Thoughts or experience in teaching Latin to autistic child

[Kat w]

I'm wondering if anyone has experience or thoughts on teaching Latin to the autistic child.

 

I said it :/ ...autistic child . sure is hard to make that leap.

 

I started teaching Latin roots and the 'shoots' thst stem from that.

It seemed to spark a part of ds12 brain and he has taken off with reading and even writing.

 

He read 2 and a half stories ( never before happened) , and wrote his own book entitled "spaceboy" (aww) with correctly spelled words (mostly) and well constructed sentences .

 

Like all the info I've been putting in his brain I suppose could have just been laying dormant or floating around waiting to be 'filed'.

 

Our struggles are pretty significant. Born addicted and fas.

 

The little bit of Latin, it's weird, it's as if it tapped a portion of his brain in a way that... Brought alot out.

 

All the repition seemed to engage all at once after starting latin roots, stems, and English language they come from.

 

Anyone else encountered this? Or use a Latin program with their kiddos?

 

I was thinking prima latiana.

 

Thoughts? Experiences ?

Please? And thank you lol

Edited August 16, 2016 by Kat w

[PeterPan]

Well what you did was orderly, so it helped organize things in his brain, making it a good fit.  It sounds like it had VERY good effect!  There's more you could do with cognates and morphology (words that are similar in latin and english, words that when you know them in latin unlock english) without actually making the leap to now we're going to sit down and memorize declensions and verb endings.  

 

It's true, you don't have to sit down.  I just think in the whole scheme of things, memorizing verb and adjective endings for a language that doesn't exist, that isn't used except on paper, might not be the most important thing.  The real question is not the autism but, not to be impolite, where there's ID involved.  Kids with ASD learn latin all the time.  If he has a more complex situation, say with some ID from the FAS, then that would be what's complicating it.  

 

If you're wanting to try it, Prima Latina is exceptionally gentle and trim, yes.  But even then, you're going into memorizing grammar, etc.  But just use your judgment.  You're not out a ton of money if you decide it's not a good fit.  You could use the parts of it that are a good fit and skip the parts that aren't.  

 

Alternately, you could look for another resource to continue your roots study.  Have you thought about doing Greek roots next?

 

You could also use this new interest and skill in language to start into a useful language like spanish.  Sounds like he has some facility with memorizing things, which not all kids with SN have.  It might open up some doors for him.

Edited August 16, 2016 by OhElizabeth

[Kat w]

Yea. It's perplexing. I've slowly added in and realized all the systematic orderly programs or methods speak to him. He thrives on it and has to have it.

 

Hubby started him on dulio..dulingo...not sure the spelling. And he could do it. There's a firm of it with pictures that dh had him start on.

Hubby just switched the email to start coming to me instead of him. Im surprised what he's been doing. And what he knows and reaches to the grandbaby. I never really stopped to think about, hey, he's learning that. I suppose I figured he'd just forget it like everything else and move on. He has t forgot and has t moved on. He's still doing it on his own.

 

The Greek, yea the flashcards I had from the girls has the Greek included. DS 20 and I were talking about that tonite. Latin includes Greek BC Rome basically moved in and assimilated Greece . they were....borged lol (star trek humor)

 

I thought about the congigations . and how I would handle that. I taught it to my big kids through latina Christiana , the first program they put out. He went and got it from the shed and asked to learn it.

 

I guess, I'm so surprised that he looked at that and wanted to. He sees itsstuff he hasn't done and ia hard.

 

Maybe...just maybe...to make the complete home run with language... Could be..Latin.

 

I know families thst have taught English grammar thru Latin grammar. Idk how...I dint remember or..wasn't listening when they told me . was long time ago.

 

Hmm. OhE, you are awesome to bounce things off of. Thank you for replying and input.

[Kat w]

...had to post...phone freezes...

 

But could you elaborate on the ID ? Not sure what you mean irthe connection but I'm sure Its a good thing to think about or understand.

 

You mean where is his IQ? Or I'd as in...intellectual disability?

 

TThats where the IQ borders or is under 70 correct?

[Tiramisu]

A few years ago I heard Laura Berquist talk at a conference. She was recommending Latin for all students based on how they had seen it help their special needs students in the Mother of Divine Grace homeschool program. She also recommended it for the moms to learn along with their kids, to keep their brain challenged as they age.

