Special needs Children

[jimjetearl]

I am a parent of 3 special needs children. All of them are Autistic. Does anyone know of ways to help teach autistic schildren the Gospel in a way that they can grasp? They are all high functioning Autism. One has Aspergers.

[Maya]

I have had a child with aspergers in my class.. boy did she lean so well with my method. When I tod her she was doing good work I often got a great big smile! She was one of the best on my class of 6 year olds.I get back to you later.. now I need to go to read the lesson for tomorrow... I am pretty tired too after translateing a thing for 4-5 hours today... it was so incredable... I put a thread about it somewhere... it was about sin.

[Maya]

This is waht I do with my kids from 2 up. First the age of 3 is the time when the child is expressing very strongly his or her own will trying to get his/her will in all. That is why it is good kids already then (or a bit before) begin to learn to be a bit independent. They LOVe to do things themselves and this helps with the "trantums" that mostly are caused of it that the child is not allowed to do by him/herself.
Here some exercises they can begin already from the age of 1 1/2... I have had this at home with 2-4 year olds and also in childrensroom (in childrens room it had a VERY relaxing affect to all kide there especially all difficult ones):
1.Exercise to learn to poure: two small jugs (fex cream jugs) on a small tray with a sponge and an absorbent peace of cloth to clean up with. Teach theb child to pour from one jug to the other and not make a mess. Show the child how to hold the jug you are pooring with with BOTH hands. This because if the child learns to use only one hand accidents with milk bottle aso are easier to happen, use always towo hand when poorin anything when kids ar around! Show how to poor without making a mess... or if you do look a bit irirtated and clean it right away. DONT talk when you show or the child will watch you instead of waht you do! (This in everything you show!). Sit beside to see if he manages then take distance. Sometimes a child can do this hundreds of times after an other. It is quite ok... he will repeat it untill he is sure he can do it and even more.
VERY important is to teach the child to take the thing they want to work with from the shelf (without making a mess) and also to put it back on te shelf. It is easier to teh child IF he ahs a table and a chair of his size. In primary I always followed a child from the shelf and later from the table, but even 1 1/2 year olds managed this very soon. Kids usually love this exercise. But if they befin to drink the water dont allow it (you can even clor the waqter with candy colours) but teach them to get an otehr water to drink. When they all manage thsi you can have a can and some pretty cups ( I was spelling first cops ) on a tray somewhere wher the kids can go an poor themselves some drink to them when they want or otherwasy arrange a place that they manage to controll for drinkling.
2. An other exrecise is a smal bowl with a bit rice in it and a small empty bowl and a small spoon on a tray. Then show the child how to carefully take one spoon at the time some rice in to the otehr bowl when full change. Easiest to right handed to ahve the full bowl on the right hand side. Place of the bowls can be changed when full.
Every exercise is on a tary as it is easier for the child to carry and clean.  Show the child how to clean the rice from the tray back in to the bowl if made a mess. (kids think it is funny when a grown up makes a bit mess... often they feel better if the grownup also sometimes makes a mes and shows that it is not easy to do the tasks by showing consentartion.)
3. Actrually the first pouring exercise should be done with to small jugs of not water but rice or such that is easier and dryere... otherways teh same as above. The problem to ahve rice and water around is however that the kids may want to connect them... and this will destroy the exercise as wet rice does not run. Well they have the spoon... If kids do that, they should be stopped and explaines that this is not what we do with these as now we cant play with them as the game is destroyed and the jugs, ect have to be cleaned....
4. Also one exercise that can be taken before rice and spoon: Tabletennis balls and a big spoon or an icecream scoop. Exercise is done alike the one with rice.
