Re: Need advice re: homeschooling ASD and playgroups

[Guest guest]

Good Lord! There is absolutely no way those poor four teachers and 5 aides

could effectively teach 44 kids -- what a nightmare! I teach social skills

classes to special needs kids and even with 8 kids and 4 helpers, I often wonder

how special-ed teachers could possibly meet their students' needs in a

classroom environment.

Anyhoo, we've homeschooled my son since kindergarten. At your child's age

and challenges one of the best places for educational resources is Super Duper

_www.superduperinc.org_ (http://www.superduperinc.org) . They have wonderful

curriculum. Critical Thinking Press _www.brightminds.us_

(http://www.brightminds.us) is also a great place for early curriculum. My

advice would be to

start early with blending thinking skills into everything you do with your child

since the kids that progress well enough to blend into typical classrooms

almost always get hung up somewhere down the line when it comes to higher order

thinking.

Scholastic, Sonlight and Hewitt Homeschooling are also good resources for a

variety of curriculum. You should be able to find those easily with web

searches.

<<I am concerned about his social development. Is it necessary that he is

introduced to large play groups or could we just arrange small ones on a regular

basis for him? Any book suggestions on how

to enhance his social skills other than the above?>>

Start small and very gradually work your way to larger as he's more able to

handle groups. Go for quality, deeper interactions rather than just being able

to hang with and tolerate a group. The more comfortable with people he is

and the more positive interactions he has early on, the easier time he'll have

blending in socially later on. Do a websearch for homeschool support groups in

your area to see what's available. People are often surprised at how many

opportunities for social interaction and group learning for homeschoolers.

Homeschoolers are also a great resource for positive typical peers since they

tend to be more accepting of differences.

Gaylen

Sorry for the long post. We are new to this (a few weeks) and are a

bit overwhelmed about where to start but we feel pretty convicted to

avoid the special ed program because of the class size. THe

teachers seemed very nice but they were also disorganized.teachers te

find some of the tests they wanted him to do....

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

[Guest guest]

Hi Rene,

Is a regular classroom (with supports) an option? Is this for pre-K or K?

Kristy

Need advice re: homeschooling ASD and playgroups

Hi all,

I have a 4 yr old who is on the spectrum. When tested, his

receptive language is lower than expressive....has problems

processing what he hears and he is overwhelmed in group situations.

IF there is one kid over, he adjusts pretty well but if 3 or more

kids are present he gets stuck and repeats the same motion over and

over and laughs hysterically at his own joke.

He has a twin sister and they do very well together...she gets him

to play with her as opposed to by himself always. She is usually

very patient with him and she is EXTREMELY VERBAL etc. He also has

a younger brother, playmates etc.

So, our original family plan was to homeschool our kids. He

qualifies for special ed in the preschool program, but he would be

in a class with 44 other kids with every possible problem not just

learning....4 teachers, 5 assists. One classroom. We think the

noise level alone would throw him for a loop. He seems pretty

bright. He scored 42 (his processing abilities brought the score

down...normal is 48) and is learning at home though I've not started

our " formal education plan "

OK questions: Does anyone have advice re: homeschooling and

specific programs I may want to use? (We still plan on OT and

Speech therapy through school and I'm reading a book on ABA right

now)

Two: I am concerned about his social development. Is it necessary

that he is introduced to large play groups or could we just arrange

small ones on a regular basis for him? Any book suggestions on how

to enhance his social skills other than the above?)

Sorry for the long post. We are new to this (a few weeks) and are a

bit overwhelmed about where to start but we feel pretty convicted to

avoid the special ed program because of the class size. THe

teachers seemed very nice but they were also disorganized...couldn't

find some of the tests they wanted him to do....

[Guest guest]

Wow! That's insane!!!! How can they possibly have a class that

large????? I would definitely seriously consider homeschooling or a

private school with aide. Have you considered asking for NPS with an

aide? You obviously have sensory issues on your side here as a class

that large would *not* be conducive to progress for him. You will

probably have to fight pretty hard for it, though. Where do you

live? My son's SDC has 10 students, 1 teacher, 1 student teacher and

2 aides (sometimes 3 aides and no student teacher).

