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Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified and English homework
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 89536" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>Yoo hoo! This is me, jumping up and down, waving my hand in the air...</p><p></p><p>OK, here is something that worked for difficult child 1.</p><p></p><p>ATTENTION! I think I can help in practical ways here.</p><p></p><p>This worked for us, I recommend you try it. You will need to get teachers on side, but you CAN try this for a good chance at big improvement.</p><p></p><p>To begin - difficult child 1 can't multi-task. He couldn't write a narrative in elementary school. He couldn't write a narrative in middle school, until a teacher taught the class to mind-map. Also known as clustering.</p><p></p><p>The problem for difficult child 1 was he couldn't hold a sequence of thoughts or ideas in his head. If he had to write a story on a holiday to the beach, he could maybe get as far as "we went to the beach" but no further. He would then refuse, be in floods of tears, have no way of doing it. He just didn't know where to start, and if we helped him start, he didn't know what to do next.</p><p>When trying to get information from a block of text, he couldn't determine which bit was important and which was not - to do this he would have to hold two pieces of information in his head and compare them. </p><p></p><p>The problem was being able to hold two items in his head and manipulate information mentally.</p><p></p><p>Does this sound familiar?</p><p></p><p>OK, now down to mind-mapping. The technique involves putting all the relevant information on paper, it's like writing down in hard copy, the mental processes you need to do this task.</p><p></p><p>You choose a key word relevant to the task. You then think about the topic and write down on the same sheet of paper, other words or ideas that are relevant. Keep thinking, keep making short notes. One word notes. Then when you are done, look at the words. Any that connect, draw a line to connect them. Any that maybe with hindsight don't make sense, cross them out. Put in the connections, looking at each one in turn. This is easy because first of all it's on paper already, and second, you only have to think about one thing at a time.</p><p>Then when you are done, you can begin your essay or other writing task. If you're still uncertain, then go back to your mind map and number things in order of sequence. </p><p>To write - begin where you feel is best (or at No 1, if you numbered it) and follow the sequences.</p><p></p><p>This is a technique developed by Edward de Bono. Google it and see what you find.</p><p></p><p>An example - you are asked to write an essay comparing "Taming of the Shrew" with the film "10 Things I Hate About You".</p><p>On the top of the page you write "10 things" on one side and "Shrew" on the other. Under this you can put the things you remember from the play/film. Connect across the ones which are similar, or seem to be related (such as "Pat Verona" = "Petruchio"). Maybe think about what the play is saying, and also the message of the film. Perhaps write these at the bottom - or the top, if you prefer. This is all about what you feel is good.</p><p>When you've done everything you can think of, look at it. Do you feel more confident about answering the essay now? It's now much easier because it is written down.</p><p></p><p>In essays, the key words have distinct, well-defined meanings. "Compare and contrast" means something very different to "analyse". "Discuss" is different again. But once explained and rehearsed, they are actually quite easy, even for Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) kids.</p><p></p><p>So, for difficult child 1 - we had to teach him this, and drill him. He needed to be encouraged and supported, the teachers had to recognise that he wasn't being naughty or difficult, he really was incapable of doing the task without a lot of tuition and support.</p><p>The next step was for both teachers and parents to 'talk him through' using mind maps to do simpler writing tasks. difficult child 1's breakthrough came when he was in Middle School but it took practice. He did resent mind maps although as he got older he agreed he needed them.</p><p></p><p>Then later in high school the writing tasks got really complex (such as the Shakespeare question). To matriculate, he had to do it. And to us and his teachers, this seemed an impossible task.</p><p></p><p>But we rehearsed him. His English teacher set him essay after essay and sat with him to go over each one, marking the good points and the weak areas. She worked with him to find better ways of writing the weaker areas. It was hard work for all, but it did the trick. The combination of practice with mind maps, of drill, of one-to-one tuition intensively in writing tasks - he passed his exams.</p><p></p><p>So, in summary, what you need - you and his teachers need to understand mind-maps, so you can teach him. He needs to be given this at a time of day when he can function - homework is NOT a good idea. In class time would be best. He needs remedial support in English with someone trained in this. Alternatively - home school.</p><p>You then need to support him as he practices this. You can use this to summarise text as well. And the more you as parents use this technique for yourselves, the better you can help him with it too.</p><p>The next is drill. Rehearsal. Analyse technical terms and define them clearly, on a sheet. Hang the sheet where he can read it often and memorise it (behind the toilet door is good).</p><p>Support him. Encourage him. Don't be too critical. Remind him of his goals and his brains. He can do this, but because his brain works in a different way, he needs this different technique to get over the 'hump'.</p><p></p><p>And be aware, this takes time and ongoing effort. But this is something you can do for him and yes, if he can do this he CAN achieve his goals.</p><p></p><p>Our kids brains learn differently. If we can help them find a way to use this difference rather than fight it, we can help them teach themselves a workable way to learn. It needs flexibility in teachers, but this teacher sounds like she wants a solution. Let's hope she's enough of a lateral thinker to take this idea on board.</p><p></p><p>And mind-mapping is also a darn good technique for anybody - teach the whole class. Some will reject it as not needed. I remember fighting my teachers as a kid when they wanted me to write an essay plan, But those plans were linear - a series of ideas one after the other. The mind-map can easily be non-linear (and therefore more complex) which makes it useful even for smarty-pants who have really good mental manipulation skills.