[geodob]

Kat, my most memorable school experience?

Was in 3rd grade, when my teacher gave me a 2 page list?

Of Latin, Greek and French, roots, prefixes and suffixes.

 

Where I would take 1 or 2 of them, for a few days and observe where they were used in writing and speech?
By the middle of 4th grade, I could read a newspaper and tell my parents what various 'long words' meant.

As I was able to decode these words and understand them.

This basically unlocked the English dictionary to me.

 

While our 26 letters and 42 phonemes represent sounds, without meaning.

These 2 pages of roots, prefixes and suffixes?

Made sense of how words are constructed, to give meaning.

[PeterPan]

Geodob, your story is fascinating!  Thanks for sharing that!

 

Kat, yes, I wasn't meaning to be impolite, but ID=intellectual disability.  You have so many kids, I honestly lose track of who has what and what/how they're working and what's appropriate.  I think you're finding the balance right, that you try things that they're ready to do.  There are some strands I see online, in print that are line we're gonna do latin NO MATTER WHAT, because latin is so all-fired valuable.  Fine, whatever, peace to them, hope it is worth it to them.  My dd doesn't memorize well, and the processing necessary to actually DO the conjugations and declensions was just a mess.  And we could say oh persist, it's so valuable.  Fine, more power to others.  I've moved on.  It did good things for us (breaking down barriers of fear over complex things, etc.), but I'm just kinda take it or leave it.

 

Does that make me latin agnostic?   :lol:

 

So yeah, I'm hedging because I don't know which dc we're discussing and whether it's appropriate.  If it's appropriate and he's thriving on it, by all means do it!  Yes, yes!  And if you're only doing it because a book said to, then do the parts that are valuable to him, useful to him, and trim down the parts that aren't.  

 

I don't think it's really reasonable to take a sample from MoDG and go ok, that communicates what should be for ALL homeschool kids, mercy.  That's a self-selected sample and it's kids who were in a position where their parents could PUT them into that MoDG approach.  Like really, look at it.  Does that look like my ds?  Do you really think my ds is in that set?   :lol:   Those would be some mighty frustrated nuns!  I'm just joking.  We had a thread ages ago about handwriting and the nun with no fingers from the war and how she'd tell the kids that if SHE could have good handwriting, they better too!  

 

So I think that's a self-selected sample of kids, and for those kids it was worthwhile and within reach.  You have to decide that for yourself.  You have to decide where you're putting energy, because you're NOT going to do all things equally well.  Right now social and flexibility are really important for my ds.  It means we UP-prioritize some things that maybe aren't so important to some people (art!), and maybe do a bit less of some others (spelling).  Bad choice?  Maybe.  Make choices, live with them.  I really like your roots-based approach.  I didn't really do that with my dd.  We did traditional curriculum instead, and while it got the thought process going for her it didn't really have a profound effect on her spelling, comprehension, etc.  Now granted she's already pretty strong on comprehension overall.  I just think that for her roots could have been just as powerful or more powerful and not have taxed that pitifully low processing speed.  But did I do roots?  No, because I'm a good boardie and I did the full thing, lol.  And she would have struggled memorizing roots anyway, because she just struggles with that.  

 

So I could really see it either way and I think you really just need to do what makes HIM come alive.  PL is inexpensive and an appropriate light starter.  If he's doing well with the methodology and enjoying it and thinking and coming alive, it's all good!  I don't think there's a strong correlation between ASD and struggling to learn languages the way there is with say dyslexia or ADHD.  And even dyslexic kids will sometimes bust out of that mode with conversational language or using their visual or just sheer willpower and consistent determination.  I'm just not on the must do latin train myself.  I'm agnostic there.  

[PeterPan]

Btw, do you know how to do an advanced board search?  That and site search are both good ways to search for topics like this.  Go to the search box at the top and tap the little cog, which will take you to the advanced search page.  From there, put in your term (latin) and limit the search to LC if you wish.  You can choose to show results by posts or topics (threads).  Probably I'd try doing it by thread to start.  Then it will highlight all the occurrences of latin in the thread as you read through them.

 

Doing this, I get 7 pages of results.  People come and go on the boards, so the archives and old posts are extremely valuable tools.  :)

[Kat w]

Wow! I am so glad to hear this . I was thinking , how can this be?

Dh said essentially what you said geodob.

