I am choosing a student for whom I think VTS
will be both a help and a challenge. I
am going to call this boy “Charlie”. I
noticed during a VTS session that Charlie has a difficult time with sitting
still, speaking out of turn, and accepting differing comments from other
students. His teacher described him to
me as possibly having a form of Asperger’s Syndrome. I am familiar with Asperger’s, but I did some
general investigating on the web to refresh my memory.
I found on several medical sites that there
is no prescribed treatment, and there is not much data on the effectiveness of
any one intervention in particular.
Also, the main symptom is having a very difficult time in navigating
social situations. After reading this
information about Asperger’s, I feel that VTS may be very challenging for
Charlie. My hope is that repeated
exposure to VTS - especially the order
of the questions – will help him to find familiarity within its overall
structure. Since children with
Asperger’s have a difficult time with change, this may eventually have a
calming effect on Charlie.
In moving forward, I think it will be
important for me to continue to establish the “rules” of VTS with him. For example, reminding Charlie that he needs
to raise his hand before he shares his comments. Learning this boundary may help him to feel calmer,
and aid in his being able to listen to others respond without being overly
defensive. Charlie is definitely a
challenging student, but I feel that if I stick with the VTS format (and
staying firm and calm), this process just might have a therapeutic effect on
him.
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