5. A smal bowl a dropper in a bottle, or a mother to give a few drops of diswashcleaner and a cloth that absorbs well. Show the child how to dip the cloth in the water and especially how to wind it til it is not too wet and show the child how to clean your home with it. 
6. Same with a bigger cloth and floor. Kids love to help mother. Allow them to stop when they will, but tell tehm to take the cloth ect back to their places.
7. Show the child how to whipe the floor... Chils may need some assitance with the water...
8. A tray with tablecloth (places for plate, glass, knife, fork drawn on, or on teh tray) a glass, a plate a knife a fork ... set then to the right place, learn to lay the table. Also for a cup and a small plate...
9. A tray with a knife and a thing to cut greenes on. You can use real greenes carrots, aples... or you can make them of playdo or such, so kids can cut them.
10. This has been really favorite of them all: Have, on a tray; 6 grog glasses or something smaller glasses 3 of them with water with colours blue, red and yellow. Teach the child first the names of the colours adn talk about them, make paintings with onlyu one colour. Then mix two, fex blue and yellow... green make a painting using blue and green (some of these painting can become really fantastic I used fingerpaint and big paper) talk about green... then take the blue and yellow glasses and show the kids what happens, when you put one drop of the other colour in the other glass... slowly when you take more and more it turns to green.
11. A tray with a dropper in a bottle or a smal grog glass, with a soapholder, the one with many smal bowls for drops and a sponage and a cloth. Show the child how to drop only ONE drop on each bowl and how to dry it after wards with an absorbing cloth. Nice with coloured water. You can wonder about how the drop wont just wanish but stays there as a pearl. And explain it to the child depending on the age/understanding how you explain... When you use a dropper you use the fingers you will use to hold the pen when writting ( an exercise preparing for writting)
12. Float or not... a bowl that the child fills with a bit water. You have different small things taht you can see if they float or sink... kids can find things they want to know if they float... Can talk about why everything about floating. Remember to change the things every now and then. Write a word No on a coloured paper and yes on an otehr colour ab. 10x10 onches or smaller. Put those words beside one an other and those that dont float under no...
13. A very popular exercise... to whipe: A bowl and some water and diswasher... when you whipe this it will foam up and kids love that.
14. ecercise to find pears of socks; a basket with pairs separate and mixed
15. exercise to find cloths that are alike and pair them. About 6 pairs to start with, you can make more for those that are good in this. Pairs are in a basket find pair and set them beside one and other. Next step do it with a blind.
16. Same with sandpaper... pair sandpaperpeaces. With a bilnd on. ( Good if you use the the fore finger and the middle finger to feel the differences also in teh cloth ones. This is for preparing to write.
17. 15 or 16 with a bag you can not see through or someething where you put the peaces in and try to come out with apair.
18. Different things to feel in a bag or such that you cant see, but you have to feel what it is.
19 A shoe on a tray and somethign to clean it with.
20 A candlestick or somethign that is messing or silver that a child can clean... they love it, if it is very skitten and they see how beautiful it gets! I have had kids taht in home asks if they can clean shoes or silver and they do it for days, untill they are satisfied.
21. There are special rames with button, zip, aso. exercises to buy or one can use the quiet books. They are good exercises. You can also make your own or just use clothes with buttons or zips so kids learn to use these.
22. To allow kids to choose and put their clothes on themselves is also a good exercise.
23. A tray with different size of containers, glasses, small, and a jug with some water and a sponage and cloth. A child can do experiencecs with how much water goes in each conteiner by also pooring fronm a conteiner to an other.
24. Allow the child to do the washing of plates, aso... (an apron is good to have on then)
25. A bigger jug with water a soap, nail brush, a bigger bowl or such... towel. Teach the child by showing how to clean his hands. Can also be done by the water sink, but tha is not as fun /(and messy )

