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Dr3am3r said:however he is experiencing enough stress from his GCSEs and the workload - trying to develop new skills such as organisation would be a step too far at the moment.
If his school work was more organised then he might have less stress and anxiety. There would be no point if he just became more stressed about his difficulties with organising things. He has my complete sympathy - last year I had a near breakdown because my work tasks were not under control. Having brought some order to my task list, and by taking a positive approach to the whole asd thing, my stress levels are now very much under control.
Start with some simple things like creating a timetable that he can stick to and try to help him see that he can be less stressed if some more order is introduced into his life.
Dr3am3r said:"needs to join in more in class"
but they aren't saying they want him to do that in an NT manner. They want a contribution but it can be a lateral or associative thought. they have a responsibility for enabling this too by understanding that his contribution may be different to other kids.
"be more organised and come to lessons prepared"
i.e. he needs to work harder at organisation - there are techniques and methods to help us be more organised (aka executive function) - pls see the book that coogy recommended
Having asd means that we have tendencies and problems but it does not excuse completely disorganised and helpless behaviour unless he is so disabled by it that he does not expect to pass exams and get a job at the end of it. I had asd for 56 years before diagnosis - I now know why I find these things hard and non intuitive. When I first went to secondary school it was a grammar school which had strict timetabling and organisation and that suited me well. He needs to organise himself - perhaps using a smartphone with lots of reminders and notes? - with your help as much as necessary. Tony Attwood's book has a section on this, it seems that many parents become their children's secretaries but I think that technology should be able to take some of that load nowadays.
Hello Dr3m3r,
Sadly, your story is a familiar one. If you send them an e-mail you could also send them the link bellow or similar, attached in it, as part of their need to be more Autism Aware, but you may find you'd be better just spelling it out.
Forgive me, I forget how old your son is now, But is it worth considering changing Schools or would this be too stressful?
Some specialist Schools Work more on executive function, but lets face it he's always likely to have a spikey profile.
If you want to look at moving forward, consider the workbook i mentioned before, 'Living Well On The Spectrum' by Valerie Gaus. At least with that, it would help shift the negative perspective he's getting via School, into some positve strategies for the future.
Coogy
