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liloleme
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02 Apr 2011, 8:25 am

First of all happy world Autism day and Autism awareness month. I look at this more of a celebratory awareness type of thing where as it is also Ankylosing Spondylitis awareness month, my annoying auto immune disorder that is fusing my joints, as more of just a time to make people aware. Far more people may know what Autism is in textbook and by the media but I think it is our duty to really show what Autism is. However this is not really what my post is about.
For those of you that dont know me, I have an 8 year old son with Asperger's and a 6 (will be on the 8th that is)year old daughter with Autism (initially dx as severe/low functioning now they call her high functioning). We recently moved from the US to France. My daughter still has a lot of communication problems (even in English, she is only just learning some French), a lot of scripting ect. and also social and a lot of sensory issues, but she is very smart. She is very visual and has an almost photogenic memory. My son has pretty severe social issues at school and is pretty classic Aspie. He also has some learning disabilities. He is great at math but can not read (typical for Autism to excel in one area and fall behind in others but this is a definite LD). The school and us (parents) believe he has dyslexia. The school would like to place him in a specialized school next year and possibly try to mainstream him later. I wanted my daughter to also go to this school because she will be moving from the little (3yrs to 5 yrs) school to the big school where my son is....it is very loud and Im worried about her having a lot of sensory issues. She does have a little girl in her class that she has bonded with to a certain degree and they say they will make sure that she is in the same class and we are trying to get the powers that be to promise that her aide can go with her as well. She is very attached to her aide (her aide took the time to learn all about autism and can even speak some English) and will refuse to participate in school when she is not there. I feel that she could possibly get accustomed to someone else but I dont want to think about that right now. She will also have two specialized teachers that will visit her during the day, one to teach her French and one to help her with her balance her lack of communication with her high intelligence. She will also have speech, OT, and behavioral therapy three times a week at the autism center. Also if we were to send her to the special school the autism program has only low functioning Autistics and they feel that she would regress, I agree as she does imitate other children. So I am hoping that things work out and she will be ok, and her aide with move to the school with her because it takes months to get into the other school.
Another thing that worries me is that my son will feel as though he is not good enough or smart enough. Right now I just told him that he will go to another school next year where the teachers will understand him a bit better and will help him read. He is fluent in French BTW because when we lived in the US we sent him to an immersion school. So the class he will go into will be the class with kids who have ADD, ADHD, and various LD's....we also found him a place where he can go to activities with other aspies. He also has therapy twice a month at the autism center. Right now he is happy because he is getting bullied in the school (this is why I worry about my daughter but they promise me that they will be very careful with her also she doesnt really put up with other kids bothering her :lol: ) and his aide has done nothing to learn about Aspergers and does not know how to respond to him or understand him. They are quite behind here in France and something really needs to be done about that. Considering how hard both my kids have worked my husband and I pushed and pushed and threatened to get these services and we just recently got the therapy and we have been here since August.
Anyway....after all that. Does anyone think that I explained this well to him and if he gets upset later what would be the best way to explain this to him. I did point out to him how smart he is and how well he does in math and that he just needs a teacher who knows how to teach him to read because he needs a different way to learn than some other kids.
Thanks beforehand
April



Boggsey
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02 Apr 2011, 1:47 pm

I think that you explained it great and I can't think of a way to explain it better. If he gets upset later on Iwould just remind him that he is just getting help with reading and he is not stupid or anything like that, but I think in the long run goinh to the other school will be better for him. Hope this helped. :)



minniemum
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02 Apr 2011, 11:50 pm

I agree, I think you gave a good positive explanation which means he will go off to the school feeling much happier. If he is getting bullied at his old school he will probably be very relieved to be leaving it. I think its a matter of getting him to focus on the fact that everyone learns differently and he will be going to a school that will teach him in the way that he needs to be taught.

Don't worry about your daughter either - she will be just fine. It's very hard not to worry though when as a parent you have had to fight for your kids to get the help they need.

Start the day with the following sentence: "Both children are going to have a great day at school today" :-) And believe it. it helps lift the worry off your shoulders.

Good luck



liloleme
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03 Apr 2011, 9:04 am

Thanks guys, I think Im just stressed out. All this change coming at us at once. I am Aspie too so all three of us are very "off" right now. I try to hold myself together because I know my kids can feed off of my stress and this is hard enough, making all these changes, for them. I know that soon going to therapy will become like second nature to us but right now its not our normal routine and Im sure most of you know how that goes!