EDUCATION
There may be a lot of times that your child needs time alone.
It may be that at break times he/she needs alone time instead
participating in play time. Explain to the staff that being alone
at times during the day helps your child stay at school.
but no matter the routine, your child has prob-
lems sleeping. Don’t be afraid to ask the staff
if there are things during the school day that
concern you. Let the staff know that if your
child has social or learning difficulties at school
that these follow him/her home and affect the
ability to sleep at night. Processing informa-
tion at night and worrying about things cause
significant problems for students with autism.
5.
Socializing and alone time
There may be a lot of times that your child
needs time alone. It may be that at break times
he/she needs alone time instead participat-
ing in play time. Explain to the staff that being
alone at times during the day helps your child
stay at school. Tell them you are not worried
about your child having friends—at this point,
being at school is more important than social-
izing during breaks.
6. Communication
At times your child may use phrases that are
well known to him/her instead of using newer
words to describe things. It is typical for stu-
dents with autism to use well-worded phras-
es or scripts to avoid real communication ex-
changes. This may be because of the inability
to think quickly to respond, or because they
don’t know the right thing to say, so they say
something familiar. Some parents train their
children to remember familiar responses, so
explain this to the staff.
If you have concerns about the validity of class-
room routines, it does not hurt to ask about them;
sometimes questioning staff about what they are
doing sends the message that you also have ideas
and strategies about how to best interact with your
child. Finally, remember that staff who see you as an
active person in your child’s life are more likely to re-
member that your child has a team of people around
who understands his/her needs. Parents are the peo-
ple most likely to understand their child’s needs and
worries, so it is important to remember that your vis-
ible presence is vital. Good teachers listen and inter-
act with parents and understand they are a key part
of every child’s success.
Leigh De Silva is a registered teacher who works in
mainstream special education settings. She is also
the mother of a young adult and teens who are on
the spectrum. She has researched the social under-
standing of girls with Asperger’s syndrome in social
groups as part of her master’s of autism studies at
Griffith University, Queensland. Leigh is particularly
interested in supporting parents to help their chil-
dren with ASD achieve in the school system through
using the models that have helped her children
complete their education.
Email: [email protected]
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 71 |
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