I have a student in my ESL class who is 7 years old. He is exhibiting a lot of behavioral and learning problems that make it difficult to teach him. Some examples:
Sometimes he will repeat everything I say after me (this has gone on for 20 minutes sometimes).
He will say nonsensical things, repeating them over and over again in an attempt to be funny, but doesn't recognize that everyone in the class is annoyed with it (i.e. "My name is Bee.")
He has trouble writing (both English and his native language) in a straight line, even on lined paper
His movements and speech are very "spastic"
He has extreme mood shifts. For instance, once he tried to stab me with his pencil and pushed me when I tried to get him to copy a sentence in his notebook.
He gets what I can only describe as "mental blocks". For instance, today he would only write on the left side of his notebook.
He will also do odd things as a joke-- walking into the classroom and laying on the floor. He thinkgs it's funny, but the other kids think it's strange.
He's unable to be quiet-- constantly making noises or repeating words even when I ask him to be quiet or get upset with him. However, if I'm not talking, then he won't talk. He seems to feel the need to "chatter" only when I'm talking as well. I don't think he does it to misbehave or be irritating. It's as though he doesn't understand that it's inappropriate.
I wonder if it is autism because he seems to be okay socially. He interacts with the other kids, and doesn't appear shy. They think he is weird, but he doesn't seem to realize this.
I am teaching in Korea, where behavioral conditions like autism, aspergers, ADD, etc... aren't really recognized. What I'm looking for is a way to better understand his behavior so maybe I can have more successful results in teaching him and learn some tactics for dealing with his behavior in the classroom.
Sometimes he will repeat everything I say after me (this has gone on for 20 minutes sometimes).
He will say nonsensical things, repeating them over and over again in an attempt to be funny, but doesn't recognize that everyone in the class is annoyed with it (i.e. "My name is Bee.")
He has trouble writing (both English and his native language) in a straight line, even on lined paper
His movements and speech are very "spastic"
He has extreme mood shifts. For instance, once he tried to stab me with his pencil and pushed me when I tried to get him to copy a sentence in his notebook.
He gets what I can only describe as "mental blocks". For instance, today he would only write on the left side of his notebook.
He will also do odd things as a joke-- walking into the classroom and laying on the floor. He thinkgs it's funny, but the other kids think it's strange.
He's unable to be quiet-- constantly making noises or repeating words even when I ask him to be quiet or get upset with him. However, if I'm not talking, then he won't talk. He seems to feel the need to "chatter" only when I'm talking as well. I don't think he does it to misbehave or be irritating. It's as though he doesn't understand that it's inappropriate.
I wonder if it is autism because he seems to be okay socially. He interacts with the other kids, and doesn't appear shy. They think he is weird, but he doesn't seem to realize this.
I am teaching in Korea, where behavioral conditions like autism, aspergers, ADD, etc... aren't really recognized. What I'm looking for is a way to better understand his behavior so maybe I can have more successful results in teaching him and learn some tactics for dealing with his behavior in the classroom.