10 yr old, Asperger's, Suggestions for teacher...HELP!

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My son, Aaron has trouble staying focus enough to write. He is very slow in his ability to write and becomes easily fustrated! Once fustrated he will just shut down and do nothing. He comphends very well! But getting it down on paper is a major ordeal!

He sees the OT at school but not very often, maybe twice a month.

Any suggestions for his teacher, as well as for me to encourage him to write more? There has been talk of teaching him to use the Alpha Smart but so far that is all, just talk.

Staying focus is a major, major problem! He has been diagnosed with both ADHD (since 6yrs old) and Asperger's (since 9yrs old). He takes Concerta 54mg, once a day. He's been on this for roughly 2 to 3 years now.

I feel very frazzled these days!

[quote="Litwhwolf"]My son, Aaron has trouble staying focus enough to write. He is very slow in his ability to write and becomes easily fustrated! Once fustrated he will just shut down and do nothing. He comphends very well! But getting it down on paper is a major ordeal!

He sees the OT at school but not very often, maybe twice a month.

Any suggestions for his teacher, as well as for me to encourage him to write more? There has been talk of teaching him to use the Alpha Smart but so far that is all, just talk.

Staying focus is a major, major problem! He has been diagnosed with both ADHD (since 6yrs old) and Asperger's (since 9yrs old). He takes Concerta 54mg, once a day. He's been on this for roughly 2 to 3 years now.

I feel very frazzled these days![/quote] and i think that if he does you or him should just when he gets back you should try to help and if he gets frustrated just try to just

forgot the concerta. thats going to cause your son major problems. It did to me. You should put him on fishoil and theanine that is great for concentration. Your sons problem sounds more like dyspraxia than adhd, this is something that requires nuerlogist.

Has the OT done a full evaluation - is the OT capable of doing a full evaluation? Your son needs to be tested for dysgraphia, as well as working memory issues (not an OT issue). Both can seriously impact writing. In addition, he could have a disorder of written expression. Deficits in working memory impact writing both because the formation of letters (physical writing) uses a great deal of working memory, and because figuring out what one wants to say in order to put it on paper uses working memory as well. Dysgraphia can cause problems in physically forming the letters due to fine motor difficulties in controlling the pen or pencil, and also because of possible muscular issues that may lead to hand fatigue. For some children, special grips can help. For some, the feedback from the writing utensil on the paper can be painful or uncomfortable. Both the working memory and the physical issues with writing can be helped by using a computer rather than pen/pencil and paper.

Some schools suggest using an AlphaSmart because they are cheaper and sturdier than computers. The problem, however, is that the child sees only a line or two of text at a time. That can make it much more difficult to compose. Also, for some children, merely having the option of keyboarding will not be adequate accommodation. Some will need more than that, and a full computer will be necessary. Programs like DragonSpeak, which permit the user to speak, and the computer "writes" what the user says, can be very helpful for some students.

Some schools will provide a scribe for a student with difficulty writing.

The probability is that your son will need more than any of these accommodations in order to be able to write. There are writing aids called "graphic organizers" that some schools find helpful for students with writing difficulties. The thing is, the school has to be willing to break down the demands to manageable segments, to allow your son to build his skills to the point that he can handle the assignments. If he can't write an essay on whatever topic, he should be allowed to start out by writing phrases with bullet points. Then he can start writing three (or five, or ...) sentences. Then he can start to learn about a thesis statement, but not worry about the rest of the essay, just outline it. He's not going to be able to do it all at once, and he'll get overwhelmed and shut down. If they break it down, it can become manageable. There might not be anyone within the school district with the expertise to work out a plan. If this is the case, they should be willing to hire an outside consultant.

Litwhwolf, something that helped my son at that age was to use Inspiration Software. You can check out their products at the following link:

www.inspiration.com

It's just a simple software that uses "concept mapping" or "info mapping" to help with organizing research, organizing writing, etc.

If your son doesn't have a problem with comprehensionn, that's wonderful because that's half or more of the battle with most people on the spectrum. But this software not only helps a child (or an adult, for that matter) organize ideas, but it helps hold their interest in the writing process. Along with separating ideas into little separate "bubbles" or though areas, a child could find something visual and cut and paste that icon or picture into the bubble, to remind them of what they are writing about.

Check it out -- we found it helpful to our young son. He is now 12, and writing is getting easier and easier. What used to be a real struggle is suddenly making sense to him.

Kris

interest.

Figure out what interests him and encourage him to write about it.

Till i was 13 or so, no power in the universe could compel me to do something i found boring.

computers. the miracle invention that allow writing in a mutch easier way. i also find writing stressfull and a write like a 2 year old. i wont refuse to do it if im asked but... its... really not a strong point. and a write quite slowly. also. perhaps look into getting him a scribe. i think im getting one for my GCSE exams. i think i already have one. but anywho. computers=good. they help alot.

Here's a possibility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysgraphia

If he has trouble "getting it down on paper", it could be a specific LD and nothing to do with attention at all.

Usually, with today's technology, many cases of dysgraphia have a simple solution: teaching the child to type and getting him a laptop.

Dragon Speaking Naturally Software

I work with the AlphaSmart with some students. There is also a communication device out there that I can't remember the name of off the top of my head. The Dragon software is about the best. Because all you have to do is talk to it and it writes for you. It's pretty versatile. My students, especially the older ones who think faster than they can write, have much easier lives because of the stress that writing causes. There's no writing or keyboarding with the Dragon software.

There are a lot of threads that can help you with this in the parents forum.

I dunno... speech recognition software might be OK for kids with just dysgraphia, but it does depend on how easily you produce speech. If the trouble is controlling a pencil and forming letters, typing works. If it's spelling, grammar, etc., speech recognition might be better. It just depends on where the traffic jam happens...