Huh. It has shocked me when I added Singapore and beast, he soared. (Systematic and incredmtal +rigorous)

I added wwe , which was way beyond anything he could do prior to...he soared. (Stytematic , incremental)

 

Now with only Latin roots, stems and the English words we get from the Greek and Latin words.

 

He's reading and writing his own book?? And spelling it correctly. Well constructed sentences.

 

I thought hubby was just expecting more than they could do.

 

I am flabbergasted by this. I suppose I shouldn't be. But I am.

 

I used latina Christiana with all 3 big kids and started in 3rd and 1st....but they don't have the issues the lil guys do.

 

Wow. Has this been in front of me alll along and I didn't act on it?

 

I'm taken aback. Geodob. That really hit home wat you shared. Thank you. Wow.

 

I really thought hubby had it wrong.

When the big kids did it. I learned it along with my first.

I looked over their latina Christiana books, I wasn't as rusty as I thought .

 

So I guess...I should get prima Christina.

Oh man. I feel bad now. I know Latin is an amazing foundation. I just didn't think with all their struggles that it would be anything they could do.

 

When in actuality ...I was holding them back. He's been asking to do more Spanish . he can sometimes innunciate the Spanish words better than the English words.

 

I'm surprised to get the responses I have.

I thought you guys would say...no..don't do it lol.

 

Thank you so much for the encouragement .

 

Tiramisu,

I hadn't heard that before. Wow. I'm still floored.

Doesn't she write a book that's been recommended here before ?

[Kat w]

Btw, do you know how to do an advanced board search? That and site search are both good ways to search for topics like this. Go to the search box at the top and tap the little cog, which will take you to the advanced search page. From there, put in your term (latin) and limit the search to LC if you wish. You can choose to show results by posts or topics (threads). Probably I'd try doing it by thread to start. Then it will highlight all the occurrences of latin in the thread as you read through them.

 

Doing this, I get 7 pages of results. People come and go on the boards, so the archives and old posts are extremely valuable tools. :)

Huh. Ok. I guess I'll do thst then.

 

I have to say, it was good to hear the input here though.

 

I got some information I probably wouldn't have gotten from doing a search . but, it never occurred to me to search .

 

Glad I posted this though. Like I said, was good to hear more specific input . esp as it pertains to the limits my guys have. And I can ask more targeted questions and get more consise information .

 

That's different than just doing a search . it's good to know though .

[Kat w]

Yes. I wouldn't have gotten that input and SToRY from geodob or the book recommendations from tiramisu if I had simply done a search .

 

I'm glad I heard that. It encouraged me.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Kat w

[Tiramisu]

Wow! I am so glad to hear this . I was thinking , how can this be?

Dh said essentially what you said geodob.

Huh. It has shocked me when I added Singapore and beast, he soared. (Systematic and incredmtal +rigorous)

I added wwe , which was way beyond anything he could do prior to...he soared. (Stytematic , incremental)

 

Now with only Latin roots, stems and the English words we get from the Greek and Latin words.

 

He's reading and writing his own book?? And spelling it correctly. Well constructed sentences.

 

I thought hubby was just expecting more than they could do.

 

I am flabbergasted by this. I suppose I shouldn't be. But I am.

 

I used latina Christiana with all 3 big kids and started in 3rd and 1st....but they don't have the issues the lil guys do.

 

Wow. Has this been in front of me alll along and I didn't act on it?

 

I'm taken aback. Geodob. That really hit home wat you shared. Thank you. Wow.

 

I really thought hubby had it wrong.

When the big kids did it. I learned it along with my first.

I looked over their latina Christiana books, I wasn't as rusty as I thought .

 

So I guess...I should get prima Christina.

Oh man. I feel bad now. I know Latin is an amazing foundation. I just didn't think with all their struggles that it would be anything they could do.

 

When in actuality ...I was holding them back. He's been asking to do more Spanish . he can sometimes innunciate the Spanish words better than the English words.

 

I'm surprised to get the responses I have.

I thought you guys would say...no..don't do it lol.

 

Thank you so much for the encouragement .

 

Tiramisu,

I hadn't heard that before. Wow. I'm still floored.

Doesn't she write a book that's been recommended here before ?

