Re: need for curriculum/catherine maurice's books

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Posted By ---> A Son-Rise Message Board Participant on February 18, 2000 at 08:00:52:

In Reply to: need for curriculum/catherine maurice's books posted bylynn on February 14, 2000 at 16:20:54:

Hi Lynn,

What a feeling that is to wonder if the program you are doing is the right one! What really let me know was to watch the parents of kids who were doing behavorial intervention (ABA), and how there was not much attention paid to their attitude towards their special children. I really believe that by changing our own attitudes we become the best teachers in every sense of the word. When our minds are free to be really present with our kids, then we are able to be the most creative. That is when the real magic of the playroom takes place, and real learning can begin.

Whenever we tried ABA approaches prior to our Son Rise Program, our son was out of there. He would run as fast as his legs would carry him. The facilitator would wind up taking him to the pet store for an outing. We would have had to strap him to the chair to get him to stay put, and we refused to do that to our son.

The most helpful thing we did at the start of our Son Rise Program was to have an outreach from the Option Institute. This brought a trained and experienced Son Rise facilitator, Gerd Winkler, to our home to really individualize our program. We learned what our specific priorities and goals should be with our program. We have continued to have these outreaches to adjust our program as our son changes.

We learned that the key for us with learning was to always work with my son's motivations. We make a list of all of these motivations and update it since they change. We keep this in the playroom as a quick reference to look at. Once you have determined what you think are the most important areas for your son to work on, use the list to get there. When your son is interactive and open to challenges, that is when you do your requesting. And the most important element of all learning is that it has to be FUN!

Gerd also suggested a book called Fundamentals. We have used the book to come up with ideas for how to play with Nick in really fun ways. The key to working with Nick with the ideas in this book is to be ready to abandon the requesting when our son didn't want to do them. We trust that he will do things when he is ready.

One other book that I found had some useful ideas was The Child with Special Needs by Stanley Greenspan. When I read his book I felt like he must have taken some courses at the Option Institute! He does have some real variances with Son Rise, though. I found the chapters that talked about how a child learns, and how to teach a child to be quite helpful.

Doug

Follow Ups

---> Name:
Subject: Re: Re: need for curriculum/catherine maurice's books

Comments:: Hi Lynn, : What a feeling that is to wonder if the program you are doing is the right one! What really let me know was to watch the parents of kids who were doing behavorial intervention (ABA), and how there was not much attention paid to their attitude towards their special children. I really believe that by changing our own attitudes we become the best teachers in every sense of the word. When our minds are free to be really present with our kids, then we are able to be the most creative. That is when the real magic of the playroom takes place, and real learning can begin. : Whenever we tried ABA approaches prior to our Son Rise Program, our son was out of there. He would run as fast as his legs would carry him. The facilitator would wind up taking him to the pet store for an outing. We would have had to strap him to the chair to get him to stay put, and we refused to do that to our son. : The most helpful thing we did at the start of our Son Rise Program was to have an outreach from the Option Institute. This brought a trained and experienced Son Rise facilitator, Gerd Winkler, to our home to really individualize our program. We learned what our specific priorities and goals should be with our program. We have continued to have these outreaches to adjust our program as our son changes. : We learned that the key for us with learning was to always work with my son's motivations. We make a list of all of these motivations and update it since they change. We keep this in the playroom as a quick reference to look at. Once you have determined what you think are the most important areas for your son to work on, use the list to get there. When your son is interactive and open to challenges, that is when you do your requesting. And the most important element of all learning is that it has to be FUN! : Gerd also suggested a book called Fundamentals. We have used the book to come up with ideas for how to play with Nick in really fun ways. The key to working with Nick with the ideas in this book is to be ready to abandon the requesting when our son didn't want to do them. We trust that he will do things when he is ready. : One other book that I found had some useful ideas was The Child with Special Needs by Stanley Greenspan. When I read his book I felt like he must have taken some courses at the Option Institute! He does have some real variances with Son Rise, though. I found the chapters that talked about how a child learns, and how to teach a child to be quite helpful. : Doug