Homeschooling with Aspergers!
People have asked how we homeschool a child with Aspergers...to me it seems like a stupid question, but living and working around the quirks of this disorder are now second nature to me and it just seems like a normal part of life.
When I talk to others, I learn, often to my surprise, that what I often accept as normal is not what can often happen in other households. Other children do not apparently experience some of the sensory things others do. Now, I should know this. My older son was an NT (neurotypical). But it seems like a lifetime ago since the eldest was small. The boys are 7.5 years apart. It is often like I have raised two only children. They are so different. One could never compare the two.
One thing we did recently, was to get what we refer to as the swing...
This is something we have thought about getting him for about three years now. We have always stated we could not afford it and moved forward. This past fall, we went to the fair and saw these swings again in one of the vendor buildings. As always, my son immediately sat down in one, moved to another, and so forth, until he had tested most of them out. He came back to settle in one.
We have seen many versions of this same swing style. He always comes back to this same style. It cocoons him in some ways through the hammock'ness' of it and it allows him to swing and bounce a bit while being suspended and partially side wrapped. It does help to calm him. He will sit for hours in it. He reads in it and has done some of his homeschool assignments from this swing.
So, after finally deciding to buy one, I do have to admit it has been one of the best investments we have gotten.
When I talk to others, I learn, often to my surprise, that what I often accept as normal is not what can often happen in other households. Other children do not apparently experience some of the sensory things others do. Now, I should know this. My older son was an NT (neurotypical). But it seems like a lifetime ago since the eldest was small. The boys are 7.5 years apart. It is often like I have raised two only children. They are so different. One could never compare the two.
One thing we did recently, was to get what we refer to as the swing...
This is something we have thought about getting him for about three years now. We have always stated we could not afford it and moved forward. This past fall, we went to the fair and saw these swings again in one of the vendor buildings. As always, my son immediately sat down in one, moved to another, and so forth, until he had tested most of them out. He came back to settle in one.
We have seen many versions of this same swing style. He always comes back to this same style. It cocoons him in some ways through the hammock'ness' of it and it allows him to swing and bounce a bit while being suspended and partially side wrapped. It does help to calm him. He will sit for hours in it. He reads in it and has done some of his homeschool assignments from this swing.
So, after finally deciding to buy one, I do have to admit it has been one of the best investments we have gotten.
That is an interesting version of a hammock swing. I saw some that were mounted that way, but they were for older kids than my daughter (age 3), who we are having tested for Asperger's (my 20-year-old has Asperger's and she is showing a lot of signs, though is also so very different than him, much more social, but still.... there are some nagging, gut-instinct feelings). So we may be looking into a chair like yours in a few years. My daughters actually asks to swing when she gets upset. I don't know, maybe I'm also an Aspie or something, cause I think I'd love one of those swings for myself. I can relate to the raising two onlies, my last is spaced 10 years after my others and it is like raising an only child (while having the stress of 4 kids aged 13-20 also). Thanks for linking up!
ReplyDeletewe were concerned about a ceiling mount and wanting to move ito another location later, so we opted for the frame so we can move where we need to do so for his sensory needs as they change.
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