I thought I would check in after our first week of home school for session 2013/2014.
It's been a positive start I am delighted to say! We have achieved a lot, there have been no raised voices and we have managed to leave the confines of the house twice this week! By Friday, hints of non-co-operation started to rear their ugly head but thankfully by that stage we had got through the bulk of the tasks for the week and so it was easy enough to keep S going.
I have been very aware this week of two things:
1.Academic jumps:
S is getting older and what he needs to learn is getting harder! So far on the whole I've not had to teach much that has challenged me and that I am not confident about. I do frequently laugh inside at the fact that I am teaching anybody maths and have solidified maths concepts in my own head let alone S's! However, particularly in Maths and English we are beginning to stray into territory that is out of my comfort zone and I can see that in not all that long a time I will need help!
2. Social skills:
By far I think this should be the area that I need to take most seriously. S has a lot to offer the world but if he cannot fit into the world then we have problems. He is in such a different place from when I took him out of school but I am very aware now of the areas where he needs so much help. For example, I met a friend of mine for lunch on Friday. S has been getting to know this friend too and feels comfortable with her. Before we left I suggested he might try to make conversation with her and you would have thought I was asking him to pull all her teeth out! He was horrified at the suggestion. S did chat through lunch but I couldn't help but notice how poor his eye contact was and how jumpy and edgy he was. After lunch the shop assistant commented on his football top and was very chatty about it. As she chatted away she commented that she didn't know why she was bothering as S was obviously not listening. S WAS listening but couldn't look at her. I never understood this part of autism until I went to the sensory seminar where they explained that it can actually be too painful for someone with autism to look straight on at someone. Imagine holding your hand above a candle. The normal reaction would to be to remove your hand as it started to burn because it would hurt. I suppose if eye contact is painful them it is no different here. S will be good with eye contact in a situation that he is very comfortable in (like his home) or somewhere very quiet or in a one-to-one but to be in a cafe, somewhere new with new tastes, sights, smells, sounds... that was pushing it to expect eye contact too! This though is my challenge. To help him to work out how to deal with this sort of situation without giving away that it's a real struggle for him and without raising any questions as to his coping. I actually think that this year these lessons will be far more valuable than anything I can teach him about mathematical or grammatical concepts.
So another week beckons. Getting out of the house twice was not enough for me last week. So, this week is full to the brim of structured times out and about. Can't wait! Hopefully S will be on good form to make this a good week.
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