( Everyday Life with Autism )

What should you do if your child is bored in her/his school?

Do you know why is she/he bored? Is the program too easy for her/him?

In this case your child needs to change the current placement which needs to be discussed in the IEP meeting seriously with no delay. You definitely want your child to reach her/his full potential. The other option would be to offer higher level assignments within her current program. In many SDC classes kids are divided into small groups according to their level, and still get to have common instructions with all the peers for some parts of the curriculum. Besides, mainstreaming can be a good way to put the child’s learning abilities in use.

Is the program too hard and she/he is trying to evade work?

Again, try to make sure your child is in the right placement. I would not help her/him to be in a class that doesn’t provide the appropriate level of teaching,

If your child’s placement is matching her/his needs try to engage her/him in the daily activities, after discussing the matter with the teacher, as follows:

1- First, let her start out the day by doing one of her favorite activities (non-academic). Associate the school/classroom to fun activities.

2- Find your child’s most interesting subject and use it as an incentive.

3- After working on an assignment that she is struggling with, allow her -with teacher’s approval- to spend some time working on her favorite subject (academic). She can even bring her own books or materials that she enjoys working on.

4- Schedule frequent breaks to practice a favorite subject or activity to make the school day much more fun.

5- Away from school, learning centers can be a great opportunity to freely choose the subject she is interested in.

Objective:

Learning should stay a positive experience and always associated to what the child is mostly attracted to and good at. It is an ongoing process inside and outside of schools.

Remember that one of the basic rules in raising or teaching a child is to build on her strengths, to improve the area of weakness. The child’s success in any subject can lead to more successes in other areas.

The communication and co-operation between home and school plays a pivotal role to get the child hooked into the learning process. During the IEP meetings make sure you get your idea understood and agreed upon, to be able to trace a long term plan for your child. You know your child best, be her advocate.

nadia shanab

Tags: communication, discipline, flexibility, organization, parenting, placement, schedule, tips