vSAM
continued from page 7
“Sam has a great group
of friends who all share
the same issues, same little
quirks on the spectrum of
their disorder but Middle
School will be a big pond,”
Amy said. “Some are more
empathetic and emotional,
some have more difficulties
with social skills, but they
balance each other.”
The work with the
speech therapist includes
talking with Sam about
what ifs. “What if this
happened Sam, what would
you do,” and after hearing
his response, the therapist
may offer another option like, ‘Sam, what if you did this?” The idea
is to put Sam in another person’s shoes, so it is not such a one-sided
conversation. Amy believes the philosophy focuses on repetition of
a variety of interactions in order to reinforce more positive behavior
patterns.
Certainly, during these early years in Beadle School, Sam was
relatively safe every day with the same students in his class and the
same teacher. In Middle School, he will be placed in a variety of
forced interactions with many other students and moving to different
classrooms with different teachers. Sam has already expressed concern
about Middle School looming on the horizon, the transition and the
unknowns, and Amy understands his apprehension.
“I know how poorly he deals with change and lack of structure and
know those first few days will be very difficult for him,” Amy said.
Amy said she can ask Sam a question and he will answer but he will
never respond with a question. There is never any back and forth. It
doesn’t occur to Sam to ask a question. She adds though he is a very
enjoyable child even though he is messy and that exasperates her. She
can follow his trail through the house whether it be the Legos he was
playing with or fruit roll-up wrappers. He just drops as he goes – leaves
a path.
“I admit it is a struggle for me and I know Sam struggles, too,”
Amy said. “It is very upsetting for him if he gets in trouble, almost
like a physical pain for him. It is part of the spectrum disorder called
rejection sensitivity and he cannot physically handle someone yelling
at him, especially Jeff or me. He cries and says he’s sorry.” The family
hopes that will improve with maturity and only time will tell.
Another disadvantage Amy sees for Sam is he has not discovered
his own voice so thinking for himself is a challenge. He tends to
follow what someone else does but he is also very literal and very
factual. Physics is his favorite topic and he will walk abound the
house spouting facts. Interestingly enough, his older sister Hannah is
a junior in college studying Physics as her major and they bond very
well, talking about their favorite science. They even enjoy the same TV
shows and Amy says their brains work similarly.
Sharing facts with another person would be Sam’s choice rather
than any social interaction. He would rather talk about the moon and
stars or dark matter than ask how someone’s day went.
“There’s a smart little brain in there and sometimes it’s a struggle
to get it out when there are so many other things rattling in there, it’s
hard to wade through it all,” Amy said. In his narrow-minded world,
science is his interest and he excels in that area. The other subjects are
not so important. He loves to watch videos about science all day long
and prefers that to a book. Siri helps him to find things on the Internet
because he struggles with spelling and is very phonetic. He also
struggles with complete sentences because he cannot understand the
structure of Grammar. His vocabulary is quite extensive, but he cannot
bring the words to paper.
The couple sees the frustration in Sam’s struggle to learn and how
badly he wants it to be right. He worries about grades even though
they have always encouraged all their children to work hard, knowing
he is harder on himself than others are. Knowing his anxiety will grow
as the subjects and classwork gets harder is a concern for the Johnsons.
Sam also has learned the value of work as he knows he has chores
every week and works hard to make sure the jobs are completed. He
understands the importance of caring for his home and cleaning up
after one’s self, which will serve him well when he is an adult.
But really all Sam cares about is his science. He has no interest
in band, choir, music or art. Sports have no attraction nor does
swimming. He participated in a two-day robotics camp in Vermillion
this summer and completed a week-long activity here in Yankton
called Camp Invention for the third year. He came home with a lot
of projects which they had created and also talked about recycling
and environmental concerns during the week. The activities are very
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) based.
“The activities for children like him are few and far between here,”
Amy said. “I wish more people would be ‘thinking outside of the
box’ for activities for children who are not sports-minded.”
Amy and Jeff are very proactive about making sure Sam’s needs are
met so he is successful in school. There is a good support system in the
school and other parents with children like Sam need to be diligent, so
their children’s needs are addressed. Advocating for better services is a
continuing challenge.
Diagnosing children with Autism and other disorders in the
spectrum is becoming more common Amy believes. There are
many forms of the disorder from low functioning children to high
functioning with maybe nothing more than social quirks so there is
more acceptance now. There is a willingness to recognize and diagnose
children now.
vSAM continued on page 27
October is Breast Cancer
Awareness Month
Bring In A Completed Chemo Cap and
Receive 15% Off Your Entire Purchase!
Cancer Caps will be donated to cancer patients in Yankton and the surrounding areas.
10% OFF All PINK Items
In The Store! Save All Month!
Expires 10/31/18
909 Broadway, Tripp Park Plaza
605-689-3999
www.eweknitit.com
Open: Monday-Friday 10am-6pm • Saturday 10am-5pm
HERVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018v19