Need Help With Pre-K Student
amykins1283
member
I have a student in my Pre-K this year who is quite interesting. My assistant and I are having difficulties with his behavior and I am hoping that someone here can shed some light and maybe offer some possible ideas on how to help him.
So, we'll call him V.
V is academically gifted. At four years old I suspect that he is already reading on a second grade level. He can sound out words and has fairly good reading comprehension. He is also advanced in math and is starting to do addition and subtraction. He has fairly poor gross motor skills and moves awkwardly. His fine motor skills are also underdeveloped and he has difficulties performing tasks like coloring, cutting with scissors, and writing.
Socially V is also very awkward. He mostly engages in parallel play around the other students and exclusively plays "fantasy" games where he is pretending to be a Star Wars character. He will often ask me (the teacher) to join him in his game by playing a character but will rarely give direction beyond what character I am to play and does not seemed bothered if I interact with him or not. If another student becomes interested and tries to join him in his play it is the same thing. Often I have to engage him in class within the parameters of whatever fantasy character he has adopted that day. He has issues handling changes but also seems to want to rebel against our class schedule if he is not ready to transition from one activity to another. He has also discovered that he can do things to other kids and get a reaction (for example, he loves to say "bathroom words" out loud to other students and has discovered that people do not like when you put your feet in their face). He seems to delight in annoying the other kids. It seems to me that V does not understand the difference between good and bad reactions.
V also does not respond to any system of rewards or consequences. He is not interested in doing any sort of alternate activities suggested by my assistant or myself when we see him ramping up this behavior. It's what he wants to do or nothing. He also becomes extremely upset if there is an activity (during centers or small group) that he does not get to participate in (even though the choices are there and he is free to do the activities whenever he chooses).
I have a strong suspicion that there is a diagnosis for him but I am not sure what it would be. Developmental delay and Asperger's have both crossed my mind. One on hand I recognize that is is good that he is seeking some social interaction with the other kids BUT his behavior is extremely disruptive to my classroom environment. I have heard of social stories but I am under the impression that these are specific books that I would have to purchase unless there is a free resource that I could access.
Any insight on how to improve his day-to-day behavior would be great. Several of my students are beginning to become annoyed with his constant disruptions while others are intent on copying him. I want to help him learn to behave in more socially appropriate ways so that he will have an easier transition into kindergarten next year. Thanks!
ETA: Forgot to mention he seems to have a complete lack of empathy and also denies personal responsibility for pretty much anything he does, whether accidental or on purpose. For example, he was kicking his legs out and kicked another student. He was adamant that "I did NOT kick him!" even though my assistant and I both witnessed what had happened. This behavior extends to other things, such as cleaning up after himself, as well.
Re: Need Help With Pre-K Student
Are you a special education preschool teacher? I'm thinking you are a regular ed teacher - have you talked with the parents about these behaviors are they aware of what is going on?
Honestly, it sounds like this child needs more support than when you can provide. He probably needs a good evaluation, possibly OT, PT and social skills groups. There are a lot of resources available to help, and there are online resources for social stories but I'd really encourage a complete evaluation for this child above all else.
I am a regular ed teacher but have had experience with inclusion at my previous job (public school kindergarten teacher). There I had the support of the special ed team, though! I teach at a center now because it's the same daycare my son goes to. Anyway, what we have on our hands (according to the director and previous teachers) is a case of parents who are "blind" so to speak to his issues due to his academic giftedness. My hands are tied because I can document, document, document and present the info to the parents but at this point it's up to them as to what they want to do with it. His parents are aware of the behavioral issues but seem to brush them off.
I agree with the others. It is great you want to learn more and help him. Have you discussed this with the center's director? Until his behavior challenges are addressed consistantly at home, I think you are in for an uphill battle. Perhaps he needs to get booted out of a couple of daycares for the parents to get the message. Your other option is to encourage them to find a pre-k more attuned to his specific "giftedness". If he cannot behave in a more academically challenging environment, then maybe they will wake up.
Is there any way his "report card" can be based on non-academic stuff? To be fair, this would have to be done for all your students. Shouldn't Pre-K be the place where academics take a back seat to all the social skills and behaviors necessary for learning? You could call it a "Ready to Learn Assessment"
I remember going through a checklist with Nate's daycare and the "grades" were either a plus or minus. ( this was in the 2's class though) Most of the stuff he was graded on seemed to be taken right from an autism red flag list.
I hope you can get some tips from the other ASD moms on here regarding the behaviors. Good Luck.
Some of the behavior you described sounds just like my ds. He has ASD, and attends a regular daycare along with attending pre-k at the local elementary school. He transitioned from EI and qualified for pre-k, although he was still attending the same daycare.