TerryJ2
Well-Known Member
difficult child is so fed up with-his English class that last night he exploded and said he was going to deliberately get kicked out.
Here's my latest email:
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, sans-serif]Dear Mrs. B and C,
My son, difficult child, is having issues in your class. It used to be on of his favorite classes, but lately he has been struggling.
We have exchanged emails in regard to Ms. C, and I want to clarify that her work is capable, but that difficult child does not deal with-change and transitions well at all. (That's mentioned in his 504.) I am not sure what to do about that, except to note that to someone like difficult child, a new teacher is like having him land on another planet. I hope that you did not take the other notes personally; I was trying to keep difficult child on track.
Yesterday he mentioned a class assignment recently where he was in a group that was supposed to write a jingle for a commercial. Apparently most examples that were given were single sentences. ("You're in good hands with Allstate.") He said that the instructions were to write a 4-sentence jingle, and to include sounds that you might hear on the radio. Someone from his group went to the front and asked what that meant and the instructions were repeated. difficult child and his group did not understand. I asked him, "Do you mean sounds like 'ka-ching' or 'vhroom'?" He said he thought so but he still wasn't sure.
I have no idea if his group ever completed the jingle, but I want to reiterate that he is VERY LITERAL. Sounds that you hear on the radio, to him, (and apparently, to others in that group) are primarily voices and some instrumental music. It would not occur to him that there is anything else unless it is specifically mentioned. I know it sounds like he's being lazy but he really didn't get it. I have worked with him over the years to identify different sounds on the radio and on TV. He has an auditory processing disorder, and has been placed in a Child Study, and this is a good example of how it happens. He has to be trained to hear and comprehend certain sounds as well as concepts. For example, a jingle is a concept that can use rhyme or alliteration or a familiar catchphrase used in a certain context to promote a product. It can be one line, two lines, four lines, etc. He thinks it's something specific--a one-line slogan. Period.
Another (good) example (of difficult child's struggle with literalism) is that apparently Mrs. B had asked for some notes to be taken. When difficult child went to hand them in, she said she didn't need them. difficult child said that he threw them away. The next day Mrs. B asked for them. He told her/you that he had thrown them away. Mrs. B apparently had him sign something that said he had not done his work. He admitted to me that it was a poor decision on his part (he even said it was being Aspie, and literal) but again, that's one of those things that a lot of teachers see as impudence and lack of cooperation. I can see that, as well, and have told him that he has to redo any missing assignments, even if he has already done them. However, I have learned over the years not to say things like that because he is VERY LITERAL. He is one of those kids that you could never tell to "take a flying leap" or "go play in traffic" because he would!
This creative part of the class is something that most honors students would truly enjoy. For difficult child, it is total frustration. He does not get the creative part. He memorizes.
We spoke at length at the dinner table last night and he came up with a good half dozen examples of commercials with slogans and jingles, and we discussed why they were persuasive or not. But when it came time to write it down, I only saw one written paragraph. I sincerely hope that he finished the other two paragraphs on the bus today, and put his name on the paper.
I found an assignment online, which we typed out, as well, and I hope he turns that in.
Please let me know if he does. I told him that regardless whether he completely understands something, he has to do the homework even if it's not right. He doesn't understand the point of the exercise but we do.
The other issue is that he is now taking Depakote, which does not work half as well as Lithium. Unfortunately, the Lithium caused a racing heartbeat and nosebleeds. So he is on edge more than usual. Things that would have rolled off his back while he was on Lithium are now a big deal. Quite a struggle.
I am calling the dr today to see what we can do about a different prescription.[FONT=Comic Sans MS, sans-serif] [/FONT]
Sincerely,
[/FONT]
Here's my latest email:
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, sans-serif]Dear Mrs. B and C,
My son, difficult child, is having issues in your class. It used to be on of his favorite classes, but lately he has been struggling.
We have exchanged emails in regard to Ms. C, and I want to clarify that her work is capable, but that difficult child does not deal with-change and transitions well at all. (That's mentioned in his 504.) I am not sure what to do about that, except to note that to someone like difficult child, a new teacher is like having him land on another planet. I hope that you did not take the other notes personally; I was trying to keep difficult child on track.
Yesterday he mentioned a class assignment recently where he was in a group that was supposed to write a jingle for a commercial. Apparently most examples that were given were single sentences. ("You're in good hands with Allstate.") He said that the instructions were to write a 4-sentence jingle, and to include sounds that you might hear on the radio. Someone from his group went to the front and asked what that meant and the instructions were repeated. difficult child and his group did not understand. I asked him, "Do you mean sounds like 'ka-ching' or 'vhroom'?" He said he thought so but he still wasn't sure.
I have no idea if his group ever completed the jingle, but I want to reiterate that he is VERY LITERAL. Sounds that you hear on the radio, to him, (and apparently, to others in that group) are primarily voices and some instrumental music. It would not occur to him that there is anything else unless it is specifically mentioned. I know it sounds like he's being lazy but he really didn't get it. I have worked with him over the years to identify different sounds on the radio and on TV. He has an auditory processing disorder, and has been placed in a Child Study, and this is a good example of how it happens. He has to be trained to hear and comprehend certain sounds as well as concepts. For example, a jingle is a concept that can use rhyme or alliteration or a familiar catchphrase used in a certain context to promote a product. It can be one line, two lines, four lines, etc. He thinks it's something specific--a one-line slogan. Period.
Another (good) example (of difficult child's struggle with literalism) is that apparently Mrs. B had asked for some notes to be taken. When difficult child went to hand them in, she said she didn't need them. difficult child said that he threw them away. The next day Mrs. B asked for them. He told her/you that he had thrown them away. Mrs. B apparently had him sign something that said he had not done his work. He admitted to me that it was a poor decision on his part (he even said it was being Aspie, and literal) but again, that's one of those things that a lot of teachers see as impudence and lack of cooperation. I can see that, as well, and have told him that he has to redo any missing assignments, even if he has already done them. However, I have learned over the years not to say things like that because he is VERY LITERAL. He is one of those kids that you could never tell to "take a flying leap" or "go play in traffic" because he would!
This creative part of the class is something that most honors students would truly enjoy. For difficult child, it is total frustration. He does not get the creative part. He memorizes.
We spoke at length at the dinner table last night and he came up with a good half dozen examples of commercials with slogans and jingles, and we discussed why they were persuasive or not. But when it came time to write it down, I only saw one written paragraph. I sincerely hope that he finished the other two paragraphs on the bus today, and put his name on the paper.
I found an assignment online, which we typed out, as well, and I hope he turns that in.
Please let me know if he does. I told him that regardless whether he completely understands something, he has to do the homework even if it's not right. He doesn't understand the point of the exercise but we do.
The other issue is that he is now taking Depakote, which does not work half as well as Lithium. Unfortunately, the Lithium caused a racing heartbeat and nosebleeds. So he is on edge more than usual. Things that would have rolled off his back while he was on Lithium are now a big deal. Quite a struggle.
I am calling the dr today to see what we can do about a different prescription.[FONT=Comic Sans MS, sans-serif] [/FONT]
Sincerely,
[/FONT]