The answers to a recent interest inventory Curtis took at school

1.) My favorite kind of pet- Bunny
2.) I am really good at- Art and Math
3.) I collect- Coins
4.) Something I really like to do is- Draw Roads
5.) I take lessons in- Swimming
6.) Something you should know about me- My favorite color is red and I have autism.
7.) The worst show on T.V. is- Baseball
8.) I read books about- Big Nate, Animals, Science
                                                                                 9.) The food I really hate is- Carrots
                                                                                 10,) The best tasting foods are- Red Peppers, Apples, Sour Pickles, and Watermelon.

Curtis

Curtis' coins more closely resemble a hoarding than a collection. While he has cooled in his pursuit of coins in the last half year, he does still hit up family members for change and does well at Nana's house on the weekend. He keeps an open roll of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters on a shelf in the living room and marches a finished roll up to a box in his room too heavy to lift. He then adds the sum of the new contents to the last figure on the sheet for a new total. So far there is still no intended use of the proceeds as he expects to never cash any of it in for any reason, ever.

Greg, Dad

Along with the survey, Curtis also filled out a worksheet on what he can and can't do when he grows up.

I will be able to

A.) Tie my shoes
B.) Watch inappropriate videos (because swearing is just so funny)
C.) WIpe my own butt

I won't be able to

A.) Ask for help tying my shoes
B.) Cry in a Store
C.) Order off the kids menu!

During first grade, Curtis would come running toward the school full force in anticipation of hugging his "girlfriends"  who would always be waiting for him. The remaining members of his class tended to get the shaft in terms of morning chatter from Curtis. His classmates would be comfortably buzzing around the cubby area showing off games from home, sharing playground stories or glowing with love over their new shoes. Curtis could be found sticking to his daily targets and completing his morning jobs as every student had to do (Making his lunch choice, answering the classroom question of the day and putting his folder in the classroom basket). Doing the jobs necessary to get his day started off right.
       Early in the school year I learned that I had to be sneaky and creative in my attempts to get Curtis to socialize. Essentially, I had to put it these jobs out there as"targets" or "jobs" in order for him to comply.  That's when the surveys Greg mentioned were implemented at school.  While they were very format based, they were unique each day depending on areas of his current interest (Do you like fluff? Do you like Taylor Switt? Have you ever been on Interstate 240? Do you like basketball? Do you like the color Red?) - and others were based on his emotional state and/or daily reflections (Do you have bad days? Do you cry sometimes? Is the classroom ever too loud for you? Do you like to be a rascal?) 
      Without Curtis even realizing it, he was bonding with his classmates. He was learning more about his new friends each day and expanding his age appropriate ego centric mind frame little by little.  By October, completing his three morning jobs, he would find a survey on his desk with a clip board and a sharp pencil. He would then hit the class running daily with straight forward questioners and it was a beautiful sight to see him re-enter the cubby area and be among the class chatter. His classmates loved these surveys. They enjoyed the randomness of the questions he would ask and they loved his individual attention without me hovering.
      Soon his class was asking me for these daily surveys so that they could do as Curtis was doing.  I noticed throughout his first grade year that what started out as a "job" and a premeditated social interaction turned into Curtis having the ability in himself to ask his friends simple social questions freely and without his handy clip board and pencil in front of him. He was interacting without the previous barriers and without the rules that were once so crucial. Curtis blossomed this year socially - trail and error, patience, acceptance and love helped him shed his armor. I am a huge advocate for social learning. I have always believed that Curtis will learn more from his peers than from what I have to teach. I may set the stage for these interactions to occur during his school day but than his friends take over quickly and willingly.  His friends also have more patience than myself on some of the tough days :)

Caron, 1:1 School Support

Curtis spent much of his first two years in school learning the other kids and their reactions to things. The school work has largely been easy. He was reading when others were learning the alphabet and adding coins when other kids were leaning 1-10. He has the states and state capitals down pretty cold. Many times he has helped friends with their reading and math and is largely eager to help those he trusts. An area where he needed a lot of help however was reacting appropriately to different news and events in the lives of his friends. As an example, he once burst out laughing while a classmate expressed dismay to the class about putting the family dog to sleep. In this instance, I suspect it was more likely his reaction to an unsettling situation he was uncomfortable with rather than not knowing how to appropriately react to the news. Curtis learned a lot about reading expressions through the use of PECS (which Laura will blog about soon) as well as by conducting surveys. He was already a big fan of "Sid the Science Kid" and very receptive to the use of surveys. Very good show for kids on the spectrum. The show is educational but also follows a very tight format where certain things happen at the same point in every episode and the same songs are sung. Curtis found this predictability very comforting.

Curtis writes surveys with simple questions and Yes or No responses answers in order to determine if a majority of people in his class feel the same way he does. For example, do they love ice cream and the Cat in the Hat as he does and they hate rainy days like him. It was re-assuring for Curt to know his friends had similar feelings to him and was an important bridge to building relationships.  Curtis also writes out surveys for family incorporating questions he has learned to ask, like how was your day, as well as squeezing in requests, like going for ice cream. Here is an example of a survey Curtis wrote in Word and printed for me a couple of months ago.

Dear Dad
I am having a good day!
How are you doing?

Are you having a good day?

Yes      No

Do you like weekends?

Yes      No

Do you like me?

Yes      No

Do you like hanging out with me?

Yes      No

Do you love me?

Yes      No

Do you play with me?

Yes      No

Do you like rides?

Yes      No

Do you like rules?

Yes      No


Greg, Dad
Curtis