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From: Patti Kirk
Date: 10/15/01
Time: 1:55:08 AM
Remote Name: 195.249.26.49
Thank you for your response and further questions about my student. We take C swimming once a week and we have a spa-wet room at the school. He loves water and being in the water. He is hyperactive--we must (we are three teachers to 6 children) work with him one on one for the best results. He repeats certain movements-rapid movements with his hands under water and splashing wildly if anyone is near him. He loves just throwing stones into the nearby lake. His parents said that one day they let him do it as long as he would, just to see how long he would continue--after seven hours and darkness they took him home. He throws books--we have a set of soft balls that he can throw inside so we divert his lust for throwing to them. We limit our questions to him to simple one or two word answers, sometimes with good results--sometimes we get unrelated responses. We have stopped telling him what he may not do and instead remind him what he CAN do. It seems to simplify things for him. People are always telling children what they can't do, it's easier for him to remember the things they tell him he is allowed to do. I thought of Tourettes as a possibility after my first meeting with him, but the teachers came with the 'split brain' idea. But from everything I have read about Tourettes, his tics, unrelated replies, outbursts, C fits. Can Tourettes be acquired? HC will sit for long periods of time 30-45 minutes when we read rhymes or sing with him. He can repeat most of the songs/rymes himself. I try to work with his hyperactivity constantly, to direct his energy into a positive productive activity...I have recently introduced pictures of the food and utensils we use for a meal and taped them to the table. He has 'set the table' in this manner--he tells me what he sees, finds it in the refridgerator and puts it on the picture. I don't know if that is what you would call a pscyo-motoric exercise or not--can you please give me some examples of what type activity this would be. Can you please suggest authors/titles of texts that could help me with just such activities?
Your help is very greatly appreciated.