Totally random but parents here, I need some advice <3 (396 views)

I wish I had more for you, but the pandemic has been difficult for all kids and teachers (my youngest is a teacher). When you realize that the last normal school year kids had was 3 years ago, that is just so long in the life of a child. And to lose a parent on top of that.

As you know, autism is a spectrum -- and I wonder sometimes if we aren't all on it. My niece has been diagnosed and my other son -- the one who was a National Merit Scholar and AP Scholar, has come to believe that he is on the spectrum (this coming up after he finished graduate school). They are both very bright. From what I understand, autism has more to do with verbal and non-verbal communication and processing, not intelligence.

I guess the first thing I would try to figure out is whether she struggles with math because conceptual learning is more difficult. Many kiddos fall into this category with no autism issues -- math is just a different kind of thinking and it build on itself, so if you have one bad teacher or miss one thing in the chain, it can cause you to stumble and fail with all math until you find the problem and fix it. My youngest son had this issue with a bad teacher in 6th grade. He was failing in 7th until we got it fixed -- then he was able to tutor friends. Or is she having problems with how the information is being taught? Is her teacher aware of her struggles? Teachers are overwhelmed right now, but the ones that are still there are there because they are called to teach and help. Don't be afraid to reach out to her teacher, a counselor or others at the school for their suggestions and assistance. You may be surprised what expertise and help is readily available. Can you look at the materials she gets from the school and what she is getting with the paid program and see how they are different? That would help you identify what it is you are looking for.