My 8 year old son and school

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Hi
I haven't written here about my son before but i've decided i would ask here for a little help for him.
Ever since he started school the same two problems have phased his teachers . One is that he cant sit still , he wriggles in his chair and whilst not being deliberatly disruptive he apparantly distracts the other children , the other thing is that he answers questions very slowly and takes a long time to make decisions , he can talk fine about his obsessions and is a real chatter box at home , however at school the teachers find they have to wait for a long time for an answer , overall they have been very understanding of his differences , and he doesnt get any special help and doesnt have an IEP however every year at parents evening they say the same old things and frankly its getting a bit frustrating , to me he is the way he is , end of , i dont think he can help his fidgeting or speed up his responce time , however im open to suggestions on how to help him or help his teachers understand his problems so maybe they can be a little more tolerant , im worried that the older he gets the more obvious it will be and it will put him at risk of teasing and bullying.
thanks
bb natty

This sounds very familiar.

We just had our parent/teacher conference, and although wiggling in his seat isn't an issue, the slow response time is. There was much discussion about my son's inability to make decisions, or to answer verbal questions quickly, or to finish his work.

It is a problem later in life. My son is 11 now, and this particular issue hasn't improved. I'm currently trying to think of ways I can work on it with him, because I haven't found anything in my research that tells me what to do.

As far as teasing and bullying, my son has an IEP, and the other kids know that there is some sort of "diagnosed" problem. This used to bother me a lot, but the good flip side of it is, since they know he has a problem, they give him a break and do not tease him. He is fairly easy to get a long with, and although he doesn't have a TON of friends, he does have a few who are very good to him. So sometimes, having that IEP is a good thing -- it gets your child the help that he needs, (whatever help your specific school is willing to give, that is), and it notifies the other children that he really does have a verifiable thing that he has to work on, he's not just being "weird" or "silly."

Kris

Thanks for the reply
i may ask about an IEP for next year , i think he is going to need some accomodations for his academic work on account of it takes him so long to figure out what hes going to do he never actually puts pen to paper .

I second the need for an IEP. It documents the issues and challenges your son has and provides a binding agreement that his teachers and administrators are willing to help him. "Slow to answer" isn't an educational dx and may leave too much room for misinterpretation by the teachers. He may need to learn alternative ways to answer questions or participate in class.

I agree, he needs an IEP, even if the only real accommodations are that he is given more time to formulate answers and is not "put on the spot" in front of peers. I think classroom seating may play into his fidgeting too, put him somewhere that he is less "distracting to others". (And I don't mean the hall! ) Perhaps keeping him away from the most easily distracted kids!

I think it is also important to make sure that he understands the question and maybe chunk written work for him, breaking up assignments if he has a hard time following multi step problems.

My son will be entering kindergarten in the fall, and we're in the process of formulating his IEP. We aren't sure yet if he will be in the regular ed. class in our district with supports, or if he will be able to go to an Autistic Support class in a neighboring district. We are hoping for the latter!

You should see if you can visit the class... Even though it won't be the same kids, it should show what sort of program it is!

Hi

well This all sounds familar to me to , and from my standing point it sound slie sensorey issues is your son hypersentove o.e prticully reative to noise or touch or perhaps clothing.
can he sit in fron tof the TV without figiting if so does he sit on the floor or a chair if a chair what type of fabric does it have?
f the above donst apply what about clothing if he says sits wearing his PJ's does he not figet compared to his school cloths,
wih me they tryed a ball to sit on http://www.acasports.co.uk/images/pilates_ball.jpg which wa sprescrivbbed by the OT (Occupational therapist).
In rgeards to the slow to answer very common thing with ASD;s could be somthing like dyslexica but equally could just be his brain is trying to contend with all the sensory or social issues in the classroom can he tell you how he feels in the clasroom?
Hope it helps.