Annoyed that most professionals think all children with autism are the same.

[adrianna22]

Has anyone experience this?

DS school want to provide DS with a visual time table. Though I guess they need to discuss this with me first.

I do not have an issue with DS using a visual timetable, but he doesn't need it. The teacher told me that "All kids with autism love routine...". I bluntly corrected her and told her "...well DS doesn't like routine and not all children with autism are the same..".

I'm sick of all these common one-size therapies fits all .

DS is not visual at all, his more auditory but likes things that do actions and copies them.

I've got so many suggestions for the school to use for DS, but worried that they may feel threatened by this.

I had it on a thread in this very special needs chat, just last week.

Same disability class, a couple of musicians came to do a set. DS stood rigid to the spot staring at the guitar playing, listening intently.

SN expert grabbed him and started trying to prance about with him to 'dance'. DS went limp, put up with it for a bit then tried to wriggle free, getting upset when he met resistance and forced to dance more. I rescued him by taking off the idiotic woman. I told her that he wanted to stand still and listen. She implied that that would be beyond his focus ability and he needed to 'feel' the music to hear it .

The consequence of that was a diagnosis of emotionally inappropriate response to music and inability to separate from mother.

As many of you know, ds plays two instruments, sings in a choir and plays in a mainstream orchestra. Music is probably the time his emotional response to anything is to an outside observer completely NT. He can focus for a whole hour in both his choir and his orchestra without support.

All over the country, children like ds are being turned against activities, ways of engaging with their social world and potential enjoyments in life, by these tax-paid ignorants.

I would say that a statement saying that most professionals think all children with autism are the same when you are talking about a couple of staff at one school, is pretty similar to saying that all dc with autism are the same.
I could name you dozens and dozens of professionals from different job roles who spend a great deal of time explaining to people that, if you've worked with a child with autism, then you've worked with a child with autism, and that the fact another child has the same {very wide} diagnosis does not mean the child will be the same.

Some of these things are truly horrible. I think people sometimes forget that these children are people, individual humans, not a walking textbook of symptoms.

'if you've worked with a child with autism, then you've worked with a child with autism, and that the fact another child has the same {very wide} diagnosis does not mean the child will be the same.'

I've heard this loads of times by autism trainers who then go on to list stereotypes as absolute certainties.

i.e. All children with autism are not the same, but they will all benefit from visual timetables and reward systems.

I think the main reasons for it are if not visual time tables then what? What can they 'teach' staff to do that doesn't require a laminator?

Most of these posts made me laugh over the idiocy of these professionals.

Completely agree with you StarlightMckenzie about your last post.

DS gets overstimulated by pictures, even the simple visual time table pictures. He refused to use them, we then tried the simple black pictures but again the same results. He likes watching TV but doesn't really like books... Unless they are his favourite.

DS is more a kinsethic learner.. ( can't spell) which is similar to visual... But not really. He loves learning by doing things and movement. He loves Makaton because of this reason. I don't use pictures to help him understand as this takes him a lot longer for him to understand. I make him do things to help him understand. I.e. using puzzles, put the big cat in.. His also an auditory learner. I've arrange a meeting with the school to discuss other strategies.

To use visuals effectively requires immense skill. I have not met any member of staff with this.

First the child has to understand a concept (i.e. assembly) then they have to understand that a picture will represent this, - then that have to understand that this picture of 12 stickmen with smiley faces MEANS 'assembly'. Then they have to understand that when they are shown this picture, it means they are about to GO to assembly.

They usually have to understand that where this picture occurs in a sequence of pictures, running left to right, or top to bottom (before they have had any experiences of books or reading and that this 'way' is usual) and that it will happen after the picture of a cup of juice and square thing (that represents snack time, although there is never actually any juice available) and before playtime (represented by a stickman and a ball and a sun, even though today is cloudy and there are never any balls in the playground).

Frankly, for many of our kids, it is much easier for them if you just tell them what is about to happen.

Yes, after battling successfully for their removal in ds' nursery, I had to insist they were reinstated, as without it the TA was prompt-less.

The opposite with the Autism Advisory Nursery Nurse. Spent 6 months battling for her to do weekly home visits and then spent another 6 months tried to get her the feck away from my family.

Before she set foot in my home on the first day, I already knew way more than her about ASD and how it affected my ds and had attended more training courses on it.

Everybody is different with or without autism, why would anyone think they were the same?
I have three with autism and it presents differently in each of them.
The battle I've had for 20 years is getting people to understand that my identical twin DDs are two separate people who like and do different things, and need differing approaches, one approach is just one approach, there are many different ones.
no one size fits all.
I'm glad mine are older so they don't get bubbles blown and squeaky teddys shoved in their faces at appointments.

I took son to see a new pead and she had wrote him a prescription for melatonin before we even got there!
I said he sleeps 12 hours a night I don't need it ,she said autistic kids don't sleep maybe You choose to ignore him waking up!
We refused to see her again

autistic kids don't sleep?

Ask her to show you where that appears in the diagnostic criteria. Ask which triad it comes under.

How did she qualify?

I see a black market........

Some awful examples here, and we've had our share. It's no better now ds is older (nearly 16).

Connexions chap is really struggling to grasp that ds doesn't sit at the computer all day, googling science-y stuff. You know, like Aspies do . Seems to think it's obvious because of his IGCSE grades. No. Ds does as little work as possible, is ridiculously unmotivated, and in his book the internet is for Cheezeburger, Pokémon and Grumpy Cat. You really think he's going to research universities?! Not going to happen .

my nt child likes googling science stuff... perhaps I should have her assessed?

She might well get a diagnosis, judging by some of the criteria that seem to apply .

Well, I have an 'obsession' (SEN law and policy), don't like eye contact much, spend a lot of time on my computer, think in visuals, have musical talent, see patters in things most people do not (a favourite hobby of mine is finding the 'random patter' on other people's bathroom walls/floors, use visual supports to help myself remember what is happening when (calendars), am rigid in my opinion that HE is right for ds right now, tap my pencil when I am thinking.............................................

Anyone else want one? I'm as qualified as the next man to dish them out.