Today is Tuesday, which is playgroup day. Although my boys are a little older, over the summer its still a great place for them to play with other kids (neurotypical ones especially) and interact with some that are their own age. However, their maturity or developmental ages, emotional development, whatever you want to call it, is slightly less than their biological age, so hanging out with preschoolers serves as a therapeutic intervention of its own kind. Normally this has a calming and positive effect. Some days, there are older and don't have positive social skills. Today was one of those days! When this happens, it takes the whole afternoon for us to unwind, and bring sensibility back into the moment.
Choiceworks app - schedule board
Tuesdays are otherwise known to me as days of exploring the potential of literature in our every day lives, and practicing those same skills. No writing is allowed, fine motor work is focus on holding books and turning pages, using playdough, and every day tasks. All focus is on understanding how to spell, how to eventually read, and naturalization.
In this, 'A' is an independent learner when it comes to books, 'D' is too, but slightly more accessible if the book is interactive in format. I use the tag reading system, both the regular one and the junior, put the books out, and encourage them to use it. story reading without the personal space being invaded, and with them holding the control in their own hands. Again, I use language development apps with 'A', and charts or flashcards with 'D'.
Today's little successes: found a sentence structure app that is perfect for 'D' and he loves it! at playgroup 'A' managed to hear me say to watch out for a little one near him when he was running!
Over the summer I have played with routines, schedules, new habits, expectations, and goals, in all areas of life, from chores, to therapy, to family life. I have developed some areas I have to work on myself to make sure I can really do this. I am not just saying hello to homeschooling, but also good bye to public school ways of teaching, at least with regards to 'D', who has moved on entirely from his interest in playing school, and is now concentrated on learning, for the sake of learning and growing. Because he wants to again!!!
Choiceworks App - Schedule board
Mondays I focus all therapy on math skills. I take a therapy and skill building format to push ahead academic growth. I follow this to-do list for both kids regardless of ability or age. I aim for 'A's cognitive strengths, 'D's verbal strengths, and paired with my enthusiasm, we get-er done! I often finish it off with testing the waters out on other activities I hope to try the following week, to gauge their impression and reaction to the material, task, and medium.
'D' likes to be guided, and when it comes to math and language, prefers social interaction as a means to learn and practice. Here we used math charts for pre-algebra, played some games of ring-toss and catch outside, prepared some vegetables for dinner, and used puzzles that were appropriately challenging and not intimidating. Both kids have mastered the <2 year old puzzles, of any kind. 'A' works on his math and language skills through ipad apps, and hands-on support, meanwhile in cooking he helps prepare simple drinks, and picking out the right dishes and utensils. When he plays outside he loves to be in the sand and feel the wind through his hair.
Puzzles are a big hit. Here's why:
- I use any kind they are interested in interacting with, and mix it up at the time. The idea is to keep them trying to sort out the pieces and putting them together, regardless the level of difficulty, and as they are comfortable, present the more challenging ones. 'A' is working on 3-piece puzzles. He is a very 'outside-the-box' type of personality, so puzzles also serve that role of teaching that some natural laws or common sense rules are a good thing!
Today's little successes: Learned that 'D' has a good grasp of how to tell time, he corrected me in my explanation of minutes and hours on the clock face! -- 'A' let me put my hand over his while using the ipad, first time in months!
Here's a sampling of what we have going on in our magic witch's brew for homeschooling. With 'D' likely entering therapy in a few months, I have been working with him to put together an in-depth curriculum and solidify the other supports he's getting, as well as preparing his other affairs for the transition.. if there is one. Maybe he won't like it at all, Maybe I can wrangle it to be only part-time (ideally). Either way, finding his strengths and measuring his abilities is slowly becoming priority one.
Wishbone
This show promotes sensitivity to nonverbal beings, interpretive reading styles, and drawing correlations and noting parallels between imaginative experiences and the tangible environments in which we live. Offers new perspective, and most exciting, encourages you to navigate through various perceptions of your own reality.
Little Einsteins
This show is a little older version of the baby einstein series, for my boys the way they try to attack different subjects at the same elevated understanding is too challenging, however it does encourage them to attempt to excel in multiple areas and grow in more than one direction at a time. Multitasking intellectual development, is not something that the autism spectrum facilitates.
When I look online for curriculum material, I often like to attach labels, how do you ensure what you find is going to suit your style, how do you avoid the stress of implementing strategies and goals that may not even fit your family's needs?
When I hear the term unschooling I imagine gifted young teens working together as a team, bouncing ideas off of one another and sharing what they learn in their spare time. I love the principles of naturalistic learning, letting what occurs in the day-to-day life to be the foundation for education, the focus of growth and desire for enlightenment. When I leave the kids to do what they want, more often than not I find them shifting from casual play, to a serious study, and cycling through these phases over and over, as they get older, the transition is smoother and more pronounced. We don't look at 'stimming' in our house, we see it as experimentation and inquisitive play. Or maybe because of this take on education, we see less Need for stimming entirely.
When I hear of others struggling through lessons of a pre-set curriculum and schedule, I find myself trying to understand what the problem is. To my mind, if you are comfortable in your knowledge of your children's abilities and believe that a fully structured curriculum is the best option, then surely there must be some grounds to stand on, why not return to the basics of the plan, and work back up again.
