of the posts I have seen our troubles are not that big but they still worry me and leave me feeling a little hopeless and at a loss at what we can do.
Little Man has always cried during the holidays as he hates the break in the routine from school. The last few holidays he seems to have accepted them alot more easily and the tears have all but dried up. He was however very excited about going back to school. We did the usual chatting about him being in a new part of the school, a new classroom, a new teacher and which of his friends would be in his class etc and the first morning back (Thursday 1st) he ran into school quite happily. On the Friday he even opted to go to his new classroom alone. This is one area I am struggling with - Mini man has started reception and this means taking him into his classroom which is on the other side of the school. Reception starts at 8.45, Little Man at 8.50 so I don't have time to settle Mini Man and get Little man to his class on time, so the fact he was happy to run over to his classroom by himself was great (he is year 3 now, so just into juniors and most of the others leave their parents in the playground).
Come Monday 5th though Little Man was clinging to me and refused to go instead coming to reception with me and waiting. I spoke with Little Man's teacher and explained he was wanting me to bring him to the classroom and the timing issues and she was fine about it. All week this continued, one morning he was happy to stand with some of the other children and another mum but the other 4 it had to be me. By Thursday he was very quiet, and the whole weekend he was a bit distant and removed.
Last Sunday my parents came down and helped with the gardening (taming of the jungle), we all mucked in, but Little Man decided to sit on the front drive with a hammer and hammer stones for 3 and a half hours. At Sunday dinner which my parents stayed for, he took 2 Yorkshire puddings, a tiny piece of lamb, 3 peas and 1 slice of carrot and placed the meat, peas and carrot in one Yorkshire pud, and placed the other on top then sat looking at it. I took one look at his plate and said he needed more food and reached for the meat to put more on his plate. Now Little Man eats like a horse, he has a larger dinner than me. So this measly amount of food was very unlike him. He was not happy about other food going on his plate, picking it up in his fingers and chucking into any surrounding dishes. As a compromise I said he could eat what was on his plate and then perhaps he could have some more. He then went to pick the Yorkshire pudding sandwich up with his hands. I asked him to cut it and use his cutlery. He said it was too big to cut so I reached for his cutlery and made to cut this 'sandwich'. He went mad saying he would not eat any food that was cut, and I could see him building to a melt down. He kind of does this thing with his face, and starts huffing and breathing deeply.
At this point I focused him on me and asked if he wanted to go into the kitchen with me for a little chat and cuddle. Off we trotted, and he just collapsed on the kitchen floor sobbing. I ended up on the kitchen floor with him, with him sat in my lap just sobbing. It took some doing but I eventually got out of him that he didn't want to go back to school, he didn't like it anymore, and he couldn't do it. This translated to now he is in juniors they are beginning to do proper school work and he can't understand it and 'just wants to screw his work up and throw it in the bin'. He is aware the others understand and he can't. He is aware the others can write and his words are meaningless, no-one else can read them. He is aware he goes out to have 1:1. He is aware he sits on a table at the back with one other little boy who is struggling as well. He is aware the books he is reading are not the same as the other children.
What do you say to a 7 year old sobbing about this? I felt so helpless. I tried to hit on the fact alot of his friends are girls and explain they love to read and write and are always ahead at this age. I tried to bolster him up saying not many in his class could tell us all about gravity and how things work like he can and that the most important thing is that he has the information in his head and putting onto paper will come with time. i tried to tell him how much he had come on and how well he was doing. I tried to tell him about how good he was at drawing.
I managed to bring him down and avoid the meltdown by simply promising to talk to his teacher the next day and also to the special needs teacher. I did this and his teacher was really upset, nearly in tears infact
I am amazed he is so aware of all these things but what is the answer? He is nowhere near even being considered for a statement, we will struggle to get him anymore help, from what I can gather in all my research and reading the school are actually providing above and beyond what they have to provide, so I don't want to bang on too much about it as they are clearly doing so much already.
I just feel so frustrated. I hate walking to school with him seeing him become more and more quiet and withdrawn the closer we get. Dropping him at his class and seeing him look so lost still and unsure of himself. Where has the little boy gone who use to love school, who use to literally skip through the gates.
I want to do more to help him at home but he is tired after school and doesn't want to do it, he gets upset as he has done it already in school, Mini Man interrupts and demands attention all the time and now we have a dog to throw into the mix.
On a plus side CAMHS have organised a meeting for the 19th October to discuss the ASD with the school, and the school have contacted the autistic advisory board to see if they can access any further support for Little Man, but this will more than likely be social help rather than academic, but they are due in to see him in the next 2 weeks.