Designing Your Pwn Classical Curriculum

[wapiti]

I'm just skimming through here but thought I'd pop in to recommend GSWL for the reason that it involves little to no rote memorization - that'll depend on the person but it's a fairly spiral program - learning comes through using in context (translation exercises).  Henle is organized with a similar thought, fewer vocabulary words, just enough to work through the grammar, with learning by translation, though it's a full, middle/high school program.  At that point, I'd recommend filling in an ending chart daily for the memorization aspect as needed.  (In other words, if this is for your 12 y.o., my suggestion would be GSWL followed by Henle, if the Catholic bit is ok)

 

I hadn't read that about MODG; interesting.  MODG offers syllabi for Henle, so perhaps that's what they typically use at the middle and high school levels.

Edited August 16, 2016 by wapiti

[Kat w]

Geodob, your story is fascinating! Thanks for sharing that!

 

Kat, yes, I wasn't meaning to be impolite, but ID=intellectual disability. You have so many kids, I honestly lose track of who has what and what/how they're working and what's appropriate. I think you're finding the balance right, that you try things that they're ready to do. There are some strands I see online, in print that are line we're gonna do latin NO MATTER WHAT, because latin is so all-fired valuable. Fine, whatever, peace to them, hope it is worth it to them. My dd doesn't memorize well, and the processing necessary to actually DO the conjugations and declensions was just a mess. And we could say oh persist, it's so valuable. Fine, more power to others. I've moved on. It did good things for us (breaking down barriers of fear over complex things, etc.), but I'm just kinda take it or leave it.

 

Does that make me latin agnostic? :lol:

 

So yeah, I'm hedging because I don't know which dc we're discussing and whether it's appropriate. If it's appropriate and he's thriving on it, by all means do it! Yes, yes! And if you're only doing it because a book said to, then do the parts that are valuable to him, useful to him, and trim down the parts that aren't.

 

I don't think it's really reasonable to take a sample from MoDG and go ok, that communicates what should be for ALL homeschool kids, mercy. That's a self-selected sample and it's kids who were in a position where their parents could PUT them into that MoDG approach. Like really, look at it. Does that look like my ds? Do you really think my ds is in that set? :lol: Those would be some mighty frustrated nuns! I'm just joking. We had a thread ages ago about handwriting and the nun with no fingers from the war and how she'd tell the kids that if SHE could have good handwriting, they better too!

 

So I think that's a self-selected sample of kids, and for those kids it was worthwhile and within reach. You have to decide that for yourself. You have to decide where you're putting energy, because you're NOT going to do all things equally well. Right now social and flexibility are really important for my ds. It means we UP-prioritize some things that maybe aren't so important to some people (art!), and maybe do a bit less of some others (spelling). Bad choice? Maybe. Make choices, live with them. I really like your roots-based approach. I didn't really do that with my dd. We did traditional curriculum instead, and while it got the thought process going for her it didn't really have a profound effect on her spelling, comprehension, etc. Now granted she's already pretty strong on comprehension overall. I just think that for her roots could have been just as powerful or more powerful and not have taxed that pitifully low processing speed. But did I do roots? No, because I'm a good boardie and I did the full thing, lol. And she would have struggled memorizing roots anyway, because she just struggles with that.

 

So I could really see it either way and I think you really just need to do what makes HIM come alive. PL is inexpensive and an appropriate light starter. If he's doing well with the methodology and enjoying it and thinking and coming alive, it's all good! I don't think there's a strong correlation between ASD and struggling to learn languages the way there is with say dyslexia or ADHD. And even dyslexic kids will sometimes bust out of that mode with conversational language or using their visual or just sheer willpower and consistent determination. I'm just not on the must do latin train myself. I'm agnostic there.

Baha! That made me chuckle :) I needed a chuckle. Thank you :)

 

Yea, that's all what I thought too. Thsts why I didn't try it. And we had enough frustration with other things.

 

Hubbys die hard Latin. I told him look, back off dude. Lol.

 

Whatever is in the Latin root cards ..seems so far to be sparking something in his brain.

Which is weird because this is ds12 who has every dys and ia known to man. I'm not kidding. Dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalcula, apraxia , ASD bad , APD. You name it he's got it. The drug exposure ( crack) and tested positive for 6 others plus BM admitted to drinking like a fish, oh yea, fas. The therapist take one look at him and see fas and ASD comin a mile away.

 

So, how can this be?? I don't get it.

 

His wm was in the single digits til last time it had reached double digits . yaya! Lol. But we have been working so hard on memory for years.