These are just a few of the practical exercise, you can find out more yourself as you notice what they like and need. These help the kid to use their hands and their body the right way and manage in everyday life without help. Thes exercises also have a tendence to calm the child down and they help with children with problems. If a child shows anger and difficult behaviour they often find peace with these exercises. ALL jugs aso should be brekable as this way teh child can learn to be more careful. After a few broken glasses and a sad face from mother teaches better tahn 100 words. After all they usually dont do that on purpose... but dont use your best cina... by kids their own 

Motessori has a teaching method that you can use almost in anything:
1. Have all the fex 3 things you want to teach the name of in front of the child (not too many, you can add 1-2 every time. tell teh names of them and ask the child to say it after you
2. Then ask the child to point out to you... name the things one at the time.
3. take all of the things aside and then take one in front of the child and ask: What is this? If right let it stay in front of the child if wrong allow it so circle still.... untill all have been named correctly.
When using this to teach letters it would be good to have letters made of sandpaper on a courdboard or woden plate and write the letter on the letter with forfinger and middlefinger, when saying it aloud. (same with numbers)

Next time math or to teach to read or bilogy, geography...

I should make a netside probably...
Questions are welcome and she can email ...

 

[jimjetearl]

Thanks Maya,

Although our child with aspergers her fixation is liquids she is 7 and is still completely fascinated by liquids. If she is around water or juice or any thing liquid longer than a few minutes she begins playing with it. She will spill it out of its container and push her fingers through it as if it were finger paint. So the Liquid ones may not work for her But i will try the others. Thanks again.

[Maya]

To read and to write!
Actually it is easier for a child to start writting before reading!
Homeschooling and montessorimethod: http://homeschooling.about.com/od/methmontessori/Methods_Montessori_Homeschooling.htm
http://www.montessori.edu/homeschooling.html
http://www.montessorimom.com/what-montessori-method/
materiasl free: http://www.montessorimaterials.org/lang.htm
First is to teach the child the letters. The letters cut out of sandpaper would be fine to be glued on a thick couboard or woden plate. Actually the sizes are very accurate in montessori, but I cant remember the right sizes now. The letters are about 5 inches high. (http://www.adenamontessori.us/global/product.php?cid=3)There you can see different materials how they look like... I did not find a better site than that shop... you can make a lot of the materials yourself too! Like the letters.
To teach the letters you take 2-3 letters to start with to a child who has started to ask about letters. You take the first letter and follow the lines of the letter as if you would be writting it... remember to start from the right place and ened in the right place... and at the same time say the name of the letter slowly as you follow the sandpaperletter. Ask teh child to do the same. Then put the letters in front of the child and ask him/her to show you (fex if you have a,h,j) show me h... show me a... show me j. then put them in apile and take one and ask what is this.... use SOUNDS of the letter, not names!
When the child can some letters you can cut alphabet a few times from a thick couboard or by loose letters and the box for them, where they are in alfabethical order and the child can start writting by sounds and letters. Like if you teach teh letters to hat... you can have a small dollhouse doll hat and ask her/him to write the word.... and to listen to teh sounds in it. Just short 2-3 letter words and things to begin with.
Then you can make pink smal thinner couboard lables about the size of 2 inches x 2,5... and write small 2-3 letter words on them and find smal things like hat, bat, dad, cat... very small ones that the child can then set in line and then try to find out which lable goes to which thing.
Then the child learns after while moer and more to write and to read... and what is bets it really can be sooo fun.
When teh child is a bit bigger you can by a smal play farm and make Nametags to all animals there and people and.. anything you find out so teh child can set them on the places in teh farm. The 4+ letter words should be on light blue lables. Colours are very imoprtant.. youll see later why. Actually this pink and blue is not that important or the light green taht is the next in light green are words that have the sound from letters th,ch ... uh you know the 2 letter combinations that a child has to learn by heart. You also write the 2 leters with red!
Then you can make lists of words ... pink list= easy ones, Pale Blue list= a bit more difficult and the Light green ones with the difficult lettercombinations.
Thenb you can start with grammatic... make black lables (ab 5incx2inc) and write with fex  silver or white on them Substantives. kikle flower, door, floor, wall... anything in the room the child reads them and puts them on the right place with bluetag or something.
A pack of red lables the same size saying : Jump, run, eat, ... all kinds of verbs. If the child is ready you can explain a bit about substantives or verbs the first time you give them to the child.
Then one of my favorites. Here too you can have the person or the animal as a miniatyr figure if you want to make it even more fun. But as the child gets older they probably will just use teh cards. Card sizes about2x2. Grey cards only 3 words a and an and the. Black casrds = nouns words like man, girl, cat, dog, horse.... Then dark blue adjectives; long, short, fat, eager... a pile of verbs in read, is eating, is running, is barking, is mewing,  then on green prepositions on, in, under,above, on top of...
First take the nouns and put the figures beside the noun if wanted. Then explain about the atricle and set them on their place ... now we have  fex ... a cat, a man... then ask the child to put the adjectives between the article and the noun .. so we get a green cat, a big man (watch for not to get the cange of a-an to begin with) Then ask teh child to read them. Then ask teh child to put a verb behind the noun so you get fex a green cat is barking, a big man is mewing... Then you can have a pile with nouns like door, house, table floor.... separate (black) then you can after a while as the child learns more and more you may ger a pink cat is barking under the car or a big man is mewing angryly under the house...
Colour code and mark: nons black a big triangle, verbs red a big ball, adjectives blue a smaller triangle, articles gray very small triangle, Pronouns pink a triangle only 2 sides alike, Adverbs orange small ball, preposition green a "baban", conjuction purple a square lieing on the long side, Interjection yellow a keehole. you can use these later also for finding parts in centances. It is fun to use these movable smal things.
When parting sentances the centances are written with pretty big letters on paper... can be 3 feet long paper that has to be worked with on the floor.
I have the centance analysis American style in my book, but as I am not american I never learned that one 
Then a good thing is to make smal books starting with pink material... teh 2-3 letter words... jsut to make books with those words and then the pail blue starting with 4 letter words. Draw or find a picture on each side and tell a story with words taht are easy enough, but that also are not too easy!
Kids love difficult words like dimosaurus, brontosaurus, triceratops... ect... perfect time to see in the letters and try to write them. Write books on things that interset your kids. If the kids att the moment love pirates... make a pirate book, if they like flowers, make a flower book.
Natural sciense and geography give a good chanse of imitateing a bit more advanced texts and pictures. I get back to that later....

