Using Activity Sticks to Reset an Asperger's Child

This post is a small departure from my normal "Preschool" themed talks, but relevant to the world of homeschooling and one many parents may find helpful.

My 10-year-old son has Asperger's and has been doing school at home for two years now.

The first two years were very much a time of survival:  just get through the day, just get through the coursework.

This year I am doing a lot of reading and experimenting, trying in my feeble way to do the best I can for my son.

I am by no means an expert; I'm just getting started on this road, but I did hit on an idea this year that, so far, has been pretty successful, even if my Aspie would tell you otherwise ;)

One thing with Tyler is that he needs frequent breaks.  Not necessarily a timed thing, more of an "amount of input".  Once he has reached a certain amount of input, he needs a break, or it's not pretty.

Because his activity of choice right now revolves around everything Mario, just telling him "take a break" doesn't work, because he'll just get right back on the computer to play a Mario game, or research about Mario, or...

He won't independently do a physical activity or a "play" activity.

So, I decided to make some activity sticks for him to pull when he needs a break.

For ideas, I referenced a list of sensory therapies that his OT gave me back when our insurance was still paying for Tyler to have OT.  I also checked out the book The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun from the library.  I complied a list of assorted activities, some fine motor, some gross motor, some calming, some energy releasing, and wrote each activity on a craft stick.

Each week I put a few of the activity sticks into a cup labeled "Take Out to Do".

The plan is for Tyler to pull an activity stick every time he finishes a school subject, however (and this is a good thing!), Tyler has been so focused on getting his schoolwork done lately that he has not been taking as many breaks.  I am monitoring him, however, and when I sense that he needs a break, I tell him to go pull an  activity stick.

This is usually met with grumbling and resistance, as that's just Tyler's way.  But I've noticed that usually by the end of the activity he's managed to reset and can resume his schoolwork with a better attitude.  I've also used this at other times, just when I think he needs a break.

When he's done, the stick goes into another cup labeled "Put in when done".  That way, he is getting a full assortment of activities and not just picking the same one over and over.

To start out with I have had to pick activities that utilized what we have on hand as I can't go out and purchase extra materials right now.  I have dreams, though.

Here is what's in his cup right now:

• Play with playdough
• Hang upside down on the recliner

• Have Mom wrap you up like a burrito.  Can be read to, or read a book, if desired.
• Draw lazy 8's on the board, 10 per hand, 10 together
• Play with stress ball, 5 minutes
• Play Hyper Dash
• Make 3 bomb bags
• Do 10 jumping jacks
• March and Tap knees 10 times each and opposites
• Use the massager for 5 minutes
• Play with bubble wrap
• Do 2 animal walks
• Play with cold spaghetti

So far the favorites are playing with bubble wrap and using the massager.  The bubble wrap especially calms him down effectively.

The other day he got angry so I made him pull a stick.  He grumbled and complained the whole time and announced that his pick of "Play Hyper Dash" was "stupid".  But he obediently set up his targets and began to play.  By the end of the game, he was smiling and happy (although he would never admit it).  I deemed it successful.

What Did He...Setting Details Worksheet, 5th Grade

Tyler, my 5th grader, is learning about themes and settings in his Language Arts class.  (Tyler schools through a virtual public school)

According to the lesson, setting is where and when the story takes place.  Writers use details, such as the senses and feelings, so that the reader can better visualize the setting.  The reader can also figure out what the setting might be by analyzing the details.

The lesson guide provides a web diagram where the student writes the setting in the middle circle, then webs off of that circle, filling in the different senses and feelings that are described in the story.

I decided that this wouldn't work well for Tyler, so I made my own worksheet.  It's very simple.  The heading says "What did he...".  I then made a table with six columns, each one labeled with a sense (taste, smell, etc) and one for feeling.

As Tyler reads the story and comes to a describing detail, he will write the detail in the appropriate column.

