aspergers

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-04-2008
aspergers
13
Wed, 02-20-2008 - 2:25pm
does any one know about asperger's my sons dr just started asking me questions and noticing things with my son? help

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-04-2008
Wed, 02-20-2008 - 10:40pm
yeah my ds like to take the crayons and roll them
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2003
Wed, 02-20-2008 - 10:48pm

OMG Yes, my ds has always hated to color or pick up a pencil.

Molly
Avatar for toryanna
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 02-20-2008 - 11:14pm

My 11 year old son is diagnosed with Asperger's. He also does the handflapping when frustrated or excited. Victor also tries SO hard to be friends with everyone and people are generally put off by that, so he quit trying. As far as school goes, Victor is in 6th grade. This year they pull him out for OT twice a month. They catch him during a class break so that the kids don't realize where he's going, just that he's late for class. Victor is also given a lead vest and what we call the squishy cushion to help with sensory needs. Victor CANNOT STAND to write. He gets so obsessed with coloring inside the lines pretty or making his letters so perfect that when they don't turn out right, he gives up. He also has a strong grip on his pencil. He concentrates so hard on making his letters right that he doesn't realize he's bearing down so hard. Because of this, handwriting actually causes him physical pain.


As far as having a normal life, Victor claims that he doesn't want it. Now that he has the proper modifications in place to help him socially, he is blooming socially. He joined Tae Kwon Do, the chess club, and has actually talked to a girl, (who likes Pokemon, his current obsession). It takes Victor a while to warm up to engage in activities, but once he's gotten used to the activity, he thrives. Other kids in chess club tell him "Man, Victor. I used to think you were weird, but weird or not, you can play chess man". In my eyes this is their way of showing Victor a little bit of respect. Victor sees these statements as compliments as well and that's the important thing.


Victor thrives in Tae Kwon Do. There are rules for everything and only 1 way you can do the moves. He doesn't participate in class, but when he gets home and can be by himself, he positively glows and will come running up to me saying "Momma, watch this. Am I doing it right?" Sensei today had to tell Victor that he wasn't ready to test for his first stripe on his belt. This crushed Victor until Sensei showed him a checklist of what he had to learn before he could test. Victor was so funny. He looked at the list and said "I dont know how to do these things yet." and Sensei said "Exactly, that's why you're not ready to test." and that was the end of the problem.


As far as some school modifications Victor has, he gets OT twice a month, the lead vest, the squishy cushion, he has access to use the computer when he needs to write, he also has a scribe who can write for him. There is also a computer program that reads the questions and answers to Victor. When he can't pass a test in the classroom, he's sent to the resource room to use this program and 98% of the time passes the test with flying colors. Just sometimes getting the questions written down to process in the head takes too long.


Our goals for this year were to get Victor to advocate for himself. If he was having trouble, use the resources available for him. We've gotten him up to about 50% of the time.


Any other questions feel free to ask. I'm sure these lovely ladies will be able to help you as well.


Alexis

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