Re: Obsession with numbers and letters

[Guest guest]

Just to echo Cristy's comments. Our son Grant was the same way at that age.

He'd mastered the alphabet by 24 months. At age 4 he taught himself to read

(phonetically no less) and even though we'd only gotten to 32 in his ABA

program, he taught himself the numbers up through 100. Wheel of Fortune is

still a favorite show. Last night, in fact, he took the letters from his two

wooden alphabet puzzles, layed them out on the floor, and played along.

We use his love of letters and spelling to work on advanced manding skills.

For example, we'll ask him to spell a word, and then hide the third, fourth

or fifth letter (NEVER hide the first letter, you need to build an EO for

what comes next). When he gets to that letter he asks " Where's the (fill in

blank)? " We can then extend it by holding out both hands clenched (prompting

a " Which " question) or hide it with someone else in the room ( " Who has it?).

The reinforcement is thus built into the task.

Grant's reading ability has also made him reinforcing for the kids in his

typical classroom since he can read entire books for them....they like to

hangout by him during reading time. In turn, it helps him feel at ease with

the fellow children, and he's now starting to interact with them at a level

nearly equal to that in which he interacts with us (his parents) or his

therapists.

Mark Cyr

Grant's Dad

" Children with autism are not learning disabled, they are teaching

challenges. "