Need advice for my 6 yr old w/ autism?

Question

My son was diagnosed as mildly autistic. Specificly with PDD (pervacive developemental disorder). He's 6 and just finishing first grade. I am not sure if I should hold him back or not. He doesn't seem to be ready second grade. The school does not holding kids back. They say that it is devistating for a kid. I was also thinking of something like a Sylvia program to help him catch up (if it's affordable).

Answer 1

I also have a 6 year old son with ppd that is finishing the first grade.  I am not sure a place like sylvan would be able to work with him.  I have found out that if you can discover what it takes for him to retain information he will learn fast.  If you can sit down with him and find something that will grab his attention you can get him up to the level he needs to be at rather quickly.  I had my son reading before he started Kindergarten.  He is almost done with his second grade words now.  The best thing I have found is flash cards.  Children with mild autism have a awesome memory.  If you do something repeatedly with them they will remember.  And my son's teacher has found a way to get him to do math.  If he has this problem try touch math.  We have gotten him to a point that after the second grade as long as he doesn't regress he will be in a normal classroom without TA.  Just to clarify something though he has been on ADHD medicine to help control his hyperactivity and reduce his autistic tendancies.  Without this he wouldn't be able to calm down enough to learn.

Answer 2

I would not retain your child. If you look at all the research on retention you can see that retention is associated with significant problems and possible harm to the child being retained.

http://www.nasponline.org/about_nasp/pos...

Also does your child have an IEP?

I not you might want to look into having your child evaluated to see if he qualifies for additional help at school.

If he does have an IEP you may want to call a team meeting to discuss how to change or modify his IEP to better help your son in school.

I don't really know anything about Sylvan or what your child is struggling with in particular. Outside help is often a good idea. Kids without a diagnosis seek extra assistance all the time. However you may want to evaluate why he is having problems  and if it is related to the PDD to better determine what specific kind of help will be the most beneficial.

Good Luck

Answer 3

You should allow your child to move up and not hold him back. Look on the positive side of things - he is Mildly autistic. Mildly autistic kids have a high chance of "getting out" of autism. With the correct and proper intervention at an early stage, he should be able to overcome his autism. If the school has faith that he can cope, so you as a parent should also give your son the support and encouragement he needs.

Answer 4

my son is 13 and has several special needs i can see why your worried   it does depend on what you feel he needs holding back for at 6 yrs old if school think he is ok have you considered seeing how he goes and keeping in close contact with school if your son is statmented he may get home schooling help my son did for a short time  when he was strugling realy bad i didnt hold him back but did fight for him its so hard and if you got support you should use it and keep strong. in your heart you know your son best take it a day at a time.

Answer 5

If he is academically on grade level, then i would say let him continue into the next grade. If he is struggling, then perhaps look into summer school or maybe repeating is an option.

If it's because of behavior or 'maturity', you want him to be with the same age peers so he can understand what is appropriate behavior for his age through modeling.

I think the IEP (individual education plan) is good advice from a fellow answer-er. This gives him an individualized plan on how to modify is classwork, homework, testing/ State testing etc. If he doesn't have one already, then he may qualify for one, and he can continue being in the general education classroom. Each year an IEP meeting is held where his plan is evaluated by meeting the set goals or conitueing the goals. Every 3 years, he is re-evaluated by proper placement, phycological improvements, speech? whatever is needed.

Answer 6

With the diagnosis of pdd.  It  is a good idea to repeat a grade.  It gives him an extra year to relearn the work and to learn how to handle social ques.  The school is wrong regarding retention.  It is all in your hands and control.  You have to prepare your child.  Express to him that the reason you are keeping him back is to give him more time to learn and get things right.  Put it in a positive context.   We all learn at different rates.

Answer 7

I have an autistic child also.  he's 11.  It would be better to keep Him back now, as it is so early in his education.   It would be tougher to find out half way through the new year, and then hold Him back, or worse when He's much older and made many friends.  Other kids wouldn,t be as harsh to Him now as they would be when they're all older.  Any exta help outside of school would be beneficial.  Good luck with your decision!

Answer 8

What are his issues?

Academic? social?

Talk to your child study team about including social skills/tutoring in his IEP even if tehy have to be provided after school hours-

If tehy want to promote him-they need ro add in the proper supports