Every little life is a special present for a family. From the time a baby is born, parents journey through lots of highs and lows, wishing for their child to grow up with a big smile, make great friends, find their own way in a job they love, and create a happy family. However, for parents bringing up a child with ASD, these dreams can sometimes seem far away and hard to reach.
Parents raising children with ASD often encounter extra challenges and experience higher levels of stress compared to other parent groups. Each child with ASD is unique and exhibits various symptoms and degrees of severity, like a lack of interest in social interactions and learning, tantrums, and trouble following instructions. Moms and dads often feel overwhelmed in handling their child’s challenging behaviors, and they often face hurdles in finding effective treatments, which can slow down or impede their child’s progress even more.
To support families with children facing ASD challenges, Autism Partnership has been organizing the APM Educational Project, a project that offers free 5-day APM training for children with ASD, every year since 2020.
This year, we have invited three 5-6 years old children with ASD to join the APM Educational Project 2024. While the three children each present unique challenging behaviors, a common thread among them is difficulty in social interaction and a lack of learning motivation. These shared struggles raise concerns among their parents about how they will integrate into society in the future.
The 5-day school-readiness training program aims to enhance their communication and social skills, as well as their learning motivation. Prior to the training, we have invited a kindergarten teacher to have a lesson with the 3 children, allowing our consultants to identify their strengths and areas for improvement.
Join us as we delve into insights from both mothers and the kindergarten teacher, providing a comprehensive understanding of the children and their unique qualities.
Introduction
A 5-Day Intensive APM Group Training Program Preparing 3 Children with Autism for School Readiness
Baseline
An Evaluation of the Behavior and Learning Skills of the 3 Children with Autism in a Classroom Setting
Ming Ming is an outgoing 5 years and 10 months old boy. He was diagnosed with ASD at 4 years old. His mother reported that Ming Ming doesn’t proactively engage in group games with his classmates, making it difficult for him to fit in. Ming Ming’s language development is also slower compared to his peers. Sometimes, he rigidly repeats certain phrases, and he has difficulty expressing his thoughts, which further hinders his social interactions.
His mother hopes to see Ming Ming thrive in a mainstream school, secure employment, and eventually lead an independent life. Her hope is for Ming Ming to refine his ability to articulate thoughts and needs accurately, bolster his intrinsic motivation to learn, and establish a strong foundation for integration into society.
Ming Ming’s mom was invited to present her perspective as an educational opportunity for addressing the awareness of ASD and importance of early-intervention. Ming Ming is a past client of Autism Partnership Beijing.
Hyun Hyun’s mom was invited to present her perspective as an educational opportunity for addressing the awareness of ASD and importance of early-intervention. Hyun Hyun is a past client of Autism Partnership Beijing.
Sum Sum, now 6 and a half years old, was diagnosed with ASD at 2 years old. Despite his strong desire to socialize and make new friends, he faces challenges as he perceives slapping and pushing others as a game, leading to his isolation from peers. Sum Sum also struggles with emotional regulation, often resulting in tantrums when faced with rejection. Sum Sum also displays challenging behaviors, such as not following instructions, rolling on the ground, and screaming in various situations.
Sum Sum’s mother hopes that the 5-day training will lead to improvements in his social skills, his capacity to follow instructions, and his ability to connect with other children.
Sum Sum’s mom was invited to present her perspective as an educational opportunity for addressing the awareness of ASD and importance of early-intervention. Sum Sum is a past client of Autism Partnership Beijing.
As a kindergarten teacher in a mainstream school, Ms Wong shared the difficulties she faced in getting Ming Ming, Sum Sum and Hyun Hyun to follow instructions during the first lesson.
Within a standard kindergarten class of over 20 students, Ms. Wong highlighted the challenge of supporting a child with ASD while ensuring the learning and safety of other children. Considering the limited resources in mainstream schools, she suggested that children with ASD should receive 1-on-1 training to acquire foundational learning skills before entering mainstream schools. Ms. Wong believes that this will be more beneficial for their future development.
Ms. Wong was invited to present her perspective as an educational opportunity for addressing the awareness of ASD and importance of early-intervention.
In the 5-day training, our team of experienced consultants, Mr. Justin Cho, Dr. Yvonne Cheung, and Ms. Christy Lai, have designed a specialized curriculum to meet the unique needs of Ming Ming, Hyun Hyun and Sum Sum.
Stay connected with our social media and website for upcoming videos, offering in-depth insights into the curriculum and highlighting the remarkable progress achieved by the 3 children. Keep an eye out for updates!
The APM Educational Program offers a 5-day professional behavior intervention training, provided by AP at no cost, for children with autism. This year, we have invited three 5-6 years old children with ASD to join the APM Educational Project. While the three children each present unique challenging behaviors, a common thread among them is difficulty […]
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