April is over and for me that is a good thing. It seems like this April was a hard one for me for some reason and there is one reason I know of. I got a little boy with high functioning autism and ADHD. Let me tell you it was a challenge getting to know his strength and weaknesses but now he is easy to get along with. I really think it was all the changes that was going on around him because his mom was. Stay at home mom up til now.
I had to watch him carefully the first few weeks just to understand him and see what tiggred him and how he worked, for lack of a better word. I even took my eye off of him for a second during his second week here and that is when he broke a window on a school door by throwing a rock at it. Mind you, he saw other kids throwing rocks but not at the door. There is a lot of little things that I've been seeing from him that I knew would happened so I was ready. I can see now when he gets very movey when he gets bored and he gets bored really quickly. I will usually let him play with something or while we are waiting for the time to get done, he can usually go over to centers to keep busy and his mind off other things. I see that if he asks when are we going somewhere, I need to give him a dinfant answer like the exact time we are going. I just can't shove it off and say in a little bit or he will keep asking.
He also asks what we are going to be doing next a lot so I have learned to have patience with that. I also have noticed that he likes details so the more I can give him the more he will feel comfortable for the day. If we changed the slightest from the normal routine, he will ask why and need a real reason. He can tell time really good and remember things for a long time. I have also noticed that, at times, he has a hard time sitting down to eat but when I remind him nicely to do it he will. When he is in trouble, he knows it. He won't say anything when you asked him if you did it but he will have a shameful look on his face and look like he is about ready to cry. He will say sorry over and over like that will fix everything. He is always the first kid I get for the day and he is happy about that. He did rub my back a few times at the start of April but his mom said that was a neverous tick like thing. Now I get hugs like nothing else from him everyday. It is like 2 to 3 hugs per day now. That is the part I like about those "type", using it loosely, kids.
I have also noticed how he plays and talks with the other kids. He will either play with them if they will include him or not play with them if they don't. I even noticed one day where he was playing parallel to a group of two girls. He was looking in the little rocks like the girls were. He will also just take away the things that he wants that other children have. That is mainly the way he gets the toys from the other children. When I see that though, I go over and remind him that it isn't nice to take away from our friends and that we need to ask them if we can play or have more of that toy. It makes the other children really mad because they don't understand why he does it. They just think he does it to be mean but not is not the case.
He would also throw things. Not far and not in a bad way but just like across the floor or to knock another toy down but again I showed him and told him how we should play with the toys and it has been a lot better. In a month, I have learned a lot about this little boy and again I wouldn't trade him for the world. I am really hoping I get him this summer, even though I might regret having him all day some days but that is just another challenge that I will have to get through. If you know me, I love challenges like that. I do have a sign for everyday of the week and the different routines that we have because they do change back and forth everyday like an activity or two. When he started coming, that really helped him to know what we were doing next and that helped me keep my patience with him so I wouldn't here him ask every time we were getting ready to go somewhere different. It helped a lot of my children in the group, though, so I guess all of them are visual learners.
I want to keep this boy with me all the time now and who knows I might only have a month or 3 more months with him. I hope not but with this job you could be moved to any different school. It is to that spot where I just don't want to let him go. It is to where he will hug me now 2 or 3 times a week if not per day. It is where I totally understand him and stop things right when he is ready to stop them. It is funny because art is not a big thing for him but if I tell him the way to do it and how many he has to do if there is something with a certain number like to glue on, he will do how many I tell him and then stop. He also isn't a big fan of paint but if we are doing a project with a little paint, he will do it if we will help him. We have to be standing right over him to make sure he will do some of the project sometimes.
One more thing I learned is that he will not cut or can't cut, haven't decided yet, curvy lines. He will go ahead and cut straight lines with out complaining but if there are any curves in the lines, he will not cut it. I have been keeping notes on all of these things and other things so I can see how he works and remember what he likes to do and not do. I want down the actions he does and then try to figure out what to do differently. Like I said, it is a challenge and I like it. I like it because you learn something new everyday with him whether you knew it or not the day before. Children like him are special and different in every way. Not one of them are the same so there is always a chance for learning something new. I don't think I ever had a child with two "disabilities" so that is new for me too or that I knew of for sure. There was always the shelter where the child could of had more then one "disability" but they were never tested or barely tested when we had them.
