Last Spring, the wife and I were a bit worried about the prospect of our autistic son moving on to mainstream kindergarten from his special-ed pre-K class. It wasn’t so much his ability to learn: he knew his ABCs, could identify colors and shapes with ease, and had the basic counting skills in place. He could also cut paper and color pictures with little problem. What concerned us was the transition to a more structured environment, how his developing communication skills would hold up, and how he’d react going from a half-day of class to a full-day.
Kindergarten is a pretty big step up from pre-K. And while there was no doubt that his mind was ready, the question became: was the rest of him ready? I brag all the time that young Matt is kicking autism’s ass, but that’s not to say that autism doesn’t fight back. Unfortunately, it’s a continuing struggle and one he’ll have the rest of his life.
His teacher, the classroom aid, and the school’s special education coordinator certainly understood our concerns but in their opinion, there was little doubt that Matt was ready to move on. In the past two years, he had surpassed all his goals in terms of education; his ability to learn. Now was the time to start focusing on his socialization skills and the move to mainstream kindergarten – with the assistance of an aid and his therapists – would be a logical step.
Six weeks in and the results are luke warm at best.
Some of his daily reports are great with him having little trouble transitioning from one activity to another. Other days, we hear about his refusal to do classroom activities. This comes in the form of tantrums, throwing himself to the ground, and even a pair of semi-successful escape attempts. One day, we were told, he simply got up during math, walked to the door, stuck out his tongue at the class, and ran out.
(Admittedly, I find that funny too but it’s certainly far from being acceptable.)
So now were left with trying to figure out why it’s happening and more importantly, what can be done to help him through it.
Is a full-day too long for him right now? Are there too many kids in the class? Is the structure a problem? Are the teaching methods not quite conducive for him and his autism?
Sight-words from blog.maketaketeach.com
Unfortunately, some evenings go better than others. Some nights he just refuses to sit and do anything. Other nights, we sort of see his autistic symptoms kick in and he doesn’t seem to focus on the task at hand. Still, he has nights when he knocks it out of the park and does everything he’s supposed to do – confirming that when he puts his mind to it, nothing being asked of him is out the scope of his abilities.
What I hope is that as time goes on we can not only zero in on the best methods to teach Matt what he needs to know, but also find the key to getting him to tell us what he knows (and to do so without sticking his tongue out as a big F-U to the class.)
Technology seems to the solution for now – the iPad, MobiGo, LeapPad, SmartBoard – but long term I’m not sure they’ll suffice. To succeed in school, a child has to be able to write with a pen, focus on a chalkboard, concentrate on the teacher, sit still for long periods, and respond to what’s being taught. Matt has to adjust to those rules and that structure otherwise, well, I’m not sure what the result will be.
I still have confidence in Matt. He’s proven others, including myself, wrong before and I don’t see him stopping now. Yet if anyone has a tip or two on how to get him to assimilate better (and quickly) in a classroom setting, I’m listening…
I just wanted to update this for anyone who reads this later on but also for those who might follow any responses here…
As it turns out, Matt’s apparently doing pretty well; ahead of schedule actually when looking at his IEP (his blueprint with the school for his educational goals and progress). There seems to be a disconnect with how his teacher and/or aide report on Matt’s day-to-day progress.
They’re looking at it from an average development perspective. They apparently run a tight-ship in the kindergarten class and expect every child to learn and behave the same by following the rules, listening, etc.. And when they don’t, it’s as if they consider it “acting out” or “not paying attention”. (Which is what my wife and I often hear: just the negatives about what’s happening in class.)
Still – and all this is according to the Special Education Director – Matt’s keeping up with the work, learning pretty well, and for the most part getting along with others. The teacher, I guess, just needs to show either a little more patience and/or understand that Matt needs to be given a little lee-way and taught a bit differently. She also needs to better focus on the positives as opposed to any negatives.
I just want to be sure that they’re NOT lowering the standards for Matt (which I’m told they’re not). They know what he can do, what he needs guidance on, and what the goals are. Again, he’s ahead of most of those goals right now and that’s great! That’s the path we need him to stay on…
It’s just that the methods getting him there might need to be adjusted a bit.
Nice post, renbog.
I’m a teacher; do you know how many times I have wished that I could walk to the door, stick out my tongue at the class, and walk out???? I kid, I kid — I really do love teaching, even after 23 years!
It sounds like you are doing the right things — taking cues from your son, being insistent and helpful but not pushing too hard. Hopefully his teacher will also be of assistance — she should be knowledgable about teaching students on the spectrum and what strategies to use and what behaviors to expect.
I look forward to reading more about your son’s journey through kindergarten!
The teacher is learning (reading up, attending seminars, etc.) so we can’t fault the effort. I do worry, though, that at some point the teacher might decide he’s too much of a distraction in the class. He’s in the right situation being in mainstream kindergarten; he just needs to better adjust and hopefully sooner rather than later.