 

His last IQ was in the mid 90's which had always hovered at 70 or just above. And even lower when he was younger.

 

Dh always said IQ was low BC of rec. And exp. Language defincincies, like major defincincies.

 

I'm guessing thsts why this time around he got the 2 e label. Higher IQ, yet all else so low, but, rec and exp language came up too. So I know that has greater impact.

 

Working with him one on one at home and targeting those areas made big difference.

 

This poor lil man...when he was 2 and a half...had a very very grim prognosis. We just wouldn't accept that. Poured blood sweat and tears into him. Lots of tears lol.

 

Iean. After working on memorizing Latin roots, ...he...read! Hea never picked up a phonetic book, and just read, then wrote a book!

 

Spelled wait right , day. He couldn't even remember those phonograms existed let alone use them in a sentence . couldn't remember what a noun was let alone SE it in a sentence.

 

I think alot maybe happened. The school room is very fing shwea. (Sp) the metronome, Meister Cody, all the tons of practice we do, and a break.

 

We came back from the break and. Wow.

Something made his brain flip a switch. But these Latin cards. He can't get enough , brings them to me to do.

Oh...and remembered mult. Up to 5!

 

Where did that come from??

And remembers the Latin roots.

 

I don't get it .

[Kat w]

Oh and you weren't being impolite :) not at all. I want to hear what

You have to say. :)

[Classical Katharine]

People with autism can be very, very skilled, with excellent visual memory, mathematical ability, etc. Some companies even recruit autistic people specifically. I think you are very much on the right track by seeking to capitalize on the "systematic/incremental" discovery. It could just be that your son needs to learn in a specific way, and there he will shine. Exciting!

[Kat w]

I'm just skimming through here but thought I'd pop in to recommend GSWL for the reason that it involves little to no rote memorization - that'll depend on the person but it's a fairly spiral program - learning comes through using in context (translation exercises). Henle is organized with a similar thought, fewer vocabulary words, just enough to work through the grammar, with learning by translation, though it's a full, middle/high school program. At that point, I'd recommend filling in an ending chart daily for the memorization aspect as needed. (In other words, if this is for your 12 y.o., my suggestion would be GSWL followed by Henle, if the Catholic bit is ok)

 

I hadn't read that about MODG; interesting. MODG offers syllabi for Henle, so perhaps that's what they typically use at the middle and high school levels.

Hi waptit, thanks, thst sounds really good. I'd like to check thst out. I'm sorry, forgive my ignorance in it...but GSWL? what does that acronym stand for? I wanna check it out. I tried a Google search and it brought up George Washington stuff haha

 

And MODG? IM not sure what that is either. Sorry :/

 

I wanna check out all of them that I can and what may work well with him. He does need spiral.

 

Even if any program isnr spiral, I have to bring in other programs to fold spiral in.

We have low wm.

Thanks a bunch :)

[wapiti]

GSWL? what does that acronym stand for? I wanna check it out. I tried a Google search and it brought up George Washington stuff haha

 

And MODG? 

 

GSWL = http://www.gettingstartedwithlatin.com (also on amazon; the resource I can recommend most unequivocally, above all other things we did while hs-ing)

 

MODG = Mother of Divine Grace, that Tiramisu mentioned had luck with Latin for their special needs students:

 

A few years ago I heard Laura Berquist talk at a conference. She was recommending Latin for all students based on how they had seen it help their special needs students in the Mother of Divine Grace homeschool program.

 

(e.g. Latin 1 syllabus)

Edited August 16, 2016 by wapiti

[Kat w]

People with autism can be very, very skilled, with excellent visual memory, mathematical ability, etc. Some companies even recruit autistic people specifically. I think you are very much on the right track by seeking to capitalize on the "systematic/incremental" discovery. It could just be that your son needs to learn in a specific way, and there he will shine. Exciting!

You described my lil guy to a tee there.

Very visual, and we discovered through Singapore math, really good at math.

Shocked me what he could do under Singapore curriculums.

 

Thanks for the encouragement there Katherine. It has been SO discouraging esp in years passed.

 

You're right :) systematic and incremental seems to be the name of the game for him.

 

I'm also encouraged to hear that about certain companies recruiting the autism sect.

 

I've so worried about that for him.

 

I'm going to recommend that for hubby to pitch to the company he works for. They are very community minded.

