Following my last post about Bright Eyes' not being happy to go to preschool...
This week the teacher of his class made him a fantastic folder, with about 10 pages full of photographs of Bright Eyes participating happily in games and play at preschool.
I popped it on the table at his seat for breakfast on the preschool day and he enjoyed looking at it. I could see his emotional memory show up on his face as he recalled events and feelings.
It was a great idea, and I think it made a difference that day! We'll try again next week and see what happens.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
More on dynamic/static skills
Here is a list of different types of thinking, sorted under three topics, thinking, social and self, and divided into static intelligence and dynamic intelligence. It's pinched from Dr Steven Gutstein's RDI program e-learning module!
- Thinking and problem solving
Static intelligence (Things Bright Eyes is good at and learns relatively easily. Associated with autism.)
Associative
Black and white
Details analysis
Parts to whole
Rule based thinking
procedural
Dynamic intelligence (Also considered ‘universal deficits’ of autism. He doesn’t have these naturally and needs to focus on them.)
Alternative thinking
Good-enough thinking
Critical analysis
Grey area thinking
Improvisational
What-if? Thinking
Reflection
Simultaneous processing - Social and communication
Static intelligence
Desire
Language
Questioning
Requesting, responding
Scripting
Social rules
Dynamic intelligence (Also considered ‘universal deficits’ of autism. He doesn’t have these naturally and needs to focus on them.)
Collaborating
Co-creating
Empathizing
Multi-channel communication
Perspective taking
Regulating and repairing - Self
Static intelligence
Compliance
Self-description
Self-recognition
Needs
Desires
preferences
Dynamic intelligence(Also considered ‘universal deficits’ of autism. He doesn’t have these naturally and needs to focus on them.
Emotional regulation
Goal setting
Planning, preparing, previewing
Self-efficacy, resilience
Self-evaluating
Trouble-shooting
Dynamic versus static thinking
We're doing some more RDI learning from the website. The latest topic is the difference between static intelligence and dynamic intelligence.
Static intelligence is what you know, and how you are able to apply that in a static situation.
Dynamic intelligence is what you know, and how you are able to apply that in an ever-changing, messy world where real-life problems are never as simple as IQ test questions.
For example: static intelligence is when you know a whole lot of big words and what they mean. Dynamic intelligence is knowing the words, but also knowing how to use them. It's also being able to guage whether an audience will understand them if you're standing up to give a presentation, or whether they will think you are pretentious and snobby for using them.
Dynamic intelligence is juggling context, meaning, emotions, culture, expectations and desires, needs and wants when answering a question. Does 2 + 2 always equal 4? In a static system, of course it does. In a dynamic system, it might not, if we're pretending in a fabulous game that 2s are really 3s in magic maths land. Or if we're speaking in metaphors and discussing the fact that life has a lot of grey areas for which there are no definitive answers.
Many people are impressed by Bright Eyes' static skills - the fact that he can spell and read, and count in 1s, 10s and 100s, and can name all the colours and shapes, and (of course) knows the numbers and colours and names of all the Thomas the Tank Engine characters.
Unfortunately, these things do not help him to solve messy, real world problems. They do not help him to decide how to find his way through problems and dilemmas. They do not help him negotiate personal relationships.
RDI aims to treat the dynamic intelligence deficits that all autistic people face. Because those skills are what you need to live a meaningful life.
Static intelligence is what you know, and how you are able to apply that in a static situation.
Dynamic intelligence is what you know, and how you are able to apply that in an ever-changing, messy world where real-life problems are never as simple as IQ test questions.
For example: static intelligence is when you know a whole lot of big words and what they mean. Dynamic intelligence is knowing the words, but also knowing how to use them. It's also being able to guage whether an audience will understand them if you're standing up to give a presentation, or whether they will think you are pretentious and snobby for using them.
Dynamic intelligence is juggling context, meaning, emotions, culture, expectations and desires, needs and wants when answering a question. Does 2 + 2 always equal 4? In a static system, of course it does. In a dynamic system, it might not, if we're pretending in a fabulous game that 2s are really 3s in magic maths land. Or if we're speaking in metaphors and discussing the fact that life has a lot of grey areas for which there are no definitive answers.
Many people are impressed by Bright Eyes' static skills - the fact that he can spell and read, and count in 1s, 10s and 100s, and can name all the colours and shapes, and (of course) knows the numbers and colours and names of all the Thomas the Tank Engine characters.
