Mentors, Bowling, Fishing and Dragons.

Studies of Society and Environment - Socialisation: Boy has finally been matched with a mentor and they enjoyed their first activity over the weekend: bowling. The picture is of Boy bowling over the Christmas holidays. He loves bowling (is 200% better than me) but has been unable to bowl since he damaged his foot.

Boy also loves on-line games and one of the reasons he was matched with this particular mentor was because of the mentors interest and expertise in gaming. The mentor plays a game called War Hammer 40, 000 Dawn of War Dark Crusade. So….guess what Boy has now purchased with his pocket money!!! A strategy game, Boy’s aspergers egocentrism will be pushed to consider the tactics and moves of others. This fits in beautifully with our rich task focus of “understanding another person’s position.”

Although the mentor is both a gamer and blog keeper, both he and Boy opted to engage in a mentoring activity that neither of them knows a lot about: fishing. We’re pleased to have Boy away from the computer for two hours per fortnight and to re-engage him with outdoor activities that he used to thoroughly enjoy. His leg has been so sore for so long now that he has done little more than sit at the laptop.

Mentoring is a structured friendship. Both mentor and mentee enter a contracted mutually agreeable activity, frame worked with aims and a final presentation of their chosen activity. Boy and his mentor have undertaken to:

• Report on fishing


• Have Boy teach the mentor how to fish


• Catch something.

At the six-month celebration ending the mentoring friendship, Boy and mentor will present a log of their fishing and what they learned.

Spelling: Step-dad had worked out a list of spelling associated with the Math activity they undertook on Friday. However, step-dad has flown off to the Never Never (Aussie slanguage for the outback) for work and I cannot find the list. Using the wedding reading as a basis for new words, I just picked ten words that Boy may or may not be able to spell: dragon, Knight, shining, armour, damsel, distress, consuming, confronted, reflection, assistance. Well done to Boy, he achieved 50% correct spelling words this morning.

Reading: Boy flatly refused to read the little wedding reading this morning. He told me he doesn’t think he wants to read in front of wedding guests because he might get it all wrong. Despite my cajoling, support, understanding and encouragement he refused to budge his position and I refused to get into an argument over it. As a compromise, Boy read a page from Eragon. At least it was Dragon related and covered some of the words on this weeks spelling list.

Health and Physical Education: Boy attends the youth group again this afternoon where they focus on anger management and self-esteem. Because social skills are a required part of Boy's learning and integration into a world that fails to understand people with Aspergers, we have no difficult in counting group time and mentoring activities as home school hours.