OT ?

A child of 5 or 6 high functioning autistic,is there some way to introduce arduino type or any other electronic programming technology that is self learning when you do not know the capabilities of the child or what is locked up in there? the parents are not in the electronic field,apparently he is alright at maths sometimes he walks past his 8 year old sister doing maths and out of the blue he will tell her the answer, he comes out with all sorts of stuff, don't know what is locked up in there He seems normal to the uninitiated.

Reply to
F Murtz
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The difference is a lack of interest in things social, ie communicating, sharing, fashion etc, and he's evidently well ahead of his age. So I'd leave out the hey it's cool crap and don't patronise.

TBH I'd think electronics more use to him than programming. Programming is popular now.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Your best bet might be some kind of cheap tablet device and see what he finds interesting rather than try and choose a path. Finding out if he is any good at Sudoku or other visual pattern matching puzzles would be one way to proceed. Apps are cheap (mostly trials are zero cost).

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Regards, 
Martin Brown
Reply to
Martin Brown

Try Scratch

Bye Jack

Reply to
jack4747

Snap circuits maybe?

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Huh.. by Elenco.

George H.

Reply to
George Herold

Self learning is an inherent capability of humans. What the parents of the boy (and you) need to do is observe him and you will soon figure out where his interests lie. Once you have worked out what the particular talents are, you can then cater to them.

You have a few issues here you need to be aware of. One, children with ASD tend to obsess over things and that can become a hindrance to other learning needs - social skills for example. Two, if you push a thing onto a kid you may find they take it up, not because they like it, but because they want to please you. They will also continue long after they have become bored with it for the same reason. This will hinder the child from discovering his own underlying talents or interests. Three, take your time, watch the kid at play, see what interest him, make suggestions and, above all, expect false starts. After all, the kid is experimenting too and may seem to get interested in something but later get bored. That's why you need to make sure that whatever you suggest or offer is not seen by the child as an imperative. Fourth, whatever you offer, ensure that it will not allow the child to become a hermit. Children on the ASD have issues with social skills so try to offer suggestions, etc. that require human interaction. Fifth, nurture any signs of self expression that may be displayed and don't be negative. You never know what those bits of self expression may lead to.

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Xeno 

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Reply to
Xeno

He already has access to all that kind of tech and is better at it than the oldies.

Reply to
F Murtz

You are still better off letting him choose what he wants to learn within reason and then look out for apps that may appeal to him. There are plenty of puzzles to choose from and then you will get some idea of what areas he excels at to choose better things in future.

From the description you have given then Flow Free might be the sort of thing that he would find absorbing :

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But don't ignore classic board games like checkers, solitaire, othello, chess and go (in increasing order of difficulty). Some good free resources on PCs and Android at least up to GM level.

There is a curious link between being naturally good at mathematics and musical ability by lazy pattern matching which you might want to look for. Not always true but often enough to be worth taking a look at.

Mechano or a safer plastic alternative might also appeal. Likewise for modelling clay or drawing pencils. The wider the range of experiences they get to try the more likely you are to find the right one.

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Regards, 
Martin Brown
Reply to
Martin Brown

It's not a 'curious' link but a definite physical one related to spatial-temporal reasoning. Look up the Mozart effect for more info and direction. If a child has learnt to play a musical instrument, they fare better with tasks requiring spatial-temporal cognition, hand eye coordination and mathematics skills. The reason for this is the overlap between music skills and maths skills. The patterns of rhythm, beat, melody and harmony that people find pleasant in music are embodied mathematical expressions. The linkage was explained to me many, many years ago by an electronics engineer who was also a muso. He explained to me in infinite detail the connection. The upshot of this is that if you want your children to fare better with mathematics, then have them also learn to play a musical instrument. Not only are they developing their ability to make music, they are also strengthening their mind to cope with mathematical reasoning.

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Xeno 

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Reply to
Xeno

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