Anybody have any ideas how to get a high functioning seven year old autistic boy to be motivated for spelling?

He can spell all his words when he wants to! The first three weeks of school he had 100's and now he just doesn't care. I can't get him to be motivated to study the words it's the only problem we're having at this time which is just awesome to say the least! We've tried a few reward systems, but he just doesn't care. His aid has been giving him his test and his teacher is going to start this week, but I can't get him to work on the words at all when he's at home. He doesn't even try on the test he gives of 'silly' answers that he knows is wrong.

he might need more challenging words. Try to find out what his interests are and what he likes to eat. Use that to motivate him. Try giving him some difficult words to spell, and tell him if he spells the words correctly he can have 1 pretzel, or whatever he likes. The pretzel is used as reinforcement for him spelling the word correctly. He also might need to visually see how many words he has to spell. Try using a number tab with him that he can push down each time he spells a word correctly, the number tab is only supposed to be pushed down when he spells the word correctly. The positive reinforcement should only be a small reward. So maybe try telling him if he spells three or five words correctly he can have 1 pretzel if he spells the words correctly, or whatever treat he likes. Hope this helps. good luck.

Sounds like he's bored with it. Maybe try to incorporate music into the word lessons.

He needs to be challenged. He's probably bored. If he is bored he won't work to his full potential.

Try making a game out of it. Play a game like spelling bee or something. I mean you don't have to have a reward in it but maybe a game would motivate him more. If you find a good game then he'll look forward to studying spelling. Try that. I bet it'll work cuz my cousin is like that too and it works for him.

He could be bored...but you could try letting him write with shaving or whipped cream, write out the word in sand, or sometimes just using a small dry erase board is enough.

With my experience in autistic children most of them have been very smart so maybe he is bored with the words because he knows them and needs something a little harder more challenging. You could alos try pictures instead of words. if you have the words in advance you could find pictures on the internet and ask him to write down what the picture is.

Use a sticker chart for each night of the week he studys. if he gets all 4 stickers, then he earns a treat for the weekend...like bowling or extra computer time after school. or a trip to the movie store. make studying a nightly routine for him...children with autism thrive on routine. good luck

Sounds like my 2 fourth graders.But when I looked at the first month of spelling words and compare them to spelling words they get now I was surprised.The first month they had words with 3-4 letters in it.Now they have 6-9 letters in their words.The teacher said thats because she was reviewing everything they have learn in the past years and after a month of doing reviews then she jumps into fourth grade spelling words.Your son might of started out with easy words and now at grade appropriate words which will be harder for him.

I know quite a few autistic folks including my adult brother. I seems that motivation frequently comes down to control -- providing the student a means to control the situation instead of pushing him/her to conform to situations which work well for others. This does not rusult in chaos, and it can be very structured, the teahcer and parents need to think of ways to rearrange the situation so that the desired outcome or goal is accomplished while allowing the student to control some of the process.

Could he do this on a computer? He could practice his words by typing into a word processing program then doing a spell check - this would provide immediate results and he could completely control or how many times to type the words, their order, and when to hit spell check, he could show proof of his work by printing the finished, checked, word list. You can even suggest he add one word of his own each week - a word he read or finds interesting - this can be his "challenge word."

If this doesn't suit, can you invent a way to involve him in controlling the process to accomplish the assigned goal? That's the big challenge - God bless, I hope you never stop being amazed by this child as you watch him develop!

I'm no expert, but I work w/autistic children. They get overwhelmed and tired by the end of the day of having to memorize. Everyone needs a break at the end of the day.

Maybe just sit down and start reading a book w/big pictures or big words (visual) and read the story outload w/ great enthusiastic expressions ~ he might listen.. or follow s/he around reading outloud.

What about computer games, or shows like the letter people or reading rainbow.

Find out what it is s/he likes and find magazines or books on that.