Writing suggestions? Grade 6 high functioning ASD

[JessReplanted]

I got my daughter Writing with Style Level 1. I think it's great, and if she could just settle into it, she may like it.

But, after a few weeks it is still "new" and "different" and today I started wondering if reading about a bunch of different topics is throwing her off. Today she had to read about the Rosetta Stone and the topic seemed so difficult for her to grasp.

 

Any suggestions? Suggestions for other writing programs?

 

Thanks!

Edited August 29, 2017 by JessReplanted

[OneStepAtATime]

I've never used that program but would it be possible to adapt it?  Shift the focus so as to use WWS with just one subject that maybe she has interest in so the writing itself is learned as a by product as she learns about the one subject instead of learning to write using a bunch of different subjects?

[Mrs. Tharp]

I second OneStep's suggestion. It's a strategy I am keeping in mind for my own situation. We are just starting WWS1 with my eight grader, also HFA, so don't have much to add yet about that. But, if WWS 1 winds up truly being a bust, (really, really hoping not) I was thinking of trying Essentials in Writing. 

[kbutton]

We used it, and it was neither a bust nor a miracle. My son can "do" the work with major 1:1 help, and there was some benefit in going through the motions, having Socratic discussions to work through the thinking process, etc.

 

He's had tutoring for composition (on his third tutor--she's stellar).

 

However, it really comes down to having some ASD-specific issues with language that are hard to pinpoint. He has to back up and learn those skills at lower levels, and then he can bring those skills forward for something like WWS. But it's too much all at once. Answering open-ended questions is interesting--what he includes, excludes, how he interprets the question, etc. All of that feeds into the writing as well. 

 

The sorts of skills assessed with the Test of Narrative Language (and you'll want the older kid edition if possible--it's new) and TOPS-2 adolescent are really crucial to success in writing, and he struggles in those areas. He also struggles with switching between main ideas and details vs. just picking up on whatever strikes his fancy as he reads.

 

He also has some reading quirks that didn't really start to be obvious until middle school work.