Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gyeryongmike]

Does anyone have any advice that will help me. I just got a new student today he's a 13 year old autistic boy. I feel really bad because I was kinda getting mad at him for not doing any work in class just playing with his pencils. It wasn't until I talked with my boss that he told me about him.

[bassexpander]

You've got to just do your best... be kind. Try to find something he's interested in and teach around that. A lot of times, families in Korea put autistic kids in with the rest in hopes that they'll lead a more normal life (not sure how that works).

Really, you've just got to find a way to interest the kid and teach to whatever that is (or do your best to keep him from disrupting the class). Some autistic/slow kids can surprise you. I had a girl four years ago who took 30 seconds to form a sentence, but the grammar was correct. She studied with her mother every night, and although she was very slow, she actually was able to communicate better than the students who didn't care. She liked rabbits, so I bought her a little pack of rabbit markers as a "prize" for doing well. She really loved that.

[TheChickenLover]

Autistic children require specialized training & teaching methods that you are NOT equipped with. I would find that if someone gave me an autistic child, I would clearly tell them that I would not be able to effectively educate them nor would I accept responsibility when things go very sour with that student later down the road (tantrums..fits..etc).

Autistic kids are indeed special, & need a trained professional to deal with them that we are not equipped at all for.

Chicken

[Jammer113]

I will preface this by saying that I've never taught any autistic children and I am by no means an expert.


I second the person who said that there's no way you're equipped to deal with an autistic child, but that doesn't mean you can change your situation.

I'd say that a chaotic class will drive an autistic child crazy. They have trouble handling and processing interactions anyways. Dealing with all sorts of new and changing stuff will be very difficult. A calm and routine class where they know what to expect would be better for them.

There are also different types and levels of autism. That's assuming your student is actually autistic and wasn't mis-diagnosed or that you got a poorly translated diagnosis.


There's a Korean movie out called "Marathon".. I think the Korean might be "마라톤" but I'm not certain. It's about an autistic child who trains for a marathon. There's also a book my girlfriend is currently reading called "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time". It's a murder-mystery type book written from the perspective of an autistic child. I can't say exactly how accurate either of these are for describing autism, but they might help you to get some perspective.

Hope that helps!

[simpleminds]

The above posters have given good advice.

Your boss should have told you you have an autistic kid in your class, you're lucky he just played with his pencils and didn't have a fit.

Playing with his pencils is his coping mechanism, (as you found out), an ordered, structured, quietly-run class should help draw him out. It may take months before you get any response, though. It has to be on his terms, not yours. Autistics may be socially impaired, but they are highly sensitive to vibes, ambience, attitude, and routine. They love routine, it's easier for them to let the world into their world.

Kindness and patience are your best bet, and if you can play music, it would help. Autistic people love patterns, puzzles, and rytham.

Good luck.

[Jennie]

ditto on with what TheChickenLover said... autistic children need specialized treatment, or supplemental treatment to what they already receive at school.

Anyway, I worked with autistic children for two years before I came to Korea.

Oh boy. Don't know where to start. On what level does your boss and his parents know about his condition? My experience so far is that autistic children do not get the attention they need. I brought up two obvious cases with my supervisor and they just swept the idea under the rug.

I would try to get as much information from your boss as possible. Every autistic child is different. I had a client that would vomit if his feet got to cold (sensory issues) and another that would poo himself... and another that would scream if someone touched his head, and another that would just sit and smile even if someone screamed bloody murder (imagine this in an ordinary hagwon) But chances are your student isn't as low functioning. Most clients were a lot like any other child, just different in small ways.

Anyway, I would suggest just getting to know your student. Try to figure out his likes/dislikes. Use a variety of teaching approaches and try to figure out what he responds to best (visual/auditory/kinesthetic/repetition/memorization/etc.) I imagine any severe issues will pop up pretty fast. Just deal with him with patience. If/when other students notice, if there is any teasing/hazing/name calling (byungshin/jiral/dorai/etc.), put a stop to it as quick as possible.

Good luck.