Transitioning from Elementary 2 Middle?
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Transitioning from Elementary 2 Middle?
| Wed, 03-28-2007 - 1:57am |
How did your Asperger's child handle the change? My son has been blessed to be in a mainstream class that engaged in looping. They had the same teacher from k-3rd, she was like a mother to them and really determined how the kids interacted. Now that they are in 5th grade their teacher is so thankful because they are all so well behaved. These kids are like family. Next year they will all be separated and Tanner won't have people that are used to his 'quirks'. Not only that but the stress of moving from class to class and having to get there on time... I'm terrified. I'm considering homeschooling him. Seriously. Any thoughts & experience?



Victor is mainstreamed. A few ideas that the therapist gave us were
1.) Give him a watch and set the timer to the amount of time they have between classes
2.) Take a tour of the school two weeks before school starts so he knows where all his classes are, and then again the day before school starts.
3.) Set up interviews with all of his teachers so they understand what his situation is and can cut him a little slack while he gets used to the situation.
4.) Practice with the lock for his locker so he knows the combination cold.
I have no idea if any of these are going to work but I'm willing to try them. We'll find out come August.
Alexis
I have one in middle school and one going to middle next year. Somethings went well and some things were tough.
Things that went well, actually social skills. Cait was in a program for kids with AS and that helped her find other quirky kids like her. There were also more kids so she was able to find some she was interested in. Plus these kids didn't have the history with Cait so she was able to make a brand new start. There are some troubles socially. Likely more than I know about since she often doesn't understand when she is being teased and isn't the best communicator, but she is happy.
What didn't go well is the academics. It is really hard to keep up for her. There are alot more demands in middle than elementary and that transition was quite hard for her. We are still trying to figure out the organizational piece for her.
We did alot to prep her for middle which helped. We got her schedule in advance and made a map of the school. I also made copies of her schedule and color coded them by classroom. She had 3 main teachers so that was easy for us. I then taped one copy in her binder, one in a front pouch of her backpack, and one at home with me.
Then for the week or 2 before school started we went and walked the campus and walked every way possible to all her classes, the lunch room, the library and the bathroom until we were sure she knew where everything was. That seemed to help.
Renee
I have a 14-year-old with AS, who is in 8th grade. I was so worried about middle school--all those classes, all those teachers, all that CHANGING. Our transition was terrific--due in large part to the case manager assigned to him at the school. A few days before school started, she did a faculty inservice about AS in general and Chris in particular. She even provided information to the lunch ladies and the security staff--so that they wouldn't take anything Chris might say or do the wrong way.
We took full advantage of the school's "walk through" days to go over the route he would take during the school day. He taped his school map to his binder and highlighted his classrooms and the hallways he needed to traverse.
The many classes/many teachers thing turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In elementary school, if there was a kid that Chris didn't get along with or who caused him a lot of stress, he was stuck with that kid all day long. With six classes, he knows that he only has to put up with that situation for 50 minutes, and then that class will change. He's learned that he can put up with something for a short while as long as he knows that something better (or different) is coming soon.
Also, we made sure that his schedule included "learning center," which might be called "resource room" or something like that. It's kind of like a study hall, overseen by his case manager (special ed teacher). She can help him with homework, explain assignments that he might be confused about, talk to his general ed teachers about any projects or tests that she needs to be aware of, and she also provides a "safe place" where he can unwind and chill out from the stress of his classes.
If your son has an IEP in place, you should soon be having a "transitional IEP" meeting, which should include your child's support team from the elementary school and the team from the middle school. You'll be able to give them an introduction your child and write new goals and accommodations for the middle school that may be different from his current goals because of the different academic situation.
That's all I can think of right now.
Elizabeth J