WelcomeToHolland wrote:
btbnnyr wrote:
Another thing that always disturbed me about the full-time aide setup for both HFA and LFA children is how can the autistic child stand to be around someone so much throughout the day? There seems to be much more social interaction than an average autsitic child can handle, and it seems highly overloading, hooomans even more so than noise and light. It seems like their cognitive functions might be negatively affected by not just the classroom environment, but also the close encounters aides or teachers. I know that my functioning drops when I am around people, and I am much smarter alone.
My kids (severe autism) both have a full-time 1:1 aide at school and in every other activity they do. I've never considered that they could be without actually. They both have way too many behavioural issues that need constant supervision, and in addition, both of them need 1:1 to get them to pay attention or do anything that isn't their own agenda (without the aide they would just wander away from the classroom as the teacher is talking...). Their own agenda is fine...but not at school...at school you have to do some things that are instructed, and they wouldn't without an aide. I see what you mean though. I think that's one of the unfortunate circumstances of severe autism- I'm sure they would be happier left alone but simply can't happen in a structured setting.
Not all kids with ASD want to be left alone, either. Mine loves attention as well as needing to be refocused. He won't do independent study, unless it is about what he wants. He has to be refocused to get him to do the less preferred parts of the curriculum.
He would have been more independent in school, with an aide, if they would have given him one. Obviously, he expects more interaction with me than he would from an aide.
03 Sep 2014, 7:06 pm