All this to say: "Never judge a book by its cover." (aka Never judge a person by how they look or act the first few times you meet them.")
I had to watch him carefully the first few weeks just to understand him and see what tiggred him and how he worked, for lack of a better word. I even took my eye off of him for a second during his second week here and that is when he broke a window on a school door by throwing a rock at it. Mind you, he saw other kids throwing rocks but not at the door. There is a lot of little things that I've been seeing from him that I knew would happened so I was ready. I can see now when he gets very movey when he gets bored and he gets bored really quickly. I will usually let him play with something or while we are waiting for the time to get done, he can usually go over to centers to keep busy and his mind off other things. I see that if he asks when are we going somewhere, I need to give him a dinfant answer like the exact time we are going. I just can't shove it off and say in a little bit or he will keep asking.
He also asks what we are going to be doing next a lot so I have learned to have patience with that. I also have noticed that he likes details so the more I can give him the more he will feel comfortable for the day. If we changed the slightest from the normal routine, he will ask why and need a real reason. He can tell time really good and remember things for a long time. I have also noticed that, at times, he has a hard time sitting down to eat but when I remind him nicely to do it he will. When he is in trouble, he knows it. He won't say anything when you asked him if you did it but he will have a shameful look on his face and look like he is about ready to cry. He will say sorry over and over like that will fix everything. He is always the first kid I get for the day and he is happy about that. He did rub my back a few times at the start of April but his mom said that was a neverous tick like thing. Now I get hugs like nothing else from him everyday. It is like 2 to 3 hugs per day now. That is the part I like about those "type", using it loosely, kids.
I have also noticed how he plays and talks with the other kids. He will either play with them if they will include him or not play with them if they don't. I even noticed one day where he was playing parallel to a group of two girls. He was looking in the little rocks like the girls were. He will also just take away the things that he wants that other children have. That is mainly the way he gets the toys from the other children. When I see that though, I go over and remind him that it isn't nice to take away from our friends and that we need to ask them if we can play or have more of that toy. It makes the other children really mad because they don't understand why he does it. They just think he does it to be mean but not is not the case.
He would also throw things. Not far and not in a bad way but just like across the floor or to knock another toy down but again I showed him and told him how we should play with the toys and it has been a lot better. In a month, I have learned a lot about this little boy and again I wouldn't trade him for the world. I am really hoping I get him this summer, even though I might regret having him all day some days but that is just another challenge that I will have to get through. If you know me, I love challenges like that. I do have a sign for everyday of the week and the different routines that we have because they do change back and forth everyday like an activity or two. When he started coming, that really helped him to know what we were doing next and that helped me keep my patience with him so I wouldn't here him ask every time we were getting ready to go somewhere different. It helped a lot of my children in the group, though, so I guess all of them are visual learners.
I want to keep this boy with me all the time now and who knows I might only have a month or 3 more months with him. I hope not but with this job you could be moved to any different school. It is to that spot where I just don't want to let him go. It is to where he will hug me now 2 or 3 times a week if not per day. It is where I totally understand him and stop things right when he is ready to stop them. It is funny because art is not a big thing for him but if I tell him the way to do it and how many he has to do if there is something with a certain number like to glue on, he will do how many I tell him and then stop. He also isn't a big fan of paint but if we are doing a project with a little paint, he will do it if we will help him. We have to be standing right over him to make sure he will do some of the project sometimes.
One more thing I learned is that he will not cut or can't cut, haven't decided yet, curvy lines. He will go ahead and cut straight lines with out complaining but if there are any curves in the lines, he will not cut it. I have been keeping notes on all of these things and other things so I can see how he works and remember what he likes to do and not do. I want down the actions he does and then try to figure out what to do differently. Like I said, it is a challenge and I like it. I like it because you learn something new everyday with him whether you knew it or not the day before. Children like him are special and different in every way. Not one of them are the same so there is always a chance for learning something new. I don't think I ever had a child with two "disabilities" so that is new for me too or that I knew of for sure. There was always the shelter where the child could of had more then one "disability" but they were never tested or barely tested when we had them.
All this to say: "Never judge a book by its cover." (aka Never judge a person by how they look or act the first few times you meet them.")
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