guiding a kids interests

[Tractor]

I have a nephew who's 12 and has a lot of asperger or autistic behavioral traits (Not completely non functional like autism, just a lack of a lot of social skills and very one track minded along with a lot of the oddities that can come along with the syndromes.)

 

The big problem is that he's a serious gamer nerd, and that wouldn't be a problem except that with his problems I'm afraid it is going to get in the way of him ever being able to function in the world and he needs direction. The sad part there is he is being raised by my parents due to his parents being trash.

 

If the diagnoses had been prevalent when I was his age I'd probably have been in the same boat though not so severe. I know a bit of what he's going to have to deal with as he gets older and I want to help him out if I can. He looks up to me and I'm probably one who could help.

 

Anyone know anything about this stuff? I know he'd like to get into some computer programming, I just need to figure out how to really get him hooked. Trouble is I don't know where to start these days. All I have are old QBasic, C++ manuals from my teenage years.

[mmrmnhrm]

The basics of programming never really change, and depending on the "flavor" (for lack of a better term) of his brain's wiring, it is entirely possible that you could just throw a couple of books at him, and he'll be writing code just a few days later. The guy who invented BitTorrent is an asperger/autist... these things just pop into their heads fully formed, and then it's just a matter of putting keys to board. A couple of Arduino kits and shields might be a good way to get started... writing code is one thing, but seeing it actually *DO* something is important, too.

[Tractor]

The basics of programming never really change, and depending on the "flavor" (for lack of a better term) of his brain's wiring, it is entirely possible that you could just throw a couple of books at him, and he'll be writing code just a few days later. The guy who invented BitTorrent is an asperger/autist... these things just pop into their heads fully formed, and then it's just a matter of putting keys to board. A couple of Arduino kits and shields might be a good way to get started... writing code is one thing, but seeing it actually *DO* something is important, too.

 

Thats exactly the ability that I've always had. When I was 11-12 my mom and I decided that I'd go take programming lessons and I quit after 3 visits to the instructor, one per week due to me advancing so fast a class room environment wasn't working out for me. I started with him handing me a book and by the time I was finishing HS I had a job with a local IT firm where I apprenticed to a couple of their programmers and learned the other aspects of IT and turned it into a good career.

 

I'm hoping something like that could happen with him, I almost wish he could live with me. I feel bad for him, having my parents be his parents, hehe. They are now a lot older than when they had to raise my difficult butt.

[Tractor]

My daughter is a little over 4 and for a few years we've been watching her and noticing that she seems to have some asperger traits. Being a boy was bad enough, I can't wait to see how it is to raise a girl with my problems. hehe

[mmrmnhrm]

Just give him the tools, and he'll likely figure the rest out on his own. The hardest part is knowing how to start, and not getting frustrated when the computer is too stupid to understand your vision. Autists are conceptual, while computers (and "normal" people) are linear; trying to cross that gap can be maddening for some.

 

Edit: Same for daughter... concepts are key... If you've ever watched 'Babylon 5', Kosh's phrase "Ahh, you seek meaning? Then listen to the music, not the song," is somehow apt.

[unfunnyryan]

Get him into programming. Buy him an Arduino kit, something like this http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0389816

 

It will let him learn programming in a hands on environment. It will let him see immediate results with what he had just done, which is the best way to learn in these circumstances. I till also give him some basic knowledge on electrical engineering

 

It is REALLY easy to pick up on - there is a ton of documentation on it as well as guides for absolute beginners. If you have any other questions PM me. I've done a few big projects using Arduinos, and am confident I can answer any questions

 

The greatest motivation here is having something to apply it to. My first major project was a hot tub controller. You can do anything, from door security, motion sensors, pressure pads (like under a mousepad, to see if someone moved a mouse) light change detection, and way more. If you have an idea of something to implement, it can be done.

[TTQ B4U]

Have him Join CR :gabe:

[Murse]

Agreed, just give him the tools and most likely he will figure it out. If you know programjng you can show him something easy and give him a taste of what you can do with it. Since he's such a gaming nerd maybe something where he can program his own games.

 

The brain is a crazy thing. I've had alot of patients that had autism or aspergers and it's something that's intrigued me. It's amazing what the brain can do. The one case (not a patient of mine) that stood out to me is the guy that was flown over a large city, and was then able to draw the city to scale and in incredible detail.

[Green Bastard]

you said he looks up to you, you could sit down with him and try to teach him what you can. a bit of guidance with kids that look up to you can go a long way. my nephew is almost three, already he always wants to help me when I'm working on a car, so I usually let him take the lug nuts or something off when I'm working on them (I loosen them first though lol). after that he likes to watch what I'm doing, he likes fixing things.

[Akula]

+1 for Arduino or take him to the Columbus Idea Foundry for one of their classes that use robotics (CNC or Laser engraving). I bet he'd pick up CNC fast. CIF doesn't go into theory or anything too deep, they just show you how it works and how to use it.

[Tractor]

I forgot about Arduino, I was looking at some of it at Micro Center and I bet he'd really like that type of thing.

 

One of his oddities is he won't go outside. He will do it if you reward him with something such as playing video games, but even then he jets back to the house at the first sign of a bee or similar things so outside stuff or getting dirty is out.

 

I'll talk to my mom about Arduino kits a bit and see what she thinks. I wish I lived closer to him (3hrs away) and might have to start visiting much more often.

[HotCarl]

So Im confused. Do you want to find a viable option for a career field for your nephew or do you want to help him be more sociable? Maybe get him into a sport or some kind of hobby that gets him away from video games all the time?

 

I have somewhat of the same problem. My nephew is 10, he's a bright kid. Really good at mathmatics and such (which i NEVER was) but he seems to not be so social. He has friends but im afraid he's more of a follower and he takes what other kids say too seriously instead of making his own path. In other words he does what everyone else thinks is cool intead of what he thinks is cool or would enjoy. On top of that he doesnt seem very confident in some things.

 

The kid could name off the top 10 wide receivers in the NFL last year and what their stats were but when it comes to playing football hes just kinda "meh". I dont care if he doesnt play football, i just want him to do SOMETHING rather than sit at home and play video games and look at baseball cards all day. Shit it doesnt even have to be a sport.

[Tractor]

Sure sociable would be great and with that ability he'd find his own path pretty well, but thats something that probably isn't in him. I struggled with the same thing, but was at least diverse enough in my interests that I could "fake" socializing to a degree and have gotten much better at it as I got older.

 

He does great in school doing his assignments, but I think its more of some of his good autistic traits that allow school work to be easy for him rather than actually having to put forth any effort. Lots of those types of people have reallly good memorizing abilities.

 

He's never really had parents (due to their drug problems) so all he is, he's done completely on his own so its been unguided and basically just video games. His maturity level is totally not up to par with normal 12yr olds (if maturity can even be stated at 12, hehe)