Rigidity preventing learning

[Anonymous]

Here’s a question for other parents with autistic children:

DC is autistic and in third grade. He can usually add four digit numbers in his head, but he works left to right. He occasionally makes a mistake with complicated regrouping, which he perceives as fine.

I’m working with him on adding two-digit numbers, working from right to left, and it’s pure h*ll. DC will not write the small numbers on top to show regrouping. If he’s asking 95+ 8, he’ll write 1 0 3, in that order, rather than writing the ones first. I can see this coming back to haunt him in future grades, as well as on standardized tests.

We are working with this child on a million behavior goals and social skills. This behavior does not even break his top 5 problems. I would rather reason with him, and save the big guns for more pressing issues.

If you have an autistic child with rigidity, how have you handled it? What worked or didn’t?

If you have typically-developing children, please understand that just having high expectations isn’t enough. My typically developing dc is a completely different ball game.

[Anonymous]

I would let the regrouping thing go. He'll figure it out when he needs to. It's not worth it when you have so many other high priority issues.

[Anonymous]

I would not want him to continue like this because it will be harder to break this habit & then make later math more difficult. Could you get a math tutor who tells him that this is a math rule - and it must be done this way? That way you don't have to fight with him - and a teacher/authority tells him that's the rule and must be done that way? Does he have an IEP in school? Can the resource teacher pull him out and work on this concept?

[Anonymous]

Are you having him do it this way because it's how his school teaches it? Or because it's how you learned a s a child?

[Anonymous]

Give him a bunch of problems with a lot of regrouping and make him not make mistakes on the answer. There’s no law you have to do it right to left, it’s just much easier not to err.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give him a bunch of problems with a lot of regrouping and make him not make mistakes on the answer. There’s no law you have to do it right to left, it’s just much easier not to err.

Yes, but adding 80897 + 28705 + 15863 or whatever is much, much easier working from right to left. It will come back to bite him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you having him do it this way because it's how his school teaches it? Or because it's how you learned a s a child?

Both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not want him to continue like this because it will be harder to break this habit & then make later math more difficult. Could you get a math tutor who tells him that this is a math rule - and it must be done this way? That way you don't have to fight with him - and a teacher/authority tells him that's the rule and must be done that way? Does he have an IEP in school? Can the resource teacher pull him out and work on this concept?

His IEP doesn’t cover math specifically, but it does cover autism. I can ask. I was going to avoid the expense of tutoring, but it seems like there’s no magic bullet. We spend all of our money on this child.

[Anonymous]

Is dyscalculia an issue? MAybe unstuck and on target to help with cognitive flexibility

[Anonymous]

Wow. I guess with pen and paper left to right is ok but I tried adding those numbers left to right in my head and it's hard to keep track of the carried digit and remember the summed digits. If DC can do that in head that's quite impressive.
But does he understand the theory behind the practice of right to left? Least and most significant digits. Carry and flow?

He might actually like number theory starting with primes, too.


Or by left to right do you mean partial sums? Like 150 + 667 is 100+600 plus 50+60 plus 7? Some places teach that.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you're feeling pretty stressed, and this is not your biggest problem at the moment. Let him do it wrong, he's still basically on track and you can't give your maximum effort to every issue. "It will come back to bite him" is you imagining a future problem. Focus on your present problems. Be flexible!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give him a bunch of problems with a lot of regrouping and make him not make mistakes on the answer. There’s no law you have to do it right to left, it’s just much easier not to err.

Yes, but adding 80897 + 28705 + 15863 or whatever is much, much easier working from right to left. It will come back to bite him.

Right, so make him do problems like that. The best way to teach a technique is to use problems that are most easily solved with that technique. Or are you saying he’s so invested in his way that he doesn’t care if he gets the wrong answer?

[Anonymous]

Right now he doesn’t need to do it the way everyone else does, but when they start giving him bigger problems, he will have to. I am sure he will adapt when he has to. Right now he doesn’t see the need. If the teacher takes points off for not showing his work, he will have to do it.

Since it’s not a problem now for him to get the right answer his way, let it go. Let the teacher handle it now. Don’t worry about what might happen in the future.

I’ve taught lots of kids like this. As the math gets harder it works out. Let this go. It’s not worth it.

[Anonymous]

The way he is doing it shows a better understanding than applying a regrouping process. Let his teacher fight this battle, or not. I don't understand why you feel this is worth it.

[Anonymous]

You have good instinct to correct it now.