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Teaching students with Asperger's Syndrome

Asperger's Syndrome
AS, a form of autism is a developmental disorder that hinders a student's ability to socialize and communicate effectively with others. Some students with Asperger's Syndrome might have fallen through the cracks due to common stereotypes. Common characteristics of children with Asperger's Syndrome include a lack of social skills and devote interrest in a particular subject. These characteristics can be associated with the stereotype of a child who is "nerdy." Although the student can demonstrate proficient academic skills within certain subjects, differentiated instruction should be used to plan a lesson that will allow the student to reach his or her full potential.

Characteristics

 * Lack of ability to read social cues
 * Awkward eye contact
 * Lack of interest in social environment
 * Inappropriate use of language
 * Verbal fluency
 * Excellent memory
 * Fascination with a particular subject
 * Hypersensitive to sensory stimulation

Helping and Developing Communication/Social Skills
One feature that is apparent in all cases of autism is an impairment in social interactions. Repercussions of this impairment manifests its self in the types of communication a student with AS will have. Because of lack of communication skills many students with AS find it hard to develop a friendship with peers that are the same age. It is often observed that students with AS will have friends that are much younger. When calling on a student with AS that the teacher must wait patiently for the response from the student. Be careful not to interrupt thought, or rephrase the question because this might harm the communication attempt. Positive reinforcement should be given to promote further communication between the student and teacher.

A method to improve social competence with a student that has AS is to use a comic strip. These can be used to provide a fun visual representation of correct social behavior. The benefit of a comic strip is that it will break the information into frames that can be easier to process for the student with AS. Other ways to improve social skills include getting the student involved with extra-curricular activities in school that focus on the student's interests. Also, by providing peer tutoring the student with AS will become comfortable with a specific group that will facilitate better social interaction with that group. . In addition to these methods social skills can be taught using social story intervention in which a student with AS would read a short story about a person deal with a social interaction. This will allow the student to see correct behavior and how the interaction was perceived by both parties. The methods discussed here can be used in any content area because they are more about social skills than content knowledge. However, they can be easily modified for use within a specific academic subject. By improving the social and communication skills of a student with AS a better relationship between teacher and student can be formed that will allow information to move more freely.

Management
The way a classroom is set up may alleviate some of the stress AS students feel while at class. It is imperative that a teacher take into account the class environment to help the student with AS feel comfortable. There are many things that can cause a student with AS feel stress. It helps a to establish a set schedule for how things are done in class so the student can have a routine. A method called active scheduling allows the student more control over his or her daily activities. By giving the student control in the creation of the schedule, it will be easier to introduce new concepts. Further more, the schedule can be written down in a place where the student can take it along and check off activities once they are completed.

The physical set up of the classroom also has its effects on the AS student. It is important that the classroom have clear cut boundaries where different activities are to be completed whether that be a section where labs are done or where a discussion will take place. These boundaries will signal to the student what he or she needs to be focus on and help with getting in the right mindset to complete an activity. Some aesthetic things that can be accounted for to limit stress are sounds, lighting, and the voice you have while teaching. It is a good idea to limit back ground noise because this can become very distracting to the student. Lighting should be natural because of sensitivity to the flickering of fluorescent lights. The voice you use as a teacher should be calm to eliminate any harsh sounds that can be considered aggressive stimuli. These little things will go a long way to help the student cope with new stimuli that is associated with the introduction of new material. It would be beneficial to get to know the student with AS so that you can set your classroom up based on how the student feels. There may be small things that would only be known to yourself through personal communication.

Content
When presenting new content it is important that you use visual and concrete system. A visual system can promote appropriate behavior by observational learning. This method cupeled with priming can be very affective at enhancing performance. Priming is essentially having the student with AS complete a remedial version of task being asked in the future. It must be conducted prior to the lesson, using the same materials. It needs to be a task easily completed and there needs to be a lot of reinforcement throughout the lesson. Another method used to help students with AS is to break down tasks into simple steps to help them accomplish their tasks. You should be careful not to ask a student with AS to do multiple tasks because they find this difficult. Also it would be a good idea to present your examples in a visual manner because students with AS tend to be more visual learners.

Collaboration
Talk to the student’s parents and other teachers, and find out what works and what does not work with this student. Establish collaborative relationships with families. Parents know their child best, and they can assist you when you have questions or concerns. Communicate regularly with parents so that they are aware of any changes in your class. Ask them to communicate to you about changes at home.

Focus discussions about the student and their abilities on factors you can control.

Find out what has been tried before--ask advice

Listen so that you are completely clear about the family's concerns

Honor confidentiality

Remain open to new approaches and suggestions. Each family is different

Set concrete, measurable goals. Communication is clearer and measures of success are built in and promote collaboration

Wait until the family asks for help or until a good relationship is established before making suggestions

Help families solve their own problems and allow them to become, or develop the skills to become, their child's own case manager

Organizations and Agencies
Asperger Association of New England

The Asperger’s Association of New England (AANE)'s mission is to foster awareness, respect, acceptance, and support for individuals with AS and related conditions and their families. AANE

Autism Society of America

Autism Society of America is committed to improving the lives of those who are affected by this disorder. They provide links to support groups and list new research on the disorder. Autism Society of America

Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support (OASIS) The website provides information for individuals, families, and professionals. It provides information on leading research in this field and also provides support for those who have AS. There is an excellent list of summer camps that can help students with AS. OASIS