Laura, 
I have a similar situation and feel the same way. I have watched him grow over the past months. The children have a wonderful team spirit. Occasionally, I see him back away or begin to revert but the creativity he adds and the personal growth he has achieved is worth it to me. I also think the team benefits from learning to deal with a different personality from their own - they look out for him and remind him when he tries to physically remove himself from a situation. Win or lose, they are a team.


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-------- Original message --------
From: Laura Dysart <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 10/23/2013 6:20 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] How to help team and student with learning disability at tournament


I am curious about this as well- I have a child with Asperger's who so remarkably held it together last year and was a little unhappy about something towards the end of the tournament  and one of the judges came up to him and commented on he should be having a better time- I was honestly surprised he didn't run screaming from the room.   It's hard for the team- we want to include- it is very difficult for some children.  I didn't feel like I could say anything- I also want to respect the privacy of my children.  I think that could definitely be seen negatively about our team- but honestly they are including a child who inherently has difficulty working with others and a low frustration tolerance- the other kids handle him well.  He is really smart and loves robotics. I think I have decided the experience is worth possibly being marked off on core values due to an individual for our team.  
On Oct 23, 2013, at 12:34 PM, Joseph Trombo wrote:

We have a student with a learning and speech disability on our FLL team. This is our second year. Last year, at the tournament, he was characteristically unable to be as interactive as the other team members, and I think the judges noticed during Core Values judging. The team really likes this student, he has made many very important contributions to attachment designs, and has a rare talented way of building with Legos. He is a valued member of our team, but I don't know how to show this at the tournament.
How do I help the team and this student at the tournament? Knowing that he might not be as able as others to talk about the core values and teamwork he experiences as a team member, and that he might not be as able to participate as easily as others during the core values challenge?
Thanks!
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