For us, I have set tools, activities, and a structure of life skill habits that we maintain. Meals are generally held at the same time every day, snacks are opportunities for communication growth and development, while bedtime routines are cozy and when I feel most like a mom.
I am moving slowly into a more structured homeschooling arrangement with 'D' with the hopes of using a few different methods of employment for math and logic than from language and arts. He is open to timed drills, and is interested in lists. Language and arts are a more sensitive matter, where he needs more freedom and calm to think through his ideas.
With 'A' I am incorporating his needs and abilities into the hands-on activities set up for his brother, and focusing most of our time on maintaining learned skills and knowledge, while focusing on mindfulness and managing his own sensory needs in appropriate ways as possible.
So I may be an unschooler, I'm not sure yet, but when you include therapies into the mix.. labels become meaningless and disempowering.
With a child who is not taking initiative due to anxiety, work backwards through his favourite reading material right through to infancy if you have it. They have already developed a sentimental attachment to the object itself and therefore the amount of anxiety that is typically present with any reading session will be severely diminished. My idea is to focus on reading the same books nightly, and only as long as he is enjoying it. Bring him back to his love for stories.
Next I like to use pre-reading readiness paperback books that use pictures with the words for symbolism. Again it takes the stress off and stick to only the themes he is interested in, unless he wants a particular book, even better, let him make all of these decisions for you. Not only should you use subjects he is interested in, but something he is confident in his knowledge of the subject, this is important. A child with autism spends much time decrypting the language, intention, and imagining it being told by someone else, these are easier to do if you know the story, or subject quite well, and can focus finally on the actual text.
Now be ready for the next step at all times, never rid yourself of the earlier material until he has gone a few levels above without turning back. Next is to follow the leveled readers as they are listed. To save stress and hassle, I like to focus instruction on these books, and let other books simply live within the environment.
With a child who is learning phonics still, another approach is to simply keep picture books of his favourite playtime activities, shows, or subjects. Don't restrict the level of language, but ensure there is plenty of images. Concentrate on story time, and pretend play, narrate activities and comment on everything.
It is blasting hot here. We have just settled into our new place, finally access to a backyard, and a gorgeous neighbourhood. We have many new faces we see on a regular basis, and a great deal of respect to the other residents of the area. Opportunities abound in outdoor activity, we are in walking distance to all shopping needs, we are in the core of the community but off to the side in a quiet corner tucked away near a college campus. Freedom from the concrete jungle, we are all feeling grateful. Both boys immediately settled in, the calm of the area, the etiquette of the social people around us, the understanding offered for eccentric behaviour is more pronounced in these neighbourhoods than where we started out from. A great sigh of relief moved through our family.
It is still quite hot. We spend our days simply remaining cool, waiting out the hottest parts of the day, saving up for aquatic adventures in the new outdoors, focusing on our lifestyle challenges, of seizures and hydration. Moodiness and lack of sufficient heat-beating nutrients always catches me off guard in July, I don't know why.
There is a tree outside my window!!
Smule's Piano app for the ipad
I have been working on cause and effect training with 'A', building more on the basis that sensory needs are to be understood, respected, and fulfilled but in appropriate ways. Working towards the goal of summer field trips and errands on a more age-appropriate level of behaviour expectations. This is something I find we take two steps back and three steps forward, in every issue, obstacle or challenge. With each move ahead, we gain wisdom and insight. I offer alternatives, but he truly wants to focus on understanding self-regulation, through his own nervous system and neurology, through his eyes not just ours. For this I feel grateful, because you know they have the desire and intention if its something they truly wish to change their vision to. I respect and acknowledge this wish to be integrative in this sense, a want to be like others. Getting him there, is a complex emotional balance for myself, goes against everything I was ever raised with; an assimilation or GTFO sort of attitude. For our connection however its beautiful. My son has taught me what it means to educate someone like him, what it means to be responsible for another human being, and insists out of simple maternal protective instincts, to help him in his survival education. Survival of sensory deficits, of motor delays, and most significantly help him to save himself from the appearance of intellectual deficit.
I have aided, and accommodated his special interest lately, otherwise considered stimming by the pseudo behaviour analysis community. It's how I establish their current focus, and teach through and around it. 'D' loves angry birds, so what if his writing prep, math and language skills are developed through activity and sticker books. For 'A' he takes after his brother's lead a great deal. In this instance however I learned that he is adept at measurement, analysis, trends and statistics, as well as an amazing grasp of physics principles, yet he does not read or write. With these things in mind, I have been pondering how to bring all of these things together, not interfering with his project, but maybe allow the energy to flow to sophistication not overwhelming his options and causing yet another destructive scene to our home after an epic fail of a tower or experiment goes wrong. I love to help him refine and practice his abilities, I mean.. it works.
He is designing his own ingenius understanding of math and patterns of measurement. he uses series of similar items to map out a curve or diagram that represents a physics principle. He's almost 5 years old. So my summer efforts are to find the tools he needs to do so. I wonder where he is going with this! He doesn't approach math from a cookie cutter learning style like his brother does. He is creative, meticulous and insightful. I learned math the way of 'D', recognizing trends and memorizing them.. our creative outlets being language and our designs being through stories or constructions, again for the purpose of story. 'A' however is in love with music and the math or science behind it.
