Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

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Building the Social Connection
Volume 112, Program 24
Airdate: 6/7/2012
Original airdate: 10/15/2009

Developing social skills is a major challenge for kids with Asperger’s syndrome. Can a parent really provide adequately for those needs in the context of homeschooling? Today’s guest on Home School Heartbeat shares some valuable suggestions on this topic with host Mike Smith.

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Mike Smith:
My guest again today is Dianne Craft, one of our special needs coordinators here at HSLDA. Dianne, what kinds of helps can parents look for to build social or relational skills in their Asperger’s-affected child?

Dianne Craft:
This is the number one issue that concerns parents of a child with Asperger’s syndrome: “How will my child get along in the world? Will he be a loner all his life?”

Parents can help their children learn to appropriately respond to various social situations by using some of the well-made DVDs that are available. In these daily lessons, the parent and child watch a DVD of a scene where children are interacting. Then the parent turns off the DVD and discusses with the child various appropriate responses. These DVDs are designed to cover the different kinds of social demands that a child faces daily, that are so puzzling for the child with Asperger’s syndrome.

Some helpful websites for these DVDs are ModelMeKids.com and SocialSkillBuilder.com. For more resources, read the article, “Homeschooling your Child with Asperger’s Syndrome” at hslda.org/strugglinglearner.

Mike:
Dianne, thanks for sharing your perspective on Asperger’s with our listeners today. And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.

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