Guest guest Posted February 4, 2005 Report Share Posted February 4, 2005 , You raise an important question, one that has been on my mind lately. My son has been with Dr. G for almost 2 years. He is 4.5 and fully verbal, tho with word retrieval and the typical pragmatic/semantic issues. With family, he is relaxed, happy, expressive (when not sick, of course). He has never had problems in public or any overt behavior problems and is a very helpful, loving, considerate child. Since being with Dr. G., he is much less stressed and clingy and more open to exploring the world. However, there are things about him which simply have not changed at all. He tends to be rather aimless and lacks the imaginative ability of his peers (despite hours upon hours of Floortime). He is very akward in his speech, content-wise. He goes round and round on the same topic. And socially--well-- he's just not really interested, thank you very much. Kids his age just seem to baffle him with their unpredictable behavior. He does enjoy a good game of chase or structured board games with friends, but lacks that ability to play open-endedly and creativley. And at playdates, he's totally done interacting after an hour. He doesn't have a meltdown or anything, just goes off in his own world. He would much rather play and interact with adults. The other day, a little boy at the park was trying to play with him. said " no thanks, I'm busy " and retreated to our blanket. His 9 month old brother honestly has better social skills than he does at 4.5. I cannot " force " him to want to be social. I can teach him how to interact with friends, set up activities, etc., but I can't change the way he feels about it. I am a shy person myself, so to a degree I understand where he is coming from. I prefer my own company and eye contact is sometimes painful for me. Surely, if you feel better you are going to feel more social, but is there a fine line where that ends? I believe my son will never be totally " neurotypical " , (whatever that means!) He will always have his quirks. It's him, and no pill can change that, nor do I want it to. Dr. G. always says " don't worry about the social skills, they will come " . I have a hard time believing this fully, since the very definition of ASDs is social defecit. I can teach him to make eye contact, how to approach a friend, etc-- but I can't give him the DESIRE, nor integrate into him all the nonverbal communication abilities that he lacks. If this will change with time, I don't know. Over the last 2 years, he's at least learned to tolerate being with other kids, and enjoy them for brief periods, but he continues to get more and more behind in this area. Plus, as his peers get older, they become more aware of his differences and thus more critical and unforgiving in their interactions. Sorry I don't have more helpful input for you. I, too, would love to hear from someone with an older child who started out mild (my son doesn't have a dx but I'm sure he'd get an Aspergers label if I pushed for it.) Warmly, Becky Re: ? > > > I am relatively new to the protocol with Dr. G. I have noticed after > reading supportive emails, that we are in for a ride. My question is can I expect > a life time of ups and downs with ? If autism is not curable then is the > protocol just making our children feel better? I understand that feeling > better is a win in itself. However, I have seen many children not on the > protocol doing very well. So if you get your child feeling when is it time to move > on? When do you know that this is the best it can be and just feel > blessed that you have this child in your life? I have tried to find information on > young adults with who started like my son... mild in his symptoms but > not really connecting with his peers. Any thoughts as always would be > wonderful. > > Be Blessed, > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 I love MGW's stuff! I have her big Social Thinking curriculum guide and have found it worth every penny. I've used it quite a bit with my son and in the social groups I run. I've seen some big changes in several of the kids I've used this with. I'd highly recommend it. It is a higher level book meant for kids who are at the point where they can at least somewhat reason things out and participate in discussions. Gaylen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Are any of you familiar with the workbooks that Winner has created to help teach kids social skills? I heard a tape of hers and was extremely impressed with how she understood the deficits many of our kids have in social understanding and how she goes about teaching social skills. I'm considering getting some of her workbooks for our older son but am hoping someone has more knowledge of them than I do (good or bad). Any advice? Caroline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Gaylen, Thanks so much... I may have a few more questions for you (hope you don't mind) as I look into this further... I have looked at it before and felt a little nervous as to which set would be the right one for my son... I do feel that he is getting to a point where he could use some of her advice. Caroline > From: <Googahly@...> > Reply-< > > Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 23:43:47 -0400 (EDT) > < > > Subject: Re: Re: Social Skills > > I love MGW's stuff! I have her big Social Thinking curriculum guide and have > found it worth every penny. I've used it quite a bit with my son and in the > social groups I run. I've seen some big changes in several of the kids I've > used this with. I'd highly recommend it. It is a higher level book meant for > kids who are at the point where they can at least somewhat reason things out > and participate in discussions. > Gaylen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 >My 7 year old is doing a small group based on 's theory. The >speech therapist was trained by and I have been impressed so >far. Before our daughter joined the group, the therapist did an informal >assessment with her. The few things that stick out in my mind are of the >therapist holding two boxes out on either side of my girl and telling her >there was something very special in one of the boxes. All along the >therapist was focusing her eyes on one of the boxes. My girl didn't pick >up on this at all and chose the wrong box. The other thing she did was >give my girl a container of play doh with a yellow top. She asked what >color my girl expected to see and she said yellow. When the container was >opened the color was actually green. When asked why my girl thought it >would be yellow, she couldn't tell us. It's a very different kind of >social skills training. If you get her workbooks, I would love to know if >you think they are worthwhile. >Are any of you familiar with the workbooks that Winner has >created to help teach kids social skills? I heard a tape of hers and was >extremely impressed with how she understood the deficits many of our kids >have in social understanding and how she goes about teaching social skills. > >I'm considering getting some of her workbooks for our older son but am >hoping someone has more knowledge of them than I do (good or bad). > >Any advice? > >Caroline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 , Thanks so much for your input. If I do get the workbooks, I'll let you know what I think. Caroline > From: and Daron Freedberg <mdfreedberg@...> > Reply-< > > Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2006 22:57:11 -0400 > < > > Subject: Re: Re: Social Skills > >> My 7 year old is doing a small group based on 's theory. The >> speech therapist was trained by and I have been impressed so >> far. Before our daughter joined the group, the therapist did an informal >> assessment with her. The few things that stick out in my mind are of the >> therapist holding two boxes out on either side of my girl and telling her >> there was something very special in one of the boxes. All along the >> therapist was focusing her eyes on one of the boxes. My girl didn't pick >> up on this at all and chose the wrong box. The other thing she did was >> give my girl a container of play doh with a yellow top. She asked what >> color my girl expected to see and she said yellow. When the container was >> opened the color was actually green. When asked why my girl thought it >> would be yellow, she couldn't tell us. It's a very different kind of >> social skills training. If you get her workbooks, I would love to know if >> you think they are worthwhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 The Mariposa School presents: Social Strategies for Success. This program will be held in 3 week and 6 week sessions throughout the year. The 3 week sessions will be 4 days a week and the 6 week sessions will be 2 or 4 days a week. To participate, children must: Demonstrate an absence of behavior that presents a physical danger to other learners and staff. The child should be able to mand for information and activities skill fully using verbal or nonverbal communication. Children in this program receive instruction in a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio. Each student session will depend on availability of students with appropriate age and social level. In order to determine appropriate placement, an open house will be held from 7 PM until 8 PM on June 24th. Staff will be on hand to evaluate students to determine appropriate group designations. Additional information can be found at www.MariposaSchool.org or by contacting the school: info@... or 919-461-0600. Thank you, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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