 

What a great idea. Thanks.

 

Some days, it's pretty discouraging to think about long term for my boys.

 

Their challenges are just...well. Much lol.

Thanks :)

[Kat w]

Thanks wapiti, I'm gonna check those out. :)

 

Feeling much better about it. I've been so perplexed.

 

I suppose it goes back to, expect the unexpected with these guys :-0

[Kat w]

GSWL = http://www.gettingstartedwithlatin.com (also on amazon; the resource I can recommend most unequivocally, above all other things we did while hs-ing)

 

MODG = Mother of Divine Grace, that Tiramisu mentioned had luck with Latin for their special needs students:

 

 

(e.g. Latin 1 syllabus)

Thanks for the links wapiti. It would have taken me longer to find those lol.

 

I have only briefly looked over the syllabus but as I did I thought, could it be possible that learning this would help him with English grammar ?

 

I have so far been surprised at what he does well with .

I never thought he'd be able to do Latin roots and their stems, it could be, one of these programs could help him.

 

And now he's really wanting to do it. I've found he seeks out OT stuff thst he needs, which was on the ot'list of long-term homework when they closed. He seems to seek out what intuitively somehow he knows he needs.

 

This is mind boggling to me. If Latin has been sitting in front of my face all this time for him, I'll just die a thousand deaths :/

 

Thanks again for the links :)

Edited August 16, 2016 by Kat w

[Kat w]

OhE I reread you post ...I don't think those are bad choices at all.

 

We know our kids better than anyone. And different things for different kids.

 

We've found, a time and a season fir everything with our guys.

Right now, social and the other things youre working on are your acedemics as you've said before .

 

Those are important things you're working on.

 

Spelling shmelling haba ;)

 

He gets what he gets when he gets it lol :)

 

You're doing great with him and know him better than anyone.

 

I thought I knew my guy and what he needed :/

 

Found out....he had other ideas like...Latin! Wow. Still just blowing my mind.

 

You just never know with these guys what they can do until we try.

 

I sure never thought they could do Singapore math and boom. He took off.

 

Every child is different , 5 kids later? And I still get my bottle handed to me by these lil guys :)

Edited August 16, 2016 by Kat w

[Guest]

Kat, I just want to encourage you to definitely go with what you see in your child and your mommy gut. Temple Grandin is big on letting an autistic child follow his passions and building on them. That is what her mother did as well as her mentor (science teacher). They face enough challenges. When we find something that lights their fire and they are good at, you definitely want to capitalize on that! 

[Classical Katharine]

I'm also encouraged to hear that about certain companies recruiting the autism sect.

 

I've so worried about that for him.

 

I'm going to recommend that for hubby to pitch to the company he works for. They are very community minded.

 

 

A Google search for "companies hiring autistic people" will lead you to some articles that might encourage you. Some jobs such as quality control, programming, etc. can make best use of strengths while not requiring so much in the areas of weakness. (Salesman on the other hand . . .  maybe not so much!)

 

[Kat w]

Kat, I just want to encourage you to definitely go with what you see in your child and your mommy gut. Temple Grandin is big on letting an autistic child follow his passions and building on them. That is what her mother did as well as her mentor (science teacher). They face enough challenges. When we find something that lights their fire and they are good at, you definitely want to capitalize on that!

Canadian mom, thank you for that.

I've always tried to do thst, think I've been doing that , but, a little self evaluation is always good. It stretches mom . we always want to stretch our kids, we have to stretch ourselves too.

 

I've been so mindful to stretch them with reading, with math, with writing.

LATIN was never in my radar with them, and I didn't listen to his cues that he was needing/wanting that.

 

I know it teaches critical thinking, I know it stretches the mind in many realms not just foreign language Nd grammar.

 

I cannot believe I missed this.

I kind of did the 'Pat's head almost in a not intention patronizing way'.

 

How have I been so mindful and careful to stretch and follow cues in other areas, yet, let this one go right by me day after dayfor a few weeks.

 

I focused so much on 'vetting him reading' I missed what seems like THE very thing that would get him reading.

 

I feel bad. How long have I been spinning my wheels and ignoring the Latin route.

 

I mean, I taught it to all 3 big kids. I know these things, how did I let this get by me?

 

I suppose I ' put him in that box' and never even considered it would be beneficial to him too.

