fluffybunny Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Some days I feel like I'm going crazy. My son will take 30 minutes to do one small maths problem, then 30 seconds to do the second one of equal difficulty, and I have no idea why he is so erratic. He is on the largest dose of Concerta for his weight. Anyway, this morning for WWS, lesson 7, he took nearly 3 hours to type 2 sentences. His current typing speed is 21wpm. I have him read aloud the assignment for the day and all the reading (his reading level is good for his age), then I sit with him as he types. Occasionally I have to walk away and take some breaths as it's just so frustrating. He plays with fonts, colours, sizes, then plays with letters, ie doing things like kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk etc. I keep reminding him what he's supposed to be doing. He complains of feeling 'hyper' and I tell him that he still has to work even if he's feeling hyper. (If I gave into that we'd never get anywhere!) Then he wants his weighted jacket, so I go and get that. Then he wants a drink, I get it, then he wants a chewy tube, I fetch that. Then he changes more fonts and colours and starts doing pages and pages of 000000 in large sizes. I get him to erase it and he accidently erases the two or three words he has managed to type already. I re-type them for him. He gets back on again and starts making noise, flicking his pencil in front of his eyes and sitting in weird positions. I remind him of what he's supposed to be doing. We stop and go for a brisk 2 mile walk and I try to get him to run. We come back, and it's no better. Finally after 3 hours he writes 2 sentences that are 'acceptable'. By then I'm so exhaused I can't do anything more with him. This happens about once or twice a week. Other days he does a good job, but he is very hyperactive and can't sit still even for 3 minutes, unless he's reading or constructing lego. If anyone has an miracle suggestion or cure, please let me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 My dd isn't aspie, but I can tell you on the hyper side that we've finally given it to the idea of getting the energy out first, then working. Like 1-2 hours of something pretty physical before she does regular focused work. Sorry you're having such a hard time. Sometimes it's a losing battle and the only way to win is to give in. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Year Round Mom Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 :lurk5: I must have your DS's long-lost Korean twin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 Thanks: at least I know I'm not alone! :-) He did his WWS assignment today in 8 minutes flat, and it was a good one! So, yesterday it took 3 hours and today 8 minutes. He cannot explain why, and nor can I! We're going to see the Educational psych tomorrow and see what she has to offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 With my son, I found that if he wasn't making progress on an assignment after 15-20 minutes, that we were better off switching activities. Like your son, he could literally spend HOURS fiddling with a writing assignment one day and then finish it in 10 minutes the next. When he would get bogged down, the things that helped were: physical activity, practising his trumpet, or working on science (hands-on labs that he loved!). I tried to encourage a "just get it done" attitude for him with writing since he would get so tied up in getting started that he couldn't get any words on the page. Often we ended up breaking the writing assignment into 4 or 5 smaller pieces so he would be less overwhelmed. I want to encourage you - it really is hard to get some of these kids writing on a regular basis. My son is older now and had a term paper due this week. He actually sat down and cranked out a 9 page essay with only moderate pain and complaints (we had to go to a coffee shop since the noise at home was distracting him). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamachick2 Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Sue Patrick developed this system for her autistic son with much success. If I'm not mistaken, he's now driving. I use it for my kids, and we get a lot more work done in much less time. More info below. I recommend using the system exactly as she's set it up, it works. http://www.workboxsystem.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 He plays with fonts, colours, sizes, then plays with letters, ie doing things like kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk etc. I keep reminding him what he's supposed to be doing. ... Then he changes more fonts and colours and starts doing pages and pages of 000000 in large sizes. I get him to erase it and he accidently erases the two or three words he has managed to type already. This happens in our house, too! I am thinking of getting one of these word processors to decrease distractions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 AK, thank you for your encouragement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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