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, have a play and see what you think. </p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 89536, member: 1991"] Yoo hoo! This is me, jumping up and down, waving my hand in the air... OK, here is something that worked for difficult child 1. ATTENTION! I think I can help in practical ways here. This worked for us, I recommend you try it. You will need to get teachers on side, but you CAN try this for a good chance at big improvement. To begin - difficult child 1 can't multi-task. He couldn't write a narrative in elementary school. He couldn't write a narrative in middle school, until a teacher taught the class to mind-map. Also known as clustering. The problem for difficult child 1 was he couldn't hold a sequence of thoughts or ideas in his head. If he had to write a story on a holiday to the beach, he could maybe get as far as "we went to the beach" but no further. He would then refuse, be in floods of tears, have no way of doing it. He just didn't know where to start, and if we helped him start, he didn't know what to do next. When trying to get information from a block of text, he couldn't determine which bit was important and which was not - to do this he would have to hold two pieces of information in his head and compare them. The problem was being able to hold two items in his head and manipulate information mentally. Does this sound familiar? OK, now down to mind-mapping. The technique involves putting all the relevant information on paper, it's like writing down in hard copy, the mental processes you need to do this task. You choose a key word relevant to the task. You then think about the topic and write down on the same sheet of paper, other words or ideas that are relevant. Keep thinking, keep making short notes. One word notes. Then when you are done, look at the words. Any that connect, draw a line to connect them. Any that maybe with hindsight don't make sense, cross them out. Put in the connections, looking at each one in turn. This is easy because first of all it's on paper already, and second, you only have to think about one thing at a time. Then when you are done, you can begin your essay or other writing task. If you're still uncertain, then go back to your mind map and number things in order of sequence. To write - begin where you feel is best (or at No 1, if you numbered it) and follow the sequences. This is a technique developed by Edward de Bono. Google it and see what you find. An example - you are asked to write an essay comparing "Taming of the Shrew" with the film "10 Things I Hate About You". On the top of the page you write "10 things" on one side and "Shrew" on the other. Under this you can put the things you remember from the play/film. Connect across the ones which are similar, or seem to be related (such as "Pat Verona" = "Petruchio"). Maybe think about what the play is saying, and also the message of the film. Perhaps write these at the bottom - or the top, if you prefer. This is all about what you feel is good. When you've done everything you can think of, look at it. Do you feel more confident about answering the essay now? It's now much easier because it is written down. In essays, the key words have distinct, well-defined meanings. "Compare and contrast" means something very different to "analyse". "Discuss" is different again. But once explained and rehearsed, they are actually quite easy, even for Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) kids. So, for difficult child 1 - we had to teach him this, and drill him. He needed to be encouraged and supported, the teachers had to recognise that he wasn't being naughty or difficult, he really was incapable of doing the task without a lot of tuition and support. The next step was for both teachers and parents to 'talk him through' using mind maps to do simpler writing tasks. difficult child 1's breakthrough came when he was in Middle School but it took practice. He did resent mind maps although as he got older he agreed he needed them. Then later in high school the writing tasks got really complex (such as the Shakespeare question). To matriculate, he had to do it. And to us and his teachers, this seemed an impossible task. But we rehearsed him. His English teacher set him essay after essay and sat with him to go over each one, marking the good points and the weak areas. She worked with him to find better ways of writing the weaker areas. It was hard work for all, but it did the trick. The combination of practice with mind maps, of drill, of one-to-one tuition intensively in writing tasks - he passed his exams. So, in summary, what you need - you and his teachers need to understand mind-maps, so you can teach him. He needs to be given this at a time of day when he can function - homework is NOT a good idea. In class time would be best. He needs remedial support in English with someone trained in this. Alternatively - home school. You then need to support him as he practices this. You can use this to summarise text as well. And the more you as parents use this technique for yourselves, the better you can help him with it too. The next is drill. Rehearsal. Analyse technical terms and define them clearly, on a sheet. Hang the sheet where he can read it often and memorise it (behind the toilet door is good). Support him. Encourage him. Don't be too critical. Remind him of his goals and his brains. He can do this, but because his brain works in a different way, he needs this different technique to get over the 'hump'. And be aware, this takes time and ongoing effort. But this is something you can do for him and yes, if he can do this he CAN achieve his goals. Our kids brains learn differently. If we can help them find a way to use this difference rather than fight it, we can help them teach themselves a workable way to learn. It needs flexibility in teachers, but this teacher sounds like she wants a solution. Let's hope she's enough of a lateral thinker to take this idea on board. And mind-mapping is also a darn good technique for anybody - teach the whole class. Some will reject it as not needed. I remember fighting my teachers as a kid when they wanted me to write an essay plan, But those plans were linear - a series of ideas one after the other. The mind-map can easily be non-linear (and therefore more complex) which makes it useful even for smarty-pants who have really good mental manipulation skills. Anyway, have a play and see what you think. Marg [/QUOTE]
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