Autism Treatment Center of America Forum

[imlovinit]

Hello all, I am an experienced volunteer currently living with a beautiful family who are quite new to Son-Rise. Their sweet boy is 6 years old and in the short time that his program has been up and running he has made massive strides with his speech, understanding and awareness of others - we have built up an incredible bond However this young man has huge issues with flexibility. He is in full time school and finds the transition between home and school very difficult, often leading to meltdowns going to school and coming home, this also translates into difficulties with swapping facilitators into the playroom. We use visual schedules and explain his daily routine to him calmly and lovingly wherever possible. His school is brilliant and incorporate a lot of down time into his daily schedule, however I feel he has too many transitions and obstacles to cope with on a daily basis and would benefit from being at home more, although I know this is not my decision to make. His parents are amazing and are doing their very best to support both his school life and Son-Rise program. I really really want to help this family and their son but I don't know what else to do, besides making myself and my practice as predictable as possible. Any thoughts?

[BeckyDamgaard]

Hi There!

You are doing such an amazing job! How wonderful that this sweet young man gets to have you in his life to help, love and guide him as he deals with challenging transitions. I think everything you are saying sounds spot on and it's just a case now of if his parents would be open to having him spend more time at home. Without knowing how they feel about the situation I would not know how to help you. If they are open to the idea of cutting down school hours to part-time, or even pulling him out, plus, is it even possible with their schedule (e.g. do they both work, etc). It certainly sounds like he is responding and developing nicely in his Son-Rise Program playroom!

How is your relationship with the parents? Are you close to them and have a rapport with them. If you do then there is no harm in at least telling them your observations and asking them how they feel about him being in school and his current transition challenges. This would of course come from a loving, open and curious place with not expectations of them.

Please let me know if you have any more information or questions and I would love to help you further.

Warm regards,

Becky Damgaard (Son-Rise Program Teacher)

[imlovinit]

Hi Becky, thank you for your reply
I am fairly close to the parents and they have become friends as well as employers. I have broached this topic with them on occasion however they adore the school and the teachers (who are fantastic) and I gather they had a bit of a battle trying to get their boy into the school therefore they are unwilling to just take him out. He is so responsive and lovely and playful with me and his other volunteers and I know that if he had more playroom time at home he would absolutely fly. However I have just learned we are having a teacher outreach this summer which should help them clarify a lot of things in their minds