I was really hoping to see more kids with similar "issues" when we went in yesterday so I would get an idea of the accommodations for these kids, but DS4 seemed to be the only kid not following the crowd.
I see this as a good thing! Either this is a sign that the preschool is doing its job in teaching the kids how to act or these kids then can serve as a model for your son.
Agree with Geofizz here. You can't expect all the kids in a special needs preschool to have your son's blend of autism and giftedness (that combination is rare). Most will have other challenges they are working on. It's great that they will serve as peer models for the skills he needs to learn.
As for the boredom, I am pretty sure what I saw was boredom. Unless he's engaged in something that really interests him or something of his choosing, he needs new activities coming at him every 5 or 10 minutes. Then he's done and needs to move onto the next one. So asking him to sit for 20 minutes while talking about one little book was pure torture! lol
20 minutes is a lot. It's also what they did in our kindergarten for circle time, so it's the standard that needs to be reached.
For a bright kid with autism, the skill of checking in mentally and getting interested in something not of his choosing is a hard one. That skill can be learned, and should be learned. It is absolutely a key, not only for school success, but also for employability. (Imagine an adult who will only do work tasks that interest him... that won't go well.)
Over time a person can learn to be more flexible and develop new interests.
Could they really manage in 6 weeks what therapists and family has not been able to do in 3 years? But you might be right. I hope!
Probably not in 6 weeks. It takes a long time to remediate these social deficits. But I think putting him in an environment where he can practice the skills of tuning in, following instructions, and sitting still is very much worth doing.
They will probably want to rewrite the IEP after they get to know him a little. You can work with them to make a plan that fits what he needs to learn. Remember that while he will be more interested in differentiated materials, they may not be the thing that will help him engage in group instruction, which is the point of his participation there. Some daily work on learning to tolerate boredom is okay.
If he were mine, I would absolutely not want him to learn that he's exempt from instructions and can drift around the classroom away from what other people are doing; that would be a step back. He should be rewarded positively for keeping his head in the game, so that he learns to feel that it's worthwhile to engage with others, both in formal instruction and infomal play.
DeeDee