 

Thanks for thst encourament Canadian mom. That's exactly what I needed to hear. Sheesh. Talk about the ultimate mom duh moment.

 

I almost feel a little sick inside thst I missed this and , how much time did we waste and cause him frustration?

 

Katherine, I'm going g to do that search later tonite when kiddos in bed. We have a really good friend here who wasn't DX til he was in his 40's. He is a brilliant writer/programmer of software.

He works from home (helps with the not wanting to be social aspect) and is sought after by many a company.

 

He's brilliant. I never made that connection of the autism niche with companies seeking them out.

 

Makes total sense. They can be very brilliant .

 

Boy, egg on my face moment for sure.

Thanks for the input and info.

 

And im going to read her book(s).

As soon as I wipe the egg off my face lol.

[Kat w]

Katherine...lol at salesman. Soooo true haha :)

[Guest]

Kat, you need to stop blaming yourself for stuff missed, or stuff not done. You are doing the best you can and doing a wonderful job  :)

Edited August 13, 2017 by Guest

[PeterPan]

He seems to seek out what intuitively somehow he knows he needs.

 

:iagree: 

 

You're kind of inspiring me here and making me wonder what ds would do with this.  He does really well memorizing things.  Like maybe not lightning bolt well, but ok well.  By the time you get to upper levels of Barton/Wilson/whatever, that's what they're doing anyway, morphology...

 

So what exactly was it you were using with him?  Was it from the Roots and Shoots book?  Something else?  Dunno, just thinking this could be fun.  Or else we could jump ahead in Barton and get it going or something.  :D

[Kat w]

Kat, you need to stop blaming yourself for stuff missed, or stuff not done. You are doing the best you can and doing a wonderful job :)Take it from someone who has blamed herself for everything also , only I have been doing it since childhood. Anyway, now, I try to relax and just take the good from the resources I read and let them guide me on my decisions with my boys. I just pick what I want, what I think will work for us, and I go with it. I observe them a lot. Both ask for my input for what they are working on, my oldest more than my youngest. My 7-year old is very much like me. Very self motivated and particular about what he likes/ wants!

Thank you so much for that Canadian mom.

You have no idea how much I needed to hear that, right when you said it.

I had the domino affect backwards lol.

I briefly came on and read what you and OhE said...and what OhE asked about what were we using , got me thinking.

 

We use English from the roots uo, the same one I used with my big kids. I also bout the flashcards to go with , and we made our own. The bought flashcards , I don't have them all.

 

Because, ds12 last school year developed an obsession with the cards. Ds20 would si on the floor and do them with him some and take just a few and do memory games with him (look at them, the turn them over and ask him to find ..blank..and he has to find it)

 

Because of his obsession with them last scho year, we lost some. (Probably outside in the dirt somewhere lol)

But...then I started thinking.

Last year, he hyper focused, obsessed with them.

He would line them up over and over and over...they ran the length of the house . all lined up, perfectly . if we accidentally messed them uo walking, he would come unglued.

 

I just thought it was what was at his fingertips at the time to Line up and obsess over.

 

Um. ...I missed it...THEN.

I remembered thinking at the time. Oh yea...right lol.

In my mind, there was no way he was going g to be able to do Latin Nd Greek root bases and stems... When he couldn't remember his own phone number. Mixed up if our last name was his middle name, ir middle name was his last name.

 

He was needing them...then! And I missed it then too.

 

So, Canadian mom. Your kind words and encouragement , was EXACTLY what I needed to hear right then.

Really, you have no idea how much that means to me.

 

I would have beat myself up , indefinitely maybe had you no said that. Thank you.

 

OhE, your question helped me peice more together.

 

We have the English from the roots uo book and cards. You don't really need the book.

The flashcards are great.

It has the root word on front with its stems, then on the back it has the English words derived from thst Latin or Greek base.

 

It's a really good set of cards and a great bang for the buck.

It's opened up his mind in ways that have blown me away.

 

Of you try them and he doesn't like it...wait til next school year, or after Christmas break.

 

You kiddos younger than mine...but hey...your DS age might have been the right time to start!

 

Cuz apparently... I don't know! Lol.

No, Canadian mom made me feel so much better about that.

I'm still feeling somewhat bad and processing . but, had she not said what she did when she said it...I'd me on full mommy meltdown right now :)

 

So maybe try it. I swear these lil bugars should come with an instruction manual haha :)

 

Your guy is 2e, at some point , it will probably be good for him too.

