TerryJ2
Well-Known Member
husband decided he wants to teach Sunday School, so today is his 1st day with-8th graders. A cpl wks ago, he told me he was upset and concerned that there was a kid in his class that may have Asperger's and the parents don't have a clue. They believe that if they pray hard enough, his problems will go away. In addition, they personally came up and told him how excited they were that he was doing the class because as a chiro, he's an authority figure and health care provider and can solve everything.
Yeah, right.
He described the boy, who is a gr or 2 behind, as being totally antisocial, to the pt where he sits on the other side of the rm, turns his back, and hunches over. husband sat in on the class for 3 wks b4 he actually taught (good planning). One day, the boy propped his feet up on the desk in front of him and refused to put his feet down, after being told by 3 adults and his brother (he has one brother, who is a pleaser). Finally, someone came up with-the idea of removing the desk altogether. husband said the boy clearly had something wrong with-him, in addition to which, he's very, very angry.
husband also said that when you touch him on the shoulder he grunts and yells. He just hates being touched. I think husband said something about his gait, too.
I'm not sure how he got this far in school.
I have met the parents and, well, the dad's okay but very passive, and the mom is narcissistic and fanatic. Very, very pushy. And that's putting it nicely. So I think this boy is suffering from depression as well.
His parents do not have any $ for a proper diagnosis, so I gave husband my Asperger's books, and he's going to stick his neck out and suggest this to them.
husband met another kid in a diff class who definitely has Asperger's. husband observed him throughout the class, and then afterward, the parents came up and told him. Then he was all about educating the other teachers about Asperger's, and why don't you tell the teacher b4 you teach the kid instead of finding out by accident?
husband said this boy is very high functioning. He, too, sat apart, and hated being touched, and wouldn't make eye contact, so husband gave him paper, pencil and crayons, and the teacher proceeded to give a lecture (not a good way to teach younger easy child kids, either, by the way). husband at least knows enough that if a kid isn't making eye contact, maybe he's more of a listener, or he'll look at a book or paper, or needs to do something with-his hands. You know, kinesthetic, or auditory, or visual learning, etc.
At the end of that Sunday School class, the teacher asked for comments and no one, not a single kid, was paying attention. No one spoke up. Then the Aspie raised his hand. You know what happened next. The whole time he was doodling with-crayons, he was memorizing her schtick. He parroted back the entire thing!
husband would much rather have him in his class than the un-diagnosis'd kid, but, c'est la vie.
The funny thing is, husband was the one in denial about our difficult child for so long, and he wouldn't have known about this if it hadn't been for my pushing for a diagnosis. Even though our difficult child isn't an Aspie, we've discussed it enough, and the diff between that and ADHD/ODD, the lack of eye contact, etc., and husband has enough of a background in neurology and biology that he knows when something isn't right.
I'm curious to find out how it goes today.
Yeah, right.
He described the boy, who is a gr or 2 behind, as being totally antisocial, to the pt where he sits on the other side of the rm, turns his back, and hunches over. husband sat in on the class for 3 wks b4 he actually taught (good planning). One day, the boy propped his feet up on the desk in front of him and refused to put his feet down, after being told by 3 adults and his brother (he has one brother, who is a pleaser). Finally, someone came up with-the idea of removing the desk altogether. husband said the boy clearly had something wrong with-him, in addition to which, he's very, very angry.
husband also said that when you touch him on the shoulder he grunts and yells. He just hates being touched. I think husband said something about his gait, too.
I'm not sure how he got this far in school.
I have met the parents and, well, the dad's okay but very passive, and the mom is narcissistic and fanatic. Very, very pushy. And that's putting it nicely. So I think this boy is suffering from depression as well.
His parents do not have any $ for a proper diagnosis, so I gave husband my Asperger's books, and he's going to stick his neck out and suggest this to them.
husband met another kid in a diff class who definitely has Asperger's. husband observed him throughout the class, and then afterward, the parents came up and told him. Then he was all about educating the other teachers about Asperger's, and why don't you tell the teacher b4 you teach the kid instead of finding out by accident?
husband said this boy is very high functioning. He, too, sat apart, and hated being touched, and wouldn't make eye contact, so husband gave him paper, pencil and crayons, and the teacher proceeded to give a lecture (not a good way to teach younger easy child kids, either, by the way). husband at least knows enough that if a kid isn't making eye contact, maybe he's more of a listener, or he'll look at a book or paper, or needs to do something with-his hands. You know, kinesthetic, or auditory, or visual learning, etc.
At the end of that Sunday School class, the teacher asked for comments and no one, not a single kid, was paying attention. No one spoke up. Then the Aspie raised his hand. You know what happened next. The whole time he was doodling with-crayons, he was memorizing her schtick. He parroted back the entire thing!
husband would much rather have him in his class than the un-diagnosis'd kid, but, c'est la vie.
The funny thing is, husband was the one in denial about our difficult child for so long, and he wouldn't have known about this if it hadn't been for my pushing for a diagnosis. Even though our difficult child isn't an Aspie, we've discussed it enough, and the diff between that and ADHD/ODD, the lack of eye contact, etc., and husband has enough of a background in neurology and biology that he knows when something isn't right.
I'm curious to find out how it goes today.