Saturday, July 14, 2012

What do These all Have in Common??

Here is a puzzler that keeps me perplexed whether James is in school or at home doing homework.  How are the following pages the same?
and a blank piece of paper....


They all freak him out!!!!! 
The writing page is well, it is WRITING!! The math page has way tooooooo much on it and it is timed YIKES!!! and the blank piece of paper can be anything but it has to be what the teacher tells James to put on it and not what he want to put on it.  In each of these exercises, James has little to no control over what he is supposed to do.  The writing paper is supposed to be filled with at least 5 sentences (1 topic, 3 detail and 1 conclusion).  The math sheet has to be filled in correctly and he only has a limited amount of time.  The blank page isn't to draw his favorite Pokemon character or dinosaur, NO, he needs to follow the teacher directions to the letter and make his look like every other page in the class.  
I have tried to keep him going on this all summer.  No lazy days at the pool or days without me sitting him down to practice for 3rd grade.  James is a kid who if allowed, will completely relax and never want to get back into the serious art of education.  It has been a tough summer to say the least but I know that when he starts 3rd grade in 29 days, I will be glad that I kept him going at this pace.  Mom doesn't fool around when it comes to school.  James is going to get the education that he is capable of even if he does it kicking and screaming all the way to graduation!
When James was first diagnosed with Autism on 12/20/06, the diagnosis was a scary one because he was apparently so severely Autistic they couldn't reach him to test him.  Well 5+ years later, a few more diagnoses' on his chart, (epilepsy, ADHD, ODD to name a few) the little man is surpassing all of his doctors expectations!  He is bright, loud, hyper, argumentative, silly, loving, distractable, focused (on his stuff), seems deaf (if being talked to), talkative, and overall, an amazing young man with a bright future!!!! Even if school and homework make him scowl!

3 comments:

  1. It warms my heart reading about all the amazing things you do to make James successful. From my experience with in-home ABA and as a classroom teacher I know it can be hard work. But isn't the success you see SO worth it!?!? James is so lucky to have you! It truly sounds like your little man is going to go far.

    Allison
    Miss Allison's Class

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    1. Thank you so much Allison. James certainly is my full-time job. Our ABA has mostly been done through the Kendall School (http://www.tpathways.org/). Yes, he has made great strides! Today anyone meeting him for the first time would never think that 5+ years ago he was a three-year-old diagnosed with severe classic autism.

      I enjoy reading all of your classroom techniques and have used and modified some to help James in his daily life. Thank you.

      Sarah

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