Asperger's humanities or sciences given learning profile?

[jennylamb1]

Our son has just chosen his GSCE options- he has gone for a spread- the compulsory plus history, geography, computing and Spanish. He really enjoys history and geography so we had a look at the local 6th form college A level choices and thought that he would probably do those two subjects at A level plus something else. He is looking at a likely 7 for these subjects at GCSE. The teachers did throw us slightly at parents evening however. They said that he is doing well in the humanities, however his answers can be quite literal and lack depth (he has Asperger's so I think this is part of his being literal) and his English teacher said the same- he needs to think of the connotations and provide deeper textual analysis. The maths teacher threw a curveball by saying that he is predicting him an 8 for maths and says that he should take the GCSE in Y10 and further maths in Y11. Maths seems to suit his profile better and he is predicted 7 for science GCSE. The thing is Is that he doesn't enjoy maths, but will happily read history books happily in his spare time and play historical strategy games a lot. Any other parents with similar kids?

Doing an a level that you don't enjoy really doesn't work.

You have to put in quite a lot of extra reading and extra homework etc and if you don't enjoy it your life just turns into a slog.

He's got time to develop. He doesn't need to make these decisions yet.

And as he matures he may develop some more of the analysis skills.

tbh You are 18 months early thinking about A levels.

See how he gets on with GCSEs, see whether he can go beyond literal with the humanities and understand who to talk about possible nuances and areas where backing up your statements is more important than whether they are right or wrong.

Then reassess in the autumn term of y11.

My DD1 (dyspraxia, no ASD diagnosis but def some overlap) really struggled with humanities 'how do I know what the author was thinking?' but also struggled with adding detail to science (would answer a 6 mark question with 1 sentence), but got there in the end, more or less.

Yeh I would see how he gets on with GCSE tbh. If he is in year 9, there is ages till October of year 11 and choosing post-16 destinations.

And in fact plenty of people switch subjects after results - which is even further away.

I would try to support him with gaining extra depth in humanities and English as that sounds like something it would be good to work on.

Thanks all.

My dd did sciences and found that suited her right/wrong thinking.

I think I was this profile myself and struggled in earlier years with giving deeper and more extensive answers, but graduated with an honours degree in history. But geography and biology might also fit better - and/ or he may learn!

DS (also ASD) did 2 sciences and Maths at A level. He applied to uni to do engineering. He did 1st year and didn't enjoy it, so dropped out. After thinking about what he'd like to do, he decided on a History degree! He was never one for writing long essays, so I was a little concerned (although one of his GCSE teachers had said that DS could get everything into a 1 page answer where everyone else wrote 3! Just to make sure he definitely wanted to do History he studied (by correspondence college) and sat History A level in 5 months. He went on to get a 1st and did a Masters. But he loved History and still does. Yes, we took him to museums!

I would suggest your DS takes subjects he enjoys and that play to his strengths.

Have you considered social sciences as a happy medium?

Your DS's profile is very similar to mine. My DS is also Yr9 and choosing options. He's desperate to do history as like your DS, he loves reading about history and has a special interest in specific periods of history.

However, I have studied history myself at quite a high level and the skill set required to pass/excel in history exams is very specific. It's not just being able to regurgitate facts and write down everything you know about a topic. You have to be able to argue - with evidence - two opposing opinions. You also have to be able to do this in a very small window of time and understand exactly what the question is asking you.

I'm really not sure my DS will be able to do that. We've agreed with the school that he can take history and then we can always withdraw him if it's looking like it's going to be too much for him. (My Ds has an EHCP and is in a special unit so timetable adjustments are easier for him.)

They are still almost two years away from GCSEs though and hopefully a good school will be teaching them exam/essay techniques.

I have also been talking to him about how the study of the historical time period he's interested in can be done outside of school and can be something he does just for pleasure to try and manage his expectations.

My DS is also taking geography. Geography, I think, might be an 'easier' subject for him in that the GCSE is a combination of 'fact' and 'opinion', short one-word answers and longer ones.

I would also second other posters in that while it's good to be prepared and know what's out there, it is slightly early to be thinking about A levels. This time next year when they're half way through Yr10 I think will give us a better idea of how they're likely to perform in their GCSEs.

I would also agree that no one should be doing an A level subject they don't enjoy, even if they're good at it.

Any other parents with similar kids?

yeap. When my son was in reception he responded to the teacher that the carpets don't fly therefore it is a waste of time trying to imagine that they are flying somewhere on the carpet as the teacher asked😐.
When they were going through Little Fiding Hood they were asked to imagine that their grandma is sick and think what would they take in a basket for her. My son insisted that his grandma is fine and shopping is done by mum and there is no point imagining sick grandma because it is a nonsense ....🙄

Now he is 11 and his writing is fantastic as long as he is not asked to write fiction piece. If he is then the story is full of robots, androids, 👻 ghosts that are hydrogen powered and other metal ans technical devices. 🙄 All illogical and he scores above expected for fact and below expected when it is fantash fiction.

Yeah, a computer geek with the Aspie traits and dyspraxia diagnosis. Waiting for CAMHS again but they pushed us away a year ago. His dad is Aspie
And I live in a robot land 😵‍💫😂