What activities to do with excluded 11yo ASD boy (in Literacy/Numeracy/Social Skills)

[user1497126393]

Apologies for the long title, I am an experienced teacher and tutor with mainstream school children but I have been given a special assignment.
They want me to tutor (1-2-1 basis) a boy who should be on his last weeks of primary school but has been excluded (no details of why) but instead has no education....this is where I come in!

They wish for me to educate an 11yo boy with ASD in Literacy, Numeracy and Social Skills to; these sessions will be attended by his mother.
My boss tells me that it'll be x5 hours a day every week day for 2 weeks and he must not only have breaks in between but he must also be taken on trips within that time! Which sounds very different to what i'm used to but I grateful that they wished my involvement.

Any ideas of where me, the boy and his mother can go?
Or ideas of how to come up with ideas of where to go for our day trips?

Also, very importantly- how do you think I could collaborate literacy, numeracy and social skills into the trips and back at their house together? I'd be grateful for any examples! :)

I know I should come up with this but I am more used to classroom and governmental building settings with expelled EBD children and teenagers as opposed to this.

As I do not know where you are I can't suggest specific places to go but as far as work goes I would suggest an inquiry based topic. It needs to be something the pupil is interested in. Most of mine get excited about science based stuff. How is paper made? gives lots of opportunities to explore types of paper, make paper mache, experiement with colour, use a computer to produce an advertising leaflet, make actual paper.

Another possibility is Flying and Air. Experiement with homemade parachutes, paper/wood aeroplanes, balloons filled with different gases. Use a hairdryer to push a paper ball into a bottle, candle lit pulls coloured water from bowl into cylinder and many others hust google it.

I have lots of other ideas if you are interested email me.

What are his interests? could you do a topic based around that? Eg, If he liked baking, he could plan a snack menu, research and produce some recipes, plan a shopping trip , go on it, use money to buy the ingredients and then come back and make it. He could then review what he had made and write a report.

Similarly, for any other interest, you could plan along similar lines - substitute baking for dinosaurs, a fact book for menu, plan a trip to the museum, use money to pay for the bus, buy something from the shop, write a report on the visit....

etc

My autistic son in yr 6 did trips to the local fire station with just one other pupil, the train station, the library (many times), science museum, theatre with seats at back - ear defenders and access to a private quiet room for downtime if needed. He also went on a special needs adventure away trip with caving, climbing, absailing, building a campfire.

They used to do a weekly class walk to the shop to spend snack money. It involved thinking about all the things they'd like for snack and drinks, working out how much they'd cost, negotiating so everyone got at least one thing they wanted (could be you, mum, child), finding the items and only items on the shopping list, paying for them handling the money and using polite converstaion skills with sales assistant. This covered so many basic life skills right from planning the route on the map, crossing the road at a safe point etc.

Trampolining was another big hit special day out for excercise at a big trampoline barn.

Forrest school and den building another massive hit.

As a parent I find phoning up venues and explaining our situation can create amazing opportunities. People are so often lovely and want to make things work for you and give DC opportunities so don't be scared to ask.

You need to find out what his interests are. Can you speak to his mum?

You'll have the most chance of teaching him some literacy/numeracy if you find out his obsessions and build the trips out, and project based work, solely around those.

Also find out what sensory sensitivities he has and how to avoid triggering those. It may well mean various adjustments to travel, locations for visits and more. Also find out after first meeting him, from his mum, if there are any sensory issues he had with you. (For example, I can't wear my usual perfume around my nephew with ASD - he's very sensitive to smell.)

A child with ASD who has been excluded from school may well be at crisis point emotionally/sensorially. If he is then a stranger (however well intentioned) coming along to teach him social skills is the last thing he needs. Social skills is more an icing on top of the cake thing - understanding his own thoughts and feelings, building trust with the important people in his life, and (really key) getting a sensory diet in place to help him with those issues may well be most important for him right now.

My son is 7 and is in a special ASD school. One of the ways they incorporate literacy, numeracy is with designing a shop on a theme with things they like, we have had a pizza parlour ( fractions, money, menu) they are now making a pet shop ( animal care, pricing, kindness). They tie this in with a community visit.

They also work with the children using current favourite things, for my son that's TMNT, but for some of the older boys it's Pokemon and minecraft.

They do a lot of cooking, so read a recipe, writing a shopping list, budgeting, etc ..

They also include a lot of outdoor games and 1-1 work, it's a very small unit about 8 children but could easily be adapted for 1 on 1 tutoring.

Can you get an easimaths log in ?that's great for maths for literacy study ladder is great.theres usually a free trial period .I work in a Sen school where some students have difficulty getting into class and we use them .hope that helps