kindergarten SOS

[mary84]

hey mom's and dad's my son is about to make the BIG transistion from pre-k to kindergarten. i am so excited my little boy is starting a new adventure and i am also terrified. school standards in the state of new york are sky rocketing. my cousins kindergartener now going into first grade, was learning simple multiplacation...IN KINDERGARTEN!!!! my son has a form of autism know as ODD. oppositional defiance disorder. he will be in all normal classes, no special ed, it isn't a major form of autism just a slight one, it is on the lower end of the spectrum. anyways, i am worried that he just won't get the material, understand it. and before kindergarten they give you a mile long list of everything they need to know before the start of school. examples being, tie their shoes write their names and all the letters of the alphabet, know and write all their numbers 0-20, ect. now my son can recognize all the letters, and numbers he can write his full name, can write most of his letters, knows his numbers. he has trouble writing a few of the letters and recognizing some numbers and has no idea how to tie his shoes even though we have showed him numerous times. i am so anxious about this upcoming school year. i need help on what to do and how to do it and how to relax a bit

[MommaC]

It's hard to relax when they give you a list of things to worry about! But, yeah, the best thing you can do is relax. Give him opportunities to learn and encourage him, but certainly don't push him. He'll learn when his brain is ready. I guess I wouldn't worry too much about the ODD affecting his learning potential. A lot of ODD kids are very bright. His behavior might be the interfering factor. And even that I wouldn't worry about until there's an actual problem. Kids develop along a wide range of normal. Even some of the typically-developing kids aren't going to know all the stuff on that list. Some of their brains just aren't mature enough, and some of them just haven't had the exposure. Work with him, but accept his skills where they are.

[Smartbabies101]

mary, autistic children are far smarter than most people think they are, thats for sure. I really want to advise that you read "What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child", by Glenn Doman. Its a groundbreaking work. It gives hope and help to parents with autistic children, and shows them how to make their children better, so they can read their true potential. Doman's book can be found at Amazon.com. Doman and his organization, IAHP, has taught over 20,000 parents from 107 countries about Autism and how to help these children. Check the website out here:
http://www.iahp.org

Please, please, please, read the book! Its easy to get, and will change your life.