Comments on: Traits to Cultivate in Children with Autism

By: Joan Nash

Joan Nash — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:11:53 +0000

I had to write when I saw the traits you listed as the most important. I have developed a number of games for autistic children and they are based on developing the very same traits you mention. The games are intended to help children have fun and feel good about their accomplishments while they improve their social and communication skills. I have found that the children love playing the games while their skills steadily improve. The games can be seen at http://www.childrensucceed.com Thanks!

By: jsloan1223

jsloan1223 — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:49:21 +0000

This is an awesome list. Would you mind if I recreate it as my kid’s IEP?!

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:35:45 +0000

Wonderful post with good information. My experience has been the same as Amazing_Grace’s – fight for a decent 504 Plan; work to make sure it is followed; pick your battles carefully and seek outside educational support.

Since coming to this revelation and finding a good outside educational support resource, my Sensational kid has done very well grade-wise. We’re still working on confidence and social skills though… Middle school is coming up, so we’re working hard on those skills as we’re a tad nervous…

By: admin

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:35:24 +0000

Good point! Yes, most, if not all, of the parents I spoke with had hired private therapists and tutors to provide instruction in addition to what the child was receiving through school and IEP-provided services.

By: Amazing_Grace

Amazing_Grace — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:41:35 +0000

Just because you have a perfect IEP it doesn’t mean that it will be followed through correctly. That depends upon the school and whether or not they are accommodating. After fighting tooth and nail for certain special education services you might find them sorely lacking (as in our case, we sure did). Your child also might not be receiving as many hours/minutes per week that you would like for speech, OT, PT, etc. So what is a parent to do? You have to pick your battles and figure out what is essential for your child and what they need at school so they can achieve to their fullest potential. You might also consider finding services in your community to address your child’s needs.

Parents must also think outside the box. Remember that the school will not “fix” your child and that their only goal is for your kid to pass, but we as parents want more for our children.

It became quite evident that no matter what the school did to help our son get on grade level was not working. Anything they provided was not enough or he did not benefit from their efforts. We therefore took it upon ourselves to rectify the matter and had our child enrolled at Sylvan. Granted, it was expensive, but they helped our son and instead of coming home with C’s and D’s on his report card, he came home with A’s and B’s. To this day, he says, “Remember when I brought home my first report card from 6th grade and you cried?” Yes, I cried, but it was a cry of joy. I knew then that he could do well in school and he continues to do so. He has been on the Honor Roll since 6th grade and he graduated from high school with honors in May. Next, is college and I hope things will continue to go well for him. It has been a loooooooong battle dealing with Asperger Syndrome and the public school system, but things do look better each year.