Social skills groups are usually best kept very small with our

children until they can handle larger groups. I would start off very

slow, one to one with someone just above his level and more language

and go from there. Here are some sites for some help with teaching

skills:

http://www.autismsocialskills.com/

http://www.bellaonline.com/subjects/8616.asp

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/autism/teaching-methods/10154.html

http://www.modelmekids.com/

Cheryl

On Jun 30, 2007, at 6:19 PM, Rene wrote:

> Hi all,

>

> I have a 4 yr old who is on the spectrum. When tested, his

> receptive language is lower than expressive....has problems

> processing what he hears and he is overwhelmed in group situations.

> IF there is one kid over, he adjusts pretty well but if 3 or more

> kids are present he gets stuck and repeats the same motion over and

> over and laughs hysterically at his own joke.

>

> He has a twin sister and they do very well together...she gets him

> to play with her as opposed to by himself always. She is usually

> very patient with him and she is EXTREMELY VERBAL etc. He also has

> a younger brother, playmates etc.

>

> So, our original family plan was to homeschool our kids. He

> qualifies for special ed in the preschool program, but he would be

> in a class with 44 other kids with every possible problem not just

> learning....4 teachers, 5 assists. One classroom. We think the

> noise level alone would throw him for a loop. He seems pretty

> bright. He scored 42 (his processing abilities brought the score

> down...normal is 48) and is learning at home though I've not started

> our " formal education plan "

>

> OK questions: Does anyone have advice re: homeschooling and

> specific programs I may want to use? (We still plan on OT and

> Speech therapy through school and I'm reading a book on ABA right

> now)

>

> Two: I am concerned about his social development. Is it necessary

> that he is introduced to large play groups or could we just arrange

> small ones on a regular basis for him? Any book suggestions on how

> to enhance his social skills other than the above?)

>

> Sorry for the long post. We are new to this (a few weeks) and are a

> bit overwhelmed about where to start but we feel pretty convicted to

> avoid the special ed program because of the class size. THe

> teachers seemed very nice but they were also disorganized...couldn't

> find some of the tests they wanted him to do....

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Gaylen, Cheryl and Kristy

Thanks for your thoughts and insights. I needed to hear from

someone else that this ratio with his sensory integration issues

just was not a good idea. Since we had always planned on

homeschooling I just wasn't sure I was thinking through things

clearly. I'm nervous as heck to tackle this, but with prayer and

perserverence and planning, I know we'll push through. (We will get

special services for him either through the school system or

privately)

Oh, also, this is Pre-K not Kindergarden so there is no option for

mainstreaming with an aide. I will be combing through all the

websites you suggested and curriculums.....

Rene

>

> Hi all,

>

> I have a 4 yr old who is on the spectrum. When tested, his

> receptive language is lower than expressive....has problems

> processing what he hears and he is overwhelmed in group

situations.

> IF there is one kid over, he adjusts pretty well but if 3 or more

> kids are present he gets stuck and repeats the same motion over

and

> over and laughs hysterically at his own joke.

>

> He has a twin sister and they do very well together...she gets him

> to play with her as opposed to by himself always. She is usually

> very patient with him and she is EXTREMELY VERBAL etc. He also

has

> a younger brother, playmates etc.

>

> So, our original family plan was to homeschool our kids. He

> qualifies for special ed in the preschool program, but he would be

> in a class with 44 other kids with every possible problem not just

> learning....4 teachers, 5 assists. One classroom. We think the

> noise level alone would throw him for a loop. He seems pretty

> bright. He scored 42 (his processing abilities brought the score

> down...normal is 48) and is learning at home though I've not

started

> our " formal education plan "

>

> OK questions: Does anyone have advice re: homeschooling and

> specific programs I may want to use? (We still plan on OT and

> Speech therapy through school and I'm reading a book on ABA right

> now)

>

> Two: I am concerned about his social development. Is it necessary

> that he is introduced to large play groups or could we just

arrange

> small ones on a regular basis for him? Any book suggestions on

how

> to enhance his social skills other than the above?)

>

> Sorry for the long post. We are new to this (a few weeks) and are

a

> bit overwhelmed about where to start but we feel pretty convicted

to

> avoid the special ed program because of the class size. THe

> teachers seemed very nice but they were also

disorganized...couldn't

> find some of the tests they wanted him to do....

>