(This isn’t a pity me post it just is what it is. We have been living with autism forever. Granted we didn’t have a name for it until a few years ago autism was part of this family. Integrated into our very roots. When the first diagnosis came for Roger people balked oh that’s not right, the doctors are wrong, you doctor shopped until you got it. Yes we love nothing more than spending hours upon hours with doctors. It’s great fun. Then Lucy’s came. Even to this day most of our family will not accept it. Not accepting being in the dark that’s their choice. I can’t force anyone to do anything.)
Ignored, that’s what we are. Ignored by family, ignored by past friends, ignored by neighbors, ignored by everyone. In the time before Facebook it would not be right in your face. Yeah so you haven’t talked to your sister in a while, oh well they live a ways away. Except now with Facebook it is right in your face.
They share a blog post by another writer, with the comment so this is what autism is like I had no idea. Yeah I want to scream at them open your eyes we are right here, we have always been right here in your family. You choose to ignore us.
They re-post a silly meme about special needs moms tagging all their friends with kids of different needs but leave you out because well you don’t really know what it’s like. You don’t count. We are nothing. Ignored
Every post about cancer is a re-share, autism no can’t share that because you know cancer that’s real. Ignored.
…continue reading
When I say homework battles I’m not talking about the typical fight with the kids to do their homework, that’s not a problem. The problem is the actual homework. It’s like these teachers have no clue how to change the curriculum for a child with autism.
My Facebook post from the other night:
This is a question from Roger’s homework: How does the protagonist view himself/herself in your story? Identify a page number and example from the text.
His response? I don’t know, I am not them. WHY can these teachers not get it through their heads that he seriously cannot put himself in someone elses shoes and tell you what they think of themselves. UGGGG! Oh and I was informed he is to write an essay on this as well, this should be fun.
It took us three hours and finally he came to: he feels good. The reason? Because another chapter in the book said so. Okay, works for me. I know I am going to get some note home that it is incomplete and not acceptable and again I will have to point out the IEP. A friend of mine said I should send a note in with the homework saying ” How does the student who is incapable of taking another perspective feel when his teacher assigns him homework requiring him to do exactly that?” Honestly how can she expect him to do something she obviously is incapable of doing herself.
I was looking at his next section of questions and they are give a specific example of how the protagonist has changed? And what have you learned from the characters?
Those should be fun. The teacher also said she will have him reread the book to make sure he understands it before he writes the essay. Wait…what? Back up a minute. The problem is not his comprehension. He understands perfectly what he is reading. You actually have him reading about 5 grades below what he can do. It’s the questions you are asking. You know he has problems putting himself in a fictional character’s shoe and telling you how they feel. Heck the kid can’t tell you how he feels a lot of the time. If you do not really understand your own feelings how can you understand and explain someone else’s?
I have sent a email to his case manager to let her know that he solution of “oh we will just punish him and make him reread the book” is not going to solve the issue. The questions need to be reworded. So we will see what happens and if they take time to listen and work with him and his needs rather than what some curriculum states.
