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[quote=Anonymous]Hello, my 4th grade 10 year old DS has mild ASD. School has been going great except for PE class, which has been a heart-breaking disaster. DS is the least athletic kid in the class and is increasingly self-conscious about it. Before this year, he actually enjoyed gym class. What changed is that his new gym teacher seems to be more of an old fashioned, staff-sergeant type than his previous teachers, and in addition they've started Healthy Fitness Zone tests twice a year, where kids are graded on their athletic skills in things like running and sit-ups. DS has always been averse to climbing, running, and the other kinds of physical activities that would give him these skills. We exercise as a family at home, but we can only push DS so far and so the returns are very limited. Not unexpectedly, he scored poorly in all of the Healthy Fitness Zones test areas. Yesterday, his gym teacher announced everyone's scores in front of the entire class, and DS was utterly humiliated. He cried when he told me about it at home.

To make matters more complicated, DS's school doesn't know that he has ASD. The neuropsychologist who diagnosed DS recommended that we wait several years to speak openly with him about it. Because DS is doing great in school academically and because of the recommendation to wait awhile before discussing autism with DS, we made a decision to keep the diagnosis as private as possible. We want to minimize the odds that DS will find out before his Dr. thinks he's ready for it.

In this situation, what would you do? I want to do something - ANYTHING - to make it so that DS doesn't have to be so embarrassed and stressed about PE. I've encouraged him just to try his best and not worry about grades and what not, but this only helps so much. Would you make the PE teacher aware of his ASD, and take on the risk that she doesn't keep it private? Should we seek some sort of accommodation for DS? I have no idea what to do and welcome any suggestions. [/quote]

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