Has my son received support...well not ESE/IEP support...he does have a 504 for extended time.
I just worked with him about translating questions into more acceptable questions for him to tolerate....
Like a paper he turned in blank....why is your middle school the best?
Well his middle school wasn't "the best". So we learned to translate prompts like that into what do you like best about your school/what are three good points about your school? And even use how idiotic that prompt is in the hook....
Our middle school may not be ranked as a top 10 middle school in U.S. News and world reports. Our middle school may be getting a failing grade by the state. Nevertheless, our middle school does many thing right and some things exceptionally right.
Really he is so literal that we have spent years cueing him to "interpret" what someone has just said into something he can handle. Mainly he has a hard time with exaggeration or generalizations.
Excellent example, there is so much insight/wisdom in this.
I have to confess--prior to this last year, when DS' issues really became obvious, I always thought he was being smart-alek with his extraordinarily literal responses to questions such as these. I see it very differently now.
I also have to confess--this reminds me of a typical job-interview question that really threw me for a loop a few years ago: Why are you the best candidate for this position?
On the one hand, my first thought was "I can't say that I am, since I don't know who the other candidates are, or what their experience/qualifications look like." I really felt stumped in the moment, but knew that wasn't the right answer.
(I do know enough to filter this through social expectations, but it's not a quick or automatic process...my little apple fell close to the tree.)
DS needs a lot of help in this department. I'm glad you've made inroads with yours, that is encouraging.