Unfortunately, these things do not help him to solve messy, real world problems. They do not help him to decide how to find his way through problems and dilemmas. They do not help him negotiate personal relationships.
RDI aims to treat the dynamic intelligence deficits that all autistic people face. Because those skills are what you need to live a meaningful life.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Prayer answers
Oh, and I'd just like to say, in relation to our latest prayer points, that he hasn't yelled at his sister since!
He used to say, "Now! Right now! Stop that!" at her, whether it was she who had upset him or not.
Now he says, "Can we stir the boys?" ????!
I don't know where it came from, but for now it takes the heat off his sister, so I can live with that.
He used to say, "Now! Right now! Stop that!" at her, whether it was she who had upset him or not.
Now he says, "Can we stir the boys?" ????!
I don't know where it came from, but for now it takes the heat off his sister, so I can live with that.
SCRIPTS!!! AAGGHH!
This morning Bright Eyes woke up with these words on his lips, "Gordon the big engine pushed and pulled Thomas the small blue Tank Engine."
And that was it for the rest of the day. It was Thomas, Thomas, Thomas. Scripting from stories, asking questions about them (rhetorical questions that he knows the answers to), relating everything back to a stupid little blue engine. I wish Rev Awdry had kept his train mania to himself all those years ago!
In between talking about Thomas, he was checking our digital clocks and informing me every few minutes of what the time was. He particularly likes times like 10:10 and 11:11 and I think I heard all of them from 9:09am onwards.
Our consultant's advice for scripts: remove everything that triggers them. That means hiding: the trains, videos, pictures, puzzles and books about Thomas. It also means restricting his computer time for the next little while.
At first, I didn't want to do this. But it has become so bad that it's a necessity. The trains are even taking over Easter. Apparently Jesus didn't die on the cross - he died on the track, and lives in a train. Hmmm....
My first step today was to cover all the digital clocks. It certainly has gotten rid of the persistent time-telling, although he did lie in the bedroom beating his feet against the floor yelling, "Numbers, Numbers! Numbers!" for a few minutes.
Tomorrow I'll have to go out and find a non-ticking clock with hands so I can actually tell the time (or maybe just get my watch fixed...)
And that was it for the rest of the day. It was Thomas, Thomas, Thomas. Scripting from stories, asking questions about them (rhetorical questions that he knows the answers to), relating everything back to a stupid little blue engine. I wish Rev Awdry had kept his train mania to himself all those years ago!
In between talking about Thomas, he was checking our digital clocks and informing me every few minutes of what the time was. He particularly likes times like 10:10 and 11:11 and I think I heard all of them from 9:09am onwards.
Our consultant's advice for scripts: remove everything that triggers them. That means hiding: the trains, videos, pictures, puzzles and books about Thomas. It also means restricting his computer time for the next little while.
At first, I didn't want to do this. But it has become so bad that it's a necessity. The trains are even taking over Easter. Apparently Jesus didn't die on the cross - he died on the track, and lives in a train. Hmmm....
My first step today was to cover all the digital clocks. It certainly has gotten rid of the persistent time-telling, although he did lie in the bedroom beating his feet against the floor yelling, "Numbers, Numbers! Numbers!" for a few minutes.
Tomorrow I'll have to go out and find a non-ticking clock with hands so I can actually tell the time (or maybe just get my watch fixed...)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Fun things.
He's loving riding his bike with his sister in the evenings after dinner. The neighbours have commented on the 'delightful' noises from our backyard. Mostly...
Oh, and he can read! He sat down and read 'Peter and Jane' to me in full the other day - and not just by rote either.
preschool???
Preschool. What am I going to do?
He is tired, tired, tired after a day there. And typically, backing up for the second day brings on tears in the morning. This morning he cried for 45 minutes before we left the house. I said goodbye and left him there, still in tears with the teacher.
Later when I rang, he was having a good morning, but she agreed that he had lost the spark for preschool that he had last year.
Our consultant thinks it might be better for his RDI if he doesn't go, but wants to make sure I get some respite from him. What I might try is to let him go a week without it and see if he's happy all week.
I just don't know.
He is tired, tired, tired after a day there. And typically, backing up for the second day brings on tears in the morning. This morning he cried for 45 minutes before we left the house. I said goodbye and left him there, still in tears with the teacher.
Later when I rang, he was having a good morning, but she agreed that he had lost the spark for preschool that he had last year.
Our consultant thinks it might be better for his RDI if he doesn't go, but wants to make sure I get some respite from him. What I might try is to let him go a week without it and see if he's happy all week.
I just don't know.
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