For example, the story will say "I heard the roaring waves.  I smelled the rotting fish.  I felt the sand between my toes."

Tyler will write under the heading "hear":  the roaring waves.

Under "smell":  the rotting fish

Under "touch":  the sand between my toes.

Then, if the story does not tell what the setting is, we can make inferences based on the details that we have.

Interested in this simple worksheet?  I have a PDF version of it here.

Our School Room ("Not" Back to School Blog Hop)

Hi!  Welcome to the Preschool Plan!  I'm so glad that you stopped by for a visit to check out our school room.

I am so excited to show you our room, because it's brand new!!!  We just moved into this house in May, and one of the main reasons that we picked this house is because of the school room.

Actually, though, we call it the Library, because that's what is was called on the blueprint ;)

Let me give you a little background, first.

My oldest son, Tyler, is ten.  He has Asperger's, and this will be our third year "schooling-at-home" using an online virtual public school.

The last house that we were in, the playroom was also the schoolroom, and since Tyler has two little brothers who are six and eight years younger than him, it didn't work real well.  So, when we house-hunted, a place that would be specifically dedicated to school and the computer was essential.

So, we were so thrilled when we found this house.

The Library is just inside the front door, and it's very open, so we feel comfortable having our computers here.

Open window cut out and open door cut out

However, it's separate from the rest of the house, so Tyler will be able to do his schoolwork on the computer and the boys will be able to be occupied elsewhere.  I can even put up a baby gate, if necessary.

See, the rest of the house is down that hall

One of my plans for keeping the boys out of Tyler's hair, though, is to keep the boys busy.  Thus, The Preschool Plan.  I will be teaching Jason, age 4, preschool here at home this year, and Justin, age 2, will be tagging along.

So, how does all of that translate into our school room?

Well, after much deliberation, I decided to turn the Library into a school room for everyone, not just Tyler, not just the boys.

So, here it is:

To the left of the doorway.  My dry-erase board, and the littles' alphabet wall chart and numbers wall chart.  The bookshelf was built by my husband in high school.  On the top shelf, in the oatmeal box is Tyler's daily assignment folders.  The two purple cups are used for his OT activities.  The clipboards are for anyone to grab and use, as needed.  They are great when working at the computer.  The plastic bins contain Tyler's schoolbooks by subject.  Our paltry collection of books is on the bottom shelf. 
Next on the wall is a multiplication tables chart.

These are our two computers.  One was a Christmas gift from my mom, one is from Tyler's school.  The black desk was a freebie from Katelyn's school, the other desk is on permanent loan from a good friend.  As you can see, we have very sophisticated seating, too.  Up on the wall is our clock, our Pledge of Allegiance poster and our Pledge to the Bible poster.

To the right of the doorway (across from the computers) are the littles' desks, more freebies from Katelyn's school.  The filing cabinet holds most of my supplies.  That was a freebie from a house down the street.  On top of the cabinet is our paper supply, our CD box, and my lesson guides for Tyler's coursework.

My thought it that the boys can work at their desks during times when Tyler is not working on the computer, or when they can all practice working nicely together (which does occasionally happen.)

But, learning won't occur only here.

The boys and I, Tyler included, while be doing lots of our projects here at the kitchen table.

Our couch is where we do all of our reading together.

Basket of library books easily accessible

And here is where a lot of learning happens, too.

Finally, here is a picture of one of my many closets (did I mention that I love this house?)  I have the little boys' toys down where they can reach them, along with their puzzles and games.  The older kids' stuff is higher.

You can see that I spend lots of money on organization supplies, lol.

So, that's our school room.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Feel free to come again some time.  Next week, we're serving cookies!

This post is part of the "Not" Back-to-School Blog Hop, being hosted by iHomeschool Network.  I looked at a bunch of schoolrooms from last year's hop and was so inspired, so I'm excited to be part of it this year.  Hop on over and drool over all the great school rooms