Published on 12, July, 2020
HiOur daughter is 10 years old, autistic and fascinated by Chemistry.I wonder if there is a chemistry expert / teacher out there who could give me some advice. My daughter has a special talent and interest for the subject and I hope someone can suggest what we introduce next for her to discover and build on.For background:She memorised the periodic table at age 8 and understands how it is made up of difference groups of elements. A friend suggested we buy her a 3D molecular set so she can build and ‘see’ how molecules are represented. We bought her a Molymod set MMS-009 which she loves playing with and making chemistry correct models. She loves reading The Elements (Theodore Grey) and Molecules. It is great that she has such an enthusiasm for this subject and she is not simply memorising, but she likes to know what can be done with chemistry to make things. I can see she wants to apply her knowledge. The problem I need help with is ‘what next ?’ I don’t know enough about chemistry, and her autism means she gets anxious about any sort of science shows, as they are too noisy and unpredictable for her. I have bought her a science kit of experiments, which she loves. Hopefully there is someone out there who can help me point my daughter to the next level (e.g. books, apps, models, learning resources, equipment...?), or suggest another forum to contact who can advise. She is self taught by studying books, I just don't know which way to help her next. Thank youAndrew.
Well, that's great, oktanol thinks :)
I can see why she doesn't like science shows, there's a lot of emphasis on "show" and it has to be exciting and so on...
What can you do with the experiments kit (or what does she love about it)? It may be in there already, otherwise chromatography is something you need no special equipment for (things like this here: http://www.webinnate.co.uk/science/week4.htm for example), pH measuring is good too (maybe get some indicator paper that covers both high (alkaline) and low (acidic) pHs or prepare the red cabbage indicator which is also described on the website above) because both those things can be done with lots of everyday stuff. You can test the pH of (wet) food and drinks, soil suspensions, cleaning solutions... Or using hydrogen peroxid soution (from the pharmacy) to test for presence of enzymes which make it bubble and are present in lots biological stuff (wear goggles!). Other oxidation/reduction reactions like apples going brown or not (like this: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/440156563555727873/) or metals (like this https://thehomeschoolscientist.com/lab-report-oxidation-and-reduction-experiment/ or that https://layers-of-learning.com/oxidation-and-reduction/).
If you aren't familiar enough with those things yourself or your daughter preferes to read about it more there is lots of information for children on the internet explaining them.