Trouble Student

[Sam]

wow really good post on autism....

I think like you say its about working with them and their parents....

Although as everyone else has said there has to be a point where the rest of the students position wins out...

[Jiffy]

Hi There,

Thered are a couple of things to remember here.

First and foremost, look for the greater good. While it is important to try and work with this kid, you do need to remember that there are other students paying for your services and they deserve the same aount of attention. We never like kicking people out of our school, but he have had to do it.

Second (and other side of the coin), he's autistic, not stupid, in fact quite the opposite. Autistic people are actually quite smart, but they lack the ability to control their emotions and live by the same unwritten social standards that we expect of others. When dealing with the child, be very direct. Ensure they look you in the eyes and get their attention. Then speak very clearly, make sure there is no doubt about what you are trying to get accross. If they dis-obey, make sure any punishment you give them is not only proportionate, but is also directly related to the thing they did. It needs to be made very clear what they are doing and WHY it is inappropriate.

[Sam]

you may struggle to talk to them though... the prefernce of inanimate objects that many autistic people have is due to the "seeing everything" issue - which is why eye contact is so hard to acheive as there is a lot to absorb in the face escpecially when its talking.

[Sunrunner]

I may have one other idea as well to throw into the mix. I've worked with students that had Autistic Spectrum Disorder both on the mats and in my job as a residential counselor. In both places, the greatest success stories had at least this one thing in common...getting the parents engaged and interested in their son's/daughter's learning. If having his parents there did not work, maybe try a regular update session...have his parents in after class and talk with them about his strengths and his weaknesses and try to bring them on board in possibly getting him to model some of the positive behavior at home as well as in class. That way he may learn it quicker, and as his family is probably his primary support group...maybe after a while of his parents modeling and getting him to show the proper behavior, he will be able to show it in class. We have a saying in our residence among the staff..."wait till the last minute" It means hold out on your patience until the very last before deciding that you cannot teach this student, because at the very last moment, they may really show that they've learned what you've been teaching them. But you may have to let him go, and if you do, know that you tried, and that you've learned some new things for when another student like him comes to take classes. I know its hard. Good luck.

[ItalianMuayThai]

Have a serious talk with him. I know if any student at where i trained were to moon anyone, it would be immediate expulsion.

[Jane_Doe]

OKies hes this way becasue hes disabled of mental state i mean. DUH but i think he needs to know that what hes doing is wrong and not welcome in training.

i think that rewarding his good beavour and ignoring his bad is the way to go here i think this starts at home though if the parents have no control over him then when he comes to class he wont either this condition can be treated and made copable

someone needs to talk to his parents 2he changes his ways and he can come back till them he;s not training simple as that

its harsh but he;s out of order

singling him out from the class is NOT the way to go he;ll think he;s better than everyone else and then he;ll push further to see how far being bad can get him attenion

thats just what i think

[Sam]

Like everyone's said - give him a chance to shape up.... but i think if its having a detrimental effect on the other students they [through numbers] must come first.

[trustkid1]

My son is autistic and he takes TKD. We used to live in TX but we recently move to SC and that was a big change for him. He start TKD in TX and the teacher was very good in teaching. He didn't give him (my son) time to even breath or wondering around because we will make him busy until the end of class. He love it! When we moved to SC we found a TKD school similar to the one in TX (I mean the curriculum) but the teacher never teach somebody with Autism, so my son was wondering around to much. He wasn't rude but he was getting lazy and his techniques were sloppy. So the only thing I did was helping him in his techniques and forms. Since I am a black belt in another style and my husband too, we joing the class to help my son. We help him in whatever we can and make sure that he pay attention. Lead by example.

Maybe you can choose a partner to work with him all the time. Making sure that he follow directions and stay out of trouble. Good behavior good consequences, bad behavior bad consequences. Yes they understand right from wrong, Im telling you for experiences with my son. Make him busy all the time so he have no time to get in trouble and be very consistant with him. Everybody has giving you excellent advice. Just try.