I wish I could do more.
Little Man has always cried during the holidays as he hates the break in the routine from school. The last few holidays he seems to have accepted them alot more easily and the tears have all but dried up. He was however very excited about going back to school. We did the usual chatting about him being in a new part of the school, a new classroom, a new teacher and which of his friends would be in his class etc and the first morning back (Thursday 1st) he ran into school quite happily. On the Friday he even opted to go to his new classroom alone. This is one area I am struggling with - Mini man has started reception and this means taking him into his classroom which is on the other side of the school. Reception starts at 8.45, Little Man at 8.50 so I don't have time to settle Mini Man and get Little man to his class on time, so the fact he was happy to run over to his classroom by himself was great (he is year 3 now, so just into juniors and most of the others leave their parents in the playground).
Come Monday 5th though Little Man was clinging to me and refused to go instead coming to reception with me and waiting. I spoke with Little Man's teacher and explained he was wanting me to bring him to the classroom and the timing issues and she was fine about it. All week this continued, one morning he was happy to stand with some of the other children and another mum but the other 4 it had to be me. By Thursday he was very quiet, and the whole weekend he was a bit distant and removed.
Last Sunday my parents came down and helped with the gardening (taming of the jungle), we all mucked in, but Little Man decided to sit on the front drive with a hammer and hammer stones for 3 and a half hours. At Sunday dinner which my parents stayed for, he took 2 Yorkshire puddings, a tiny piece of lamb, 3 peas and 1 slice of carrot and placed the meat, peas and carrot in one Yorkshire pud, and placed the other on top then sat looking at it. I took one look at his plate and said he needed more food and reached for the meat to put more on his plate. Now Little Man eats like a horse, he has a larger dinner than me. So this measly amount of food was very unlike him. He was not happy about other food going on his plate, picking it up in his fingers and chucking into any surrounding dishes. As a compromise I said he could eat what was on his plate and then perhaps he could have some more. He then went to pick the Yorkshire pudding sandwich up with his hands. I asked him to cut it and use his cutlery. He said it was too big to cut so I reached for his cutlery and made to cut this 'sandwich'. He went mad saying he would not eat any food that was cut, and I could see him building to a melt down. He kind of does this thing with his face, and starts huffing and breathing deeply.
At this point I focused him on me and asked if he wanted to go into the kitchen with me for a little chat and cuddle. Off we trotted, and he just collapsed on the kitchen floor sobbing. I ended up on the kitchen floor with him, with him sat in my lap just sobbing. It took some doing but I eventually got out of him that he didn't want to go back to school, he didn't like it anymore, and he couldn't do it. This translated to now he is in juniors they are beginning to do proper school work and he can't understand it and 'just wants to screw his work up and throw it in the bin'. He is aware the others understand and he can't. He is aware the others can write and his words are meaningless, no-one else can read them. He is aware he goes out to have 1:1. He is aware he sits on a table at the back with one other little boy who is struggling as well. He is aware the books he is reading are not the same as the other children.
What do you say to a 7 year old sobbing about this? I felt so helpless. I tried to hit on the fact alot of his friends are girls and explain they love to read and write and are always ahead at this age. I tried to bolster him up saying not many in his class could tell us all about gravity and how things work like he can and that the most important thing is that he has the information in his head and putting onto paper will come with time. i tried to tell him how much he had come on and how well he was doing. I tried to tell him about how good he was at drawing.
I managed to bring him down and avoid the meltdown by simply promising to talk to his teacher the next day and also to the special needs teacher. I did this and his teacher was really upset, nearly in tears infact
I am amazed he is so aware of all these things but what is the answer? He is nowhere near even being considered for a statement, we will struggle to get him anymore help, from what I can gather in all my research and reading the school are actually providing above and beyond what they have to provide, so I don't want to bang on too much about it as they are clearly doing so much already.
I just feel so frustrated. I hate walking to school with him seeing him become more and more quiet and withdrawn the closer we get. Dropping him at his class and seeing him look so lost still and unsure of himself. Where has the little boy gone who use to love school, who use to literally skip through the gates.
I want to do more to help him at home but he is tired after school and doesn't want to do it, he gets upset as he has done it already in school, Mini Man interrupts and demands attention all the time and now we have a dog to throw into the mix.
On a plus side CAMHS have organised a meeting for the 19th October to discuss the ASD with the school, and the school have contacted the autistic advisory board to see if they can access any further support for Little Man, but this will more than likely be social help rather than academic, but they are due in to see him in the next 2 weeks.
I wish I could do more.
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