Overview:
Asperger syndrome is one of the mildest forms of Autism. Typically someone with Asperger syndrome is at least of average intelligence, if not highly intelligent. This is a good benefit and means they can learn to live a fairly normal life, but it also means that their impairments can be very hard on them. The main impairments for someone with Asperger syndrome is social and communication.
Characteristics:
4 major Social characteristics of people with Asperger syndrome.
1. Impaired Social Interaction: difficulties and/or inability to read social cues. This often times is viewed by others as a willful disregard of social etiquette, making a student peculiar. In fact, many times a person with Asperger Syndrome appears clueless about what proper behavior is for certain situations.
2. Take everything Literally: the inability to take situations/statements in a nuanced way impairs a person with Asperger syndrome from fully understanding many situations. Often times, they will think about the situation later, and after deep reflection, attain the nuanced meaning. For example, the phrase, "I feel like a pizza," can confuse someone with Asperger syndrome. They think you literally feel like a pizza, and may be wondering how exactly a pizza feels.
3. Interpret situations using logic: Although this is a very valuable skill, people who have Asperger syndrome often will exclude emotion of sentiment when understanding a situation. This can be make them come to unique answers, and find themselves in uncomfortable situations, when they really have done nothing wrong.
4. Inability to understand the "hidden curriculum": The hidden curriculum is the social norms, the "do' and don'ts" of every day life. Most people learn these incidentally and take these behaviors for granted. People with Asperger do not learn these norms, at least not without direct instruction. What makes it difficult is that the hidden curriculum depends on where you are, so in different places you have to act different ways.
2 Major communication characteristics of people with Asperger.
1. Problem with Pragmatics: Pragmatics is the social use of language. People with Asperger syndrome have a difficult time with pragmatics. People with Asperger syndrome may talk with abnormal voice inflection (such as monotone), talk too loudly or quietly, talk too quickly or slowly, lack the ability to take turns during conversation, engage in monologues, or repeat what they are saying over and over. People with Learning Disabilities may also have problems with pragmatics, but people with Asperger syndrome have a much more severe problem with pragmatics.
2. Problem with Nonverbal Pragmatics: Nonverbal pragmatics is such things as standing too close to someone while talking, intense staring, abnormal body posture, failure to make eye contact, inexpressive face, failing to signal interest, approval, or disapproval through body language, and failing to understand gestures and facial expressions.
Conclusion of characteristics: The problem lies in that people with Asperger Syndrome have social disabilities, but the problems that they have with communication compound their social disabilities. This can lead to them being ostracized, often losing friends even if they are able to make them. This isolation is not usually welcome.
Accommodations
Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2012). Exceptional learners: An introduction to special education (12th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Hutten, M. (n.d.). My Aspergers Child: Teaching Aspergers Students: 32 Tips for Educators. My Aspergers Child. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.myaspergerschild.com/2010/12/teaching-aspergers-students-32-tips- for.html
McGee, S. (n.d.). Aspergers and classroom accommodations. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Aspergers_and_Classroom_Accomodations
Ministry of Education, Special Programs Division, British Colombia (2008, April 24). Teaching strategies for working with students with asperger's syndrome (AS). Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.uwyo.edu/learn/_files /docs/brownbag_docs/aspbergers_strategies.pdf
Sheldon Cooper. (n.d.). Sheