AARRGGHH!!! My son has lost one to one correspondence!

[chiguirre]

He really can't count more than 5 objects, seriously. He can still skip count by 2s, 5s, and 10s and is okay adding with a numberline, but he's lost the ability to point at objects and count them without losing his place. He just keeps right on counting past the number of objects. This is the first time I've actually seen him lose a previously mastered skill and I'm a bit freaked out. He doesn't seem to have lost any other skills and his spelling and letter formation has actually improved a bit lately.

Ds is autistic, but doesn't have any comorbid conditions. Could this be a sign of seizure activity? What other symptoms should I look for? Or is this just one of those things that happens with autism?

:confused:

[MomofC&A]

I am not sure about autism, but our dd's neuropsych said it is common with ADHD. I have two children with that diagnosis and it happens sometimes with both of them.

[chiguirre]

I'm glad to hear we're not alone. What have you done when your dc have lost a skill? I'm planning to go back to the beginning of 1st grade and redo counting and adding/subtracting with manipulatives. Did your dc have to "relearn" the skill or did they just need to "remember" it? Should I plan to redo all of first grade math or just revisit key concepts?

[MomofC&A]

I try to keep reviewing concepts as needed with flash cards and other ways to practice skills. I did back up with ds with phonics and he seems to be "getting it" better this time, but we will see if it sticks. I am trying to add in some games to make review a little more fun. I would probably review key concepts rather than go back and repeat a whole year of math. I think they just need to remember it rather than relearn it. I plan to have both of them keep practicing skills during the summer this year as that is just too long of a break for them.

[Momto2Ns]

My ds is on the autistic spectrum and I have always had to watch out for this happening. Skills that I think are there forever, suddenly disappear. They usually come back pretty quickly though. We try to keep a running review of skills going for a long time, far longer than with a typical child.

A good example of this for my son would be multiplication tables. He learned them at 8 in third grade. We kept practicing through fourth & fifth, but I let it slide this year. Suddenly, (at 11) he was doing long division with decimals and couldn't come up with what number to multiply by to figure out the problem. I was stunned. We had to find our multiplication flash cards and practice every day for a couple of weeks to get them set again. Since then I've continued running them once a week the rest of the year to keep them, even though he uses them in high level math.

It is symptomatic and incredibly frustrating!

[Dobela]

Some of this is also just normal development. Even children without learning difficulties will temporarily forget an old skill while learning a new skill. The hard part is knowing when it is truely forgotten and when it is temporarily misfiled in the brain.

[Geo]

Even kids without autism can get off track. If he can re-learn this, then no worry. I'd make it a fun time so that he doesn't become discouraged. There are a couple of fun ways (actually more) to review and re-emphasize this concept:

Using unifix cubes or Lego tower (layed on their sides) you can make patterns (start with 2 colors) red is for "clap" (clap hands) white is for "slap" (slap legs). When you point to red he claps (you can too at first)then point to white= you both slap legs. Do this a few times...it's a fun little game.

You can then vary the pattern in several ways using the two colors"redred/white/redred and so forth. After having done lots of these you can re-challenge him using three colors. You could make "raspberries" for the third color (the little fart noise with your tongue and lips)...the laughing can break up any tension. Let him make up some with you clapping,slapping, rasp, etc. You could keep doing his regular math on the same days, doing these activities as a warm-up. This may just end up being his favorite part of math for the day. ;o)

You might also consider the following for extra practice:
Using cubes or legos you can count (a little slowly)
as he picks an object from a pile for that number and places it on the "mat" (sheet of paper). Do this several times for each number. After a while, let him count and you move objects. Following that he could do both. I'd so this over the course of the week (or longer, whatever it takes) until he seems bored and can do it very easily. I'd review again once a week or two to be sure it doesn't slip away again.

Variation:
Hang a toy from yarn or string and swing like a pendulum-counting the number of each full swing.

This can be a time of fun, just relax and enjoy it with him.

Geo

[chiguirre]

Thanks Geo, those are good ideas!