You maybe wouldn't have to go into declensions etc.

But like cadanian mom said, using it is how you learn it. Or maybe that was wapiti. I forget lol.

 

Yep. Latin. Hi figure .

Edited August 17, 2016 by Kat w

[Kat w]

*go figure.

 

So I'm going to process abit then read the links these sweeet ladies provided.

Thanks a bunch guys :)

[Guest]

Kat, you can use their strengths and passions and build on them. If you watch YouTube videos with Temple Grandin or read her books, she is always talking about that.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Guest

[Guest]

https://www.ted.com/talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds?language=en

 

I can link you some more if you like.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Guest

[Kat w]

https://www.ted.com/talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds?language=en

 

I can link you some more if you like.

Canadian mom, you're awesome :)

I really appreciate your linking this .

At first when you mentioned reading about these things on lionheart's thread. I thought. Omg. I've read and dealt with so much, not the autism aspect.

I went parts to whole. Noone said autism until he was older.

 

I now need to go whole to parts in our plan of attack.

Starts with reading on the whole.

I'm going to watch this video.

 

I took some absorbion time last nite and today. The Latin thing threw me.

Had you not said what you did about beating myself uo, I would have gone on full meltdown and done thst very thing, really beat myself up and that's no good for parent or child, so thank you :)

 

I NEEDED to hear that. I so appreciate your sweet loving supportive nature.

We need you here . I'm glad you're back :)

I say back BC I see you've been a member for a long time.

Thanks. :)

 

You're a great asset here :)

Edited August 17, 2016 by Kat w

[katilac]

I'll just toss out there that some kids really, really enjoy the recitation aspect of learning the conjugations and declensions, so I wouldn't automatically assume that I should try to get around that. Some of the endings or irregular verbs sound pretty funny when recited, or just plain satisfying. My kids really liked recitation. There are youtubes and audios that can help give that 'part of a group' feeling and make it more enjoyable. 

 

They don't have to memorize quickly. As a matter of fact, they can use their conjugation and declension tables in translation work if their other abilities outstrip their memorization, much like some kids use a times table in math. 

 

 

 

 

[Kat w]

Katilac,

You make a good point. I've been tossing that around I'm my head.

 

I think? I'm gonna give 'er a whirl lol

Thanks, that was the pish I needed.

 

Gonna :)

[bluebonnetgirl]

Interesting thread.  My teen son with autism might benefit from learning Latin, since he is good with patterns and has a great memory.   What beginning program would you recommend?  He has mixed receptive expressive language disorder and auditory processing issues.

[Kat w]

We have those too bluebonnetgirl.

 

I've gotten some good advice on the k8 thread too from ladies thst know my boys issues.

 

I'm kinda thinking I'm going to try prima latina by memoria press. That's their intro to latin curriculum. They teach it in elementary ages.

 

For my big kids I used Latina Christiana by the same, MP .

 

Oddly enough , my ds12 on the spectrum , is constantly pickin IP his older siblings Latina Christiana books and insisting I teach him this lol.

 

I'm so surprised. I did start of with the very basics ....he LOVED it and wanted more. Was a mom , deer in the headlights, moment lol. Ok. Well then. :/

 

So I'm gonna try prima latina, and a friend of mine on the other boards pm'ed me a program she put together a basic beggining that she put together from things she already had, added to, and tweaked for what she knows about ds12.

 

I'm having hubby print that out for me. -he looooves when I do that he he (not!lol).

 

And I'm goin to try some of the things above too.

 

I hope someone adds more to your question too.

 

There's lots to Latin esp when you put our kids that are on the spectrum into the mix.

 

Hope we get some more answers :)

[Terabith]

If he is interested in Latina Christiana, why not use it? It's also a beginning program and used with third graders.

[Kat w]

If he is interested in Latina Christiana, why not use it? It's also a beginning program and used with third graders.

Yes 'em. :)

 

I had someone else just recently say the Same thing.

 

My concern has been, confidence to the gut for him .

 

He's got some pretty significant challenges .

 

But ya know....he just might do well with it :)

 

So, thanks for that. I read what you wrote and thought.

How incredibly simple :)

 

I started by oldest child in it the first year it came out.

 

So yep. Thsts a what ima gonna do :)

Thanks