aspergers syndrome

My daughter (who is turning 13 next week) has been attending Michelle Winner’s social skills class in San Jose CA this summer. It has been very very helpful. I recommend her website, seminars and books. The books are especially easy reading, with activities to copy and large print. Her approach has been effective with my child, and also I have benefitted from changing how I approach my child and her learning struggles. I also like Kathryn Stewart’s new book (do a amazon search) and “Asperger’s Syndrome and Adolescence-Strategies for School Success”—this last book has lots of lists of suggested accomodations that can be useful for writing IEP’s. Kathryn Stewart’s book (she heads Orion Academy, a high school in Moraga CA) is not thick, and is easy to read—good for school staff gifts. Michelle Winner’s website is www.socialthinking.org.

My daughter was thinking about having to start school on Aug 26 and started crying, because she hates school, all the kids are mean (her twin sister agrees) and the teachers and principal know nothing. So far, the school shines on the fact that my child is miserable and has no solutions. They are always out of compliance with her IEP and don’t know how to deal with her well. She is also very gifted, and this adds to the problems. Her main academic difficulty is writing—she has written almost nothing in 2 years. Lindamood Bell program helped her this summer, but I am waiting to see how it translate to doing schoolwork—and what the district will say when I tell them I want to have them continue to pay for the LB program. They have failed her for three years—they probably will continue to do so. Good luck

The web site is www.socialthinking.com. I too and getting nothing out of the school for my daughter who is pdd-nos. So she is partially homeschooled which is working out the best. The principal has told me that I cannot do that anymore during school time because she wants to be responsible for educating her. Well they haven’t been able to for the past 3 yr so why they think they can now is beyond me. Well I have gone over her head to the school board and I will be hearing from them this week.

Very interested in how it went with the school board. I’m thinking of doing this myself. How did they respond?

Had a good response, in fact they are giving me 3 half days for home tutoring, during french time that my daughter does not do, so the days are for me to decide. They said my reasons were valid for taking her out. So never just takes what the principal says as the gospel. She told me that I definetly couldn’t do it anymore. Can’t wait to see her face this week :)

I’m very glad for you1 Much continued success! I think this is the avenue I will pursue next. Hope I am as successful. Thanks for your response.

I don’t know CT well (I’m in RI), so I can’t help you with any school recommendations. I would locate an asperger’s specialist in your area (usually a psychologist) who can help you with both school and home issues. As for social skills, I recommend that you look into Steven Gutstein’s work (Connectionscenter.com). He’s based in Texas, but he gets around giving workshops. He gives nice specifics on games and activities that children can play in order to learn vital relationship skills. The NeuroDevelopment Center of Providence, RI runs social groups based on Gutstein’s approach that are both effective and fun. You might call them to see if they know of anything closer to you. Good luck.