Aspie's

[Guest guest]

I find our children need a safe place to be able to let their full selves out. It is overloading, the constant negativity around them. It's as if they were trying to think and process in a room of screaming babies. Because everything is so intensified for them. And how would you do, even as a regular person, if someone told you constantly, we don't want you here. It is good that we make as safe and positive a space for them as possible, believe in them. Because they are not likely to get it anywhere else. However, I was encouraged to read an Asperger young womans research presentation recently-- she never told her dept she had Asperger's; and she graduated magna cum laude. What really cost her one of her precious As, though, is interference by her Asperger's father, who never got treatment in his lifetime. . . Anyway, she found thru a telephone survey that college students who had at one time lived within a certain radius of someone with a child on the autism spectrum, tended to have a positive view of young people on the spectrum. And were a lot more tolerant of odd behavior and even more importantly, melt-downs. Than those who'd never been around one on a regular basis! Isn't that cool and encouraging! If you decide to give him testing, there are accomodations you can do. You can arrange these thru ACT, I believe. He can have longer to process. He can take the test alone. He can have the questions read to him. Make sure he understands that it's okay to not make good enough grades once, and take it over (she had to for the GRE; did super the 2nd time). It's the 2nd score that will count, and sometimes it takes that to learn how to do it, doing it hands-on. Also, there are excellent training courses, which are expensive, of course, that gives him the testing experience ahead of time. And also gives him tips on understanding the inuendoes included.

Nina

On Sat, 22 May 2010 16:02 +0000, " lisaill " <lisa_illenberg@...> wrote:

Thanks everyone. I have a big problem being overprocective of . He's been through so much bullying and mistreatment by others. It's hard to see any of my kids fail, but especially hard with him.

We are starting to look into programs at local community colleges. Any tips on helping an Aspie get through the ACTs? He's horrible with testing.

>

> We have a friend whose son was also interested in video game designing and

> went to a community college where he could take one class at a time. It

> turned out wonderfully for him. Programmers don't seem to be bothered as

> much by odd or distant behavior, it is seen more as being creative - yes,

> sweeping generalization. There's got to be a role in a company for someone

> like that.

>

> The limitations thing can be hard. You don't want them to get hurt but

> sometimes only by learning from the failure, can they grow into more than

> what they are. I have had to back off a number of times and it just killed

> me to see him unhappy but then, some of the times, he succeeded more than I

> could ever have imagined. I guess I am saying, you never really know what

> they can't or can do until they try it. Be there if they fall but be there

> when they succeed as well. Unless of course it's about laundry...then just

> make sure they don't include your lights in with their bright red, recently

> acquired concert tshirt.

>

--

Nina Forest

autismlearning@...