Autistic child with the repetitive "I don't know" answer

[Kari Suttle]

Okay everyone, quit throwing rocks at me. I said I would try something different.

I'm more than a little crabby this morning (hence why i'm saying anything at all) but i agree, ya'll were getting accusatory, rude with him. He said he's diagnosed, for one, so quit talking down to him and saying what's already been addressed, hell Omega even addressed it himself in his original post - he needs a new approach. That's why he came on here asking for advice. Been there, done that, so lets all move on from that. Zurb continued on nicely in that last post for example. So unless you wanna risk running him off or something, stop it.

 

[Granta_Omega]

Least restrictive as in we force them to try to learn in ways that really aren't beneficial for them unless we notice it really isn't working, but then it's more or less already too late?
With the best intentions in mind of course.

Least restrictive environment means that children have the right to be part of general education classes and not be put in a special class if they are capable of doing the work with or without accommodations.

 

[May Black]

Okay everyone, quit throwing rocks at me. I said I would try something different.

I actually think we all mean well in our twisted ways. I'm truly hoping things go well, and that you'll update us on the development.

Least restrictive environment means that children have the right to be part of general education classes and not be put in a special class if they are capable of doing the work with or without accommodations.

I'm sorry, I get what it means, I just don't agree with the concept. As I said it's a sensitive topic to me and I got carried away. I don't feel regular schooling is what's best for children on the spectrum. Honestly, I have my doubts about it being the best option for any child really. It seems to bore the last bits of interest in learning out of any child quite fast.

 

[AsheSkyler]

I'm sorry if I chunked a rock or two, I was oblivious to it. Like May Black, I don't find traditional schooling to be the best in some cases. I'm a big advocate for trade schools and focusing on something useful rather than being a master at diagramming sentences when you have no desire to be an English professor or something. It's why I was curious if mechanicking and model cars would interest him.

 

[Peace]

Okay everyone, quit throwing rocks at me. I said I would try something different.

I hope that was sarcasm. All I see is honesty, you asked for opinions and we tried to be as honest and helpful as we could. I have often been accused of being brutally honest. I don't know of any other way. I was trying to be clear, simple and direct. I really hope that our advice helps you to achieve your goal.
I also commend you for your efforts to reach out to this child.

 

[Granta_Omega]

I understand, but I already admitted that I needed to change my methods. I came here because I wanted to know if what I was doing was part of the problem, and only asked for some suggestions. To me, that's taking someone who acknowledged that change was needed, and continuing to beat him down.

 

[May Black]

I actually don't see your reasoning here. I can understand you got overwhelmed by all of us telling you more or less the same thing. I can't speak for everyone else, but at least my intentions were nothing but good, and I'd say that goes for everyone else too.

Telling you what you already know, that your method is not working, is not personal. We're not beating you down, we're only expressing our honest opinions.

 

[Peace]

Grant_Omega,
I Am Sorry.

 

[silvia95guy]

Sounds like me growing up. My answer to everything was I don't know, and my parents gave me such a a hard time about it. I've gotten better, now that I have become more knowledgeable in the ways of the world. Also, the only thing I cared about growing up was cars and racing, which is still a big obsession of mine. As far as any advise I can give, is good luck on breaking through that shell of his. I felt the advise of relating school info to his interest in Nascar to be a good one. Why is he so interested in the sport? Would he like to be a part of it some day, and if so what part would that be? And how could you relate subjects in school towards his desire to be a part of what he loves? I know I didn't much care for physics, unless I related it to cars. The same thing with chemistry. I felt that the physics I learned needed to be taught with the chemistry, and how each chemical physically interacted with each other. I needed a whole picture, just to make since of a small aspects of things. Instead of being given a little bit at a time, and expected to learn. Our school system isn't created for people like us. It can't answer the questions that truly matter, which is why we are stuck in our head in the first place. Sorry for entering so late in to the conversation, I felt I was just rambling, instead of offering any advise.

 

[phoe]

Try hitting him with a question about the cars - I'm in the UK so we don't have Nascar, but I seem to remember that they've got different suspension setups on the drivers' vs. the passenger side - you could throw it in as a "fact" (it's obscure enough that he might not know), and you could follow it up with questions about if he knows why they might do it like that (they race around banked ovals, and it helps them stick to the track better).

I used to have an obscure "interest" in springs (!) and used to keep a collection of various sorts in my drawer in work as an anti-stress tool - you could use the starter question above to ask about "science", how are springs made, how does the suspension work, does he think he could make a model of it ?