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The child with Asperger's and School

School is at best initially intimidating even for a child who does not have additional challenges. If your child has Asperger's, you need to take extra steps to make sure that you integrate them as much as possible. The more integrated they are, the more they will feel settled and accepted and the better they will learn. Remember that if your child with Aspergers settles well at school, there is no reason why they should not do as well as their counterparts.

There are very few special schools set up for children with Aspergers, unless you want to take them to a special needs school. Even if you do however, there are things that you can do to help your child cope better with school.

1. Make a school decision and stick with it. If you are lucky to get an early diagnosis, it gives you enough time to investigate options and make choices. Once you make a choice for school, and your child is settled there, stick with it. Children with Aspergers thrive on routine. They do not take well to changes. Moving them from school to school means that over and over again, they are trying to get used to a new routine.

2. Help them to get organized. Use visual aids for this. They need not be special or expensive. Sit with your child and make a calendar of activities. Use a visual aid  to remind them to do their homework when they get home. If they are having difficulty with concepts, use visual aids to explain the concepts and if they cam, let the child explain the concept back to you once they feel they have understood it.

3. Each day, before school, maybe after breakfast, take a few minutes to go through the routine for the day. Remind them what will happen at what time and let them be prepared for the activities that they will do at school. The only way to get this right is to make sure that as a parent, you are well looped with the school program. Keep in regular touch with the teacher to know what happens when.

4. Watch out for bullying. Your child is different. They can be an easy target for bullies, and this will obviously have an overall negative effect on their learning and outlook on life. If you suspect bullying, it needs to be addressed by the school administration, the bully and the bully's parents. They all need to understand that your child has special needs and they are not classed as weird or weak.

5. Use rewards to motivate every time your child gets something right. And don't wait for the big things either. Reward small tasks that have been accomplished – not accomplished well, just accomplished. Don't be a perfectionist. If they understand the reward system, they will naturally push themselves to do better and better, so be easy and flexible. They may do something differently from how it was asked of them, but if it's done and completed, reward them. It can be with something they like, a kind word of praise or even just a hug.

Remember that children with Aspergers are competent and intelligent, just wired  a little
differently. If you help them with it, should be as easy as it is for a normal child; maybe a few difficulties along the way, but nothing that cannot be overcome.

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