Written by Dr. Carosso

Okay, here it goes; whether your child is a typical kiddo or struggles with attention, learning, social, or developmental issues, these strategies will help any child perform at his or her best. These strategies are well-founded in research and over 20 years experience in clinical and educational practice.  

Let’s get to it:

Billboard your child’s strengths
Go overboard to inform teachers, and remind them regularly, of your child’s strengths. Send notes and emails, write in a daily log, leave phone messages, yell if from the roof-top, send smoke signals, and do whatever else it takes to establish and maintain the teacher’s positive impression of your child.  Over 10 years of research is abundantly clear that teacher’s preconceived notions about a student, whether good or bad, even if untrue, tend to come to pass. For example, students who are described as smarter (even if they’re not) subsequently score higher on tests; students who are described as social and cooperative (even if they’re not) later do better socially, and on and on it goes…  I’m not suggesting that you mislead, but simply ‘talk-up’ your child’s strengths:)

Power-sitting
Make sure your child is seated in the ‘Attention Zone’ of the classroom (i.e. the triangle-shaped area with the base of the triangle being the front row of the class). Students seated in this triangle area receive more eye contact, oversight, monitoring, and attention than anywhere else in the classroom. These students subsequently tend to score higher, and feel more supported.

The classroom stepping-machine
Look for teachers who wear running shoes (or buy the teacher running shoes). There is an inverse correlation between the number of steps a teacher takes throughout a classroom and the subsequent behavior problems in the class. The more steps, the less behavior problems (and more academic success!). Kids do better when an adult frequently passes by.  

The break that keeps on giving
Okay, we know that kiddos need breaks throughout the day, but these breaks need to involve movement; at least a brisk walk if not vigorous running for at least five minutes; and be offered two or three times per day (sometimes more; e.g. for kids who have ADHD). Thereafter, students are more attentive, cooperative, and interested in learning. Moreover, walking in a green-space area has shown to be far superior than a gray-space for subsequent attention to task and achievement.

Fill-er-up
Kids want attention. Okay, I know, that’s no revelation.  However, what isn’t so well known are these two points, 1.) kids want their ‘attention-tank’ to be full, but they are not particular with what, or how, it gets full. Students will seek attention negatively if teachers don’t give it positively. So, for every negative redirection, there needs to be at least 10 praises (“catch them being good…”). This way, your child can focus on learning, not getting attention, and feel confident in doing so.  2.) Research shows that kids do better if praised about their hard work, rather than their intelligence. The former can be improved, the latter ends-up being an expectation that increases pressure and stress, and has actually been shown to cause grades to drop.

Your child will be happier, more successful, and confident when these strategies are used (maybe they can be used at home too:)    Each needs to be tailored to your child, but you get the idea. You only have so much control over what the teacher will do in the classroom, but now you know what needs to be done. Stay tuned; I’ll provide some more tips in weeks to come. In the meantime, feel free ask questions, comment, and forward this to a friend (or maybe to a certain teacher…). God bless. 

Written by Dr. Carosso
In the autism community, parents must sift through a host of confusing, murky, and contradictory words, terms,  and concepts. It’s no wonder there is frustration and misunderstanding.  Hopefully this post will help to clear the waters a bit.

In a prior posting (autism: facts and fallacies), I discussed that “autism” is not a diagnosis, but simply a term that represents the ‘autism spectrum’. However, that begs the question; what is the autism spectrum?

Okay, I suppose we’re all aware that the ‘spectrum’ reflects that any child with autism may ‘look’ quite different from another. One child may be nonverbal, while another may be fully conversational but with some social quirks.  However, how does that relate to the actual diagnosis any given child on the “spectrum” might get from a doctor?

Okay, here goes an explanation, for better or worse:)

The three most commonly used diagnoses for a child on the autism spectrum are:

Autistic Disorder………….Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS………….Asperger’s Disorder
More Severe                                                                                                            Less Severe

I know it’s not perfect, and many of you will see shortcomings (as do I), but I find it helpful to view these three diagnoses as reflective of the “spectrum” we hear so much about.

At the far end of the spectrum is ‘Autistic Disorder’, which is how we tend to perceive classic ‘autism’ such as what was seen in the movie “Rain Man.”  These kids tend to have more significant social and language difficulties.

At the other end of the spectrum is ‘Asperger’s Disorder; kids who are conversational but have social problems and tend to obsess on things.

For those kiddos who do not meet the diagnostic criteria of those two extremes, we have the diagnosis of ‘Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified’, or PDDNOS, or simply PDD. These kids show signs of ‘autism’ but have strengths and differences that exclude an ‘Autistic Disorder’ or ‘Aspergers’ diagnosis.  For example, they may be quite social and talkative, but don’t always “know what to do” in social situations. These children may also speak mostly in short phrases, which precludes an Asperger’s diagnosis.

Clearly, PDD is the fastest growing diagnosis on the spectrum, likely for a bunch of reasons including we (professionals) are more aware of the condition than 10 years ago, and that the rates seem to be genuinely increasing for reasons we’re still exploring, e.g. vaccinations, genetics, toxins…

Understanding the ‘spectrum’ helps in many ways including appreciating the extent to which your child will improve and recover. For example, it’s not entirely uncommon for children at the upper PDD range, or upper Asperger’s range, to demonstrate wonderful progress and, down the line, recover and no longer need services.  In fact, I’ve seen two discharges from services in just the past month, which further reminds us of the potential for very positive outcomes:)

However, even kids who are diagnosed with Autistic Disorder can, and do, show lots of progress but it’s more likely they will have some ongoing deficits.

Well, hope that helped in understanding the ’spectrum’.  I know there are still lots of questions, so feel free to comment and I’ll follow-up. If you found this helpful, please forward to a friend. Thanks.