[Maya]

To start with math and also writting there are some sensorial games... what ever you want to call them, exercises that are really fun!

Here you can see how they look like: http://www.adenamontessori.us/global/product.php?cid=2

The read rods are first to be tought how to make the "stairs" of them. So they are graded from the longest to the smallest. Then they can bulid a spiral with them starting from the longest thowards the center or the smallest outworth. when ready they can try to go in to the circle and backand not touch the sticks at all. This is a fun thing to do and if not possible to buy the rods... maybe make them of thick couboard.
Kids love the sylinders... there is a block actually 4 of them where there are small sylinders that differ in length and widenes. This teaches the child to understand dimnentions and also learn words like shorter, broad, smallest biggest.... When the child can all of these from the easiest to the most difficult the child can try two, three and all four at same time. Two, three, or four kids can try this together and fill up the one they have. 
The pink tower which the kids will learn to build up. And hopefully they notice that the smallest is just the size the next cube is bigger than the other. They can find out many different interesting things with these cubes.
The stairs are build to steares but NOT to step on! Many interesting things can be found out of them too. Pink tower and the stairs are allowed to build up on one an other... but rather have kids themselves to find taht out.
The rods ro stairs or anything are NOT to be used as swords, cars... what ever but only to experiment.. swords and cars are other toys.
As you can see the geometric figures are just wonderful. You can show to the child what kind of marks they leave after them if rolled on sand or flower (hmmm dusty) or if printed on sand or flower. You can talk about them to the child and teach the names with the 3 periode lesson alike the letters or numbers.
Colour boxes can also be made of the colours colourshops deal out. But the real ones are just beautiful! The first box has only the main colours. Red Yellow and blue... 2 of each so you can find the same colours. The names are tought with 3 periode lessons again. Next box has red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple, brown, pink, grey, black, white in  pairs. The biggest box has: 9 colors in seven graded shades of red, blue, yellow, green, purple, orange, brown, pink and grey. Your task is to grade them from darkest to lightest by making first a circle with the darkest ones and tjhen like a sun put the grades in right places... this IS difficult! But soo pretty when ready.
Touch boards feel different and you should find a pair and at the end with your eyes closed. Same with sandpaper tablets. Materials... waht ever to teach the kid to learn by touch. One can also make smellbottles with familiar smells. Things that make you able to feel the cold or the warmth.
Triangles aso that the child can make different pictures with and study their bejavioral. Teaches also geometrics and trigonometry. Like 2 triangles make a square ... aso...
There are MANY exercises to teacj the child to sense the world around and ANY such exercise is good. All you need is a "montessori mind". I think montessori mind is a mind that thinks of fun things to do that teaches the child and is not only a toy. Or to find out a fun thing to do to teach a child a certain thing.
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