September 2007
Sean was starting in mainstream school. I decided to speak directly to the parents of the other children in his class. At the first parent-teacher meeting I stood up and this is what I said:
Hi, my name is Judy and my husbands name is Fergal, our son Sean is in Ms O’Sullivan’s class, we want to introduce ourselves and spend a couple of minutes telling you a little about our special family.
Sean is 5 years old and was diagnosed with Autism at age 3 after we noticed some developmental delays. Autism is a difficult thing to explain because our understanding of it is changing daily with new research and also because the children are on a wide spectrum so the way it presents in each child is quite different.
The textbook definition is that Autism is a neurological disorder, a dysfunction in the brain, which impairs the ability to interact with people, communicate with people and also affects the imagination. It also affects the sensory system, how a child with autism experiences seeing, hearing, tasting or touching can be different to how we do.
So we started at age 3 with Sean and have spent the last two years working intensively with him, deepening our understanding of his needs and bringing his development in line with his peers.
Through play, we connected with Sean and taught him how to speak, have a conversation, developed his imagination and sense of humour and taught him how to relate to others. We built a special playroom at home and role played endless different scenarios there to allow him understand them better and make it easier for him to experience them in the real world, simple things like going to town, eating in a restaurant, getting your hair cut and then more complicated things like how to be a friend and exploring things that make us scared or happy, understanding emotion.
We also introduced picture scheduling, when Sean is given time to know what is coming next, he finds it very easy to do things. So we have a weekly schedule at home and a daily schedule at school. We also use picture stories for every task we expect him to do or event that is coming up. With this support Sean can deal with any change or transition with ease.
Sean loves being around people and has developed many close relationships with children of different ages over the years. He doesn’t fully understand the social rules that come naturally to most children so we continue to support Sean by teaching him, at home and at school, how to relate to others in a more and more meaningful way.
Sean has a different sensory experience than we do, he can be sensitive to loud noises and bright lights and also needs to move about a lot. He can sit still for long periods and concentrate, after which he needs to be allowed time to do something physical. We have invested in a sensory cabin for the classroom where Sean can go to relax during the day to give his senses a break. This level of support allows Sean to remain happy, calm and focused throughout the day.
Last year, we did some tests and found Seans digestive system was not working properly so, we have put him on a diet free from wheat and dairy products and also have him on a range of supplements. Since staring this, we have seen a transformation in how Sean relates to us and a reduction in his sensory issues.
Sean has a full time Special Needs Assistant in the classroom with him, her name is Catherine. Sean and Catherine spent some time working in the school over the summer preparing for this September. As well as assisting Sean in the classroom, she brings him out for regular breaks during the day.
We ensure that Sean has a successful experience every day, at school and at home by providing him with the support that he needs, as he needs it. We do this with lots of support from Tom, Ms O’Sullivan, The resource teachers and Catherine at school, a team of professionals at home, lots of research and reading and daily communication between everyone that is involved with Sean.
Sean has so much ability, the way he experiences the world is different to the way we do, this makes life harder for him, but he is determined to overcome the challenges that he faces. He continues to surpass every goal we set for him. He has many of the same likes and dislikes of other children, likes the playstation and swimming, dislikes doing what he is told by him mum. He is thoughtful and affectionate, has a great sense of humour and is a very loyal and loving friend.
We really wanted to come to talk to you this evening to introduce you to Sean and to us and to give you some information about the special work we are doing with him. We want to let you know that we are very approachable and if you have any questions or worries, please feel free to come and contact us we would be more than happy to talk. More than anything, if your children come to you with any questions about Sean, we would love you to sit down and chat with them to help them understand that he needs some extra support to help him succeed at school.
Sean was starting in mainstream school. I decided to speak directly to the parents of the other children in his class. At the first parent-teacher meeting I stood up and this is what I said: Hi, my name is Judy and my husbands name is Fergal, our son Sean is in Ms O’Sullivan’s class, we want to introduce ourselves and spend a couple of minutes telling you a little about our special family.
Sean is 5 years old and was diagnosed with Autism at age 3 after we noticed some developmental delays. Autism is a difficult thing to explain because our understanding of it is changing daily with new research and also because the children are on a wide spectrum so the way it presents in each child is quite different.
The textbook definition is that Autism is a neurological disorder, a dysfunction in the brain, which impairs the ability to interact with people, communicate with people and also affects the imagination. It also affects the sensory system, how a child with autism experiences seeing, hearing, tasting or touching can be different to how we do.
So we started at age 3 with Sean and have spent the last two years working intensively with him, deepening our understanding of his needs and bringing his development in line with his peers.
Through play, we connected with Sean and taught him how to speak, have a conversation, developed his imagination and sense of humour and taught him how to relate to others. We built a special playroom at home and role played endless different scenarios there to allow him understand them better and make it easier for him to experience them in the real world, simple things like going to town, eating in a restaurant, getting your hair cut and then more complicated things like how to be a friend and exploring things that make us scared or happy, understanding emotion.
We also introduced picture scheduling, when Sean is given time to know what is coming next, he finds it very easy to do things. So we have a weekly schedule at home and a daily schedule at school. We also use picture stories for every task we expect him to do or event that is coming up. With this support Sean can deal with any change or transition with ease.
Sean loves being around people and has developed many close relationships with children of different ages over the years. He doesn’t fully understand the social rules that come naturally to most children so we continue to support Sean by teaching him, at home and at school, how to relate to others in a more and more meaningful way.
Sean has a different sensory experience than we do, he can be sensitive to loud noises and bright lights and also needs to move about a lot. He can sit still for long periods and concentrate, after which he needs to be allowed time to do something physical. We have invested in a sensory cabin for the classroom where Sean can go to relax during the day to give his senses a break. This level of support allows Sean to remain happy, calm and focused throughout the day.
Last year, we did some tests and found Seans digestive system was not working properly so, we have put him on a diet free from wheat and dairy products and also have him on a range of supplements. Since staring this, we have seen a transformation in how Sean relates to us and a reduction in his sensory issues.
Sean has a full time Special Needs Assistant in the classroom with him, her name is Catherine. Sean and Catherine spent some time working in the school over the summer preparing for this September. As well as assisting Sean in the classroom, she brings him out for regular breaks during the day.
We ensure that Sean has a successful experience every day, at school and at home by providing him with the support that he needs, as he needs it. We do this with lots of support from Tom, Ms O’Sullivan, The resource teachers and Catherine at school, a team of professionals at home, lots of research and reading and daily communication between everyone that is involved with Sean.
Sean has so much ability, the way he experiences the world is different to the way we do, this makes life harder for him, but he is determined to overcome the challenges that he faces. He continues to surpass every goal we set for him. He has many of the same likes and dislikes of other children, likes the playstation and swimming, dislikes doing what he is told by him mum. He is thoughtful and affectionate, has a great sense of humour and is a very loyal and loving friend.
We really wanted to come to talk to you this evening to introduce you to Sean and to us and to give you some information about the special work we are doing with him. We want to let you know that we are very approachable and if you have any questions or worries, please feel free to come and contact us we would be more than happy to talk. More than anything, if your children come to you with any questions about Sean, we would love you to sit down and chat with them to help them understand that he needs some extra support to help him succeed at school.
