I need an advice

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Hello,

I am the parent of a 5 year old non verbal asd child. He is very smart and I have noticed that schools tend to underestimate him just because he is non verbal, they keep repeating the same tasks which he knows and obviously hates. I have recently found out that he can read different words, words that I didn’t teach him, and he Knows his numbers and can count. I need tips on what to do next, any apps I can use to help him communicate better.
I am working on his fine motor skills, too.

Thanks a lot

Hi Maria - As a part of your son’s daily routine, if you aren’t already doing so, then I’d definitely include reading books together as part of that routine. My son was largely non-verbal at 5, and was having speech therapy. We would make little books together, with his favourite things featured, eg trains, and I would teach him some sign language eg over, under etc. PECS(a picture exchange system) was very useful as there can be such frustration for no -verbal children, and PECS allows communication in a quick, easy way. We also used the same books they use in schools to teach and support reading and language building at home. I would write individual words on different coloured paper or cardboard, so he would learn these words via flashcards too. Glad you haven’t underestimated your son’s understanding and intelligence. There are many different ways to communicate, and your son may well talk when he is feeling good and ready, less anxious etc. Communication itself is far more important than speech. The age of five is a wonderful age, to engage with your son in so many wonderful activities. It won’t be easy for him to navigate the school experience and maintain self control without letting off steam at the end of the school day, so it pays to have a mini-trampoline at home or some form of activity for him to let off steam after school. There are a host of great teaching aides and fun learning tools via ipad, pc etc and art experiences as well. I used to use Leapster for my once 5 year old son, as well as Star Wars cd-roms, and would play a yearly subscription to use a great teaching resource. Lego, Brio trains etc, water/sand play, homemade playdough with cutters, safery scissors, crayons/felt pens/chalk/painting etc, a mini or larger sized white board and markers to write and draw with, youmight create your own fuzzy felt board and various shapes, letters and numbers for him to play and work with at home. Good to have you with us.

I would recommend a book titled "Eikona Bridge" by Jason H.J. Lu. He is an Aspie who has two children, both were nonverbal Aspies initially and he developed ways to help them advance.

Juliette, Thanks a lot for your creative ideas, I would definitely try them. I already read to my DS and would appreciate if you can share the teaching sites which you used and subscribed.

How does homeschooling regulations work in your country? It's always worth considering.

I do a lot of work of explaining to the teachers what being autistic feels like and how some difficulties are completely not about education but about sensory, social and organisational difficulties.

Does your son use some AAC device? He's in the target group for such solutions.

I would suggest homeschool if it is at all possible.

At age 5 you have a lot of options to explore alternatives. It seems there are two objectives. The first is to continue to feed your son's desire to learn in general. The second would be to help him explore ways to include verbalization improvement.

At age 5 games and play can be used to great effect. You might engage him in activities that require a response. This response can be anything from a nod of the head, hum, sound, whistle, burp, or ASL sign language, or even making a mark on paper. This might slowly draw him into the world of making sounds.

Have you checked into the full range of international and specialized (e.g. Montessori, etc.) schools in your area? I was in a neighboring country with my AS son for 3 years, and both the German and Finnish international schools were quite good for kids with special needs. (The Finnish school probably being the better option since the language of instruction is English. )

You're very welcome. I wound up home educating my youngest son from the age of 6 years, after trying both private and public schools. His mental health seriously deteriorated, and he regressed, unable to cope with the environment. Home Ed was very successful, and he now begins University in September.

The sites back then included Enchanted Learning(this was wonderful for printouts and involved a yearly payment for online access.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/
https://do2learn.com/
https://www.childfun.com/
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Printables/Polar_Animals/
http://www.schoolexpress.com/fwsindex.php
http://www.kidsrcrafty.com/dot-to-dot.htm

Some other great teaching aids included:
Race to the Roof board game(used by speech therapists) This was a favourite!
We used Letts Education workbooks(which were colourful, fun and brilliant!)
We also used Schofield & Simms workbooks.
There's a wonderful variety of writing practice books which I found on Amazon.

Sensory experiences(plenty of online sites that cater for SEN).

Some other fun activities included Science Museum kits that involve hands-on experiences at home(eg magnets etc)
Puzzles and just about anything that Ravensburger produce is fun and educational.

The emphasis was to "Make learning Fun", incidental learning, and ensuring my son didn't miss out on anything he would have otherwise had access to at school.

I was mute at your son's age, but I was reading, writing and basically loving life at home, with my mother. School was a very difficult transition to make. I hope your son is coping ok. If you find you are experiencing any behavioural or sleep issues, please don't hesitate to seek support here. xx

Just wanted to add one further resource that’s being continually updated and is REALLY good ...
ASEND have just added a new Resource section to their site(my daughter & I both work with children on the spectrum and are forever sharing resources and we were just chatting about ASEND and how great they are!):
https://asend.co.uk/resources/

Author Read Alouds:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VaK52gTidjXjRAK13YXAOdfcRFdv2LCb/view?fbclid=IwAR05X4x46J3HJnOZjoE8uaRqez8PNC1gi7sCyemrDlaoQQD0-oe5aCrnFwc

11 Best Interactive Science Websites:
https://interestingengineering.com/11-of-the-best-science-websites-for-interactive-learning

Google "Khan Academy". Might be helpful.