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Struggling to "teach" narration…(autism)

Name: CHEC Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-06-12T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-06-14T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Denver, CO

Tagged: autism, narration, struggle

This topic has 2 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 9 months ago by Sonya Shafer.

Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

Author
Posts
August 29, 2009 at 7:49 pm
mfurnell
Participant
This is our first year at “officially” implementing CM methods. My 6 yo is a very natural narrator. He retells with great detail. However, my 8 yo has autism and is struggling with the concept. I have been reading on the forum about narration as well as several blogs that address the “struggling narrator”. My son is a very visual learner and using his imagination is sometimes a challenge. He cannot “lose himself” in a book the way my 6 yo can. While I know it will take time, I am wondering about some strategies that may or may not help him. Is it self-defeating to use visual supports such as graphic organizers (beginning, middle, end – character webs that describe – etc.) to help him remember parts of the story as we go through a book? While you may not have dealt specifically with autism, what have you done to help your struggling narrator?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts….
Melissa
August 29, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Mamasong
Member
Our dd who is on the autism spectrum either draws pictures or acts out the story for narration.
Rachel
September 1, 2009 at 12:14 am
Sonya Shafer
Moderator
Melissa, have you checked out Tammy’s blog about her experiences with Pamela, her daughter? She has some wonderful ideas and descriptions scattered through her posts that might be helpful to you. Very CM friendly; very autism helpful!
On a related note, I must share a narrating victory I experienced today with Hannah, my 11yo with autism. She has other developmental delays too, so she’s operating on more of a 4 or 5 year old level, I would say. Anyway, you can read my description of her progress in narration on my other blog, Intentional Parents. I hope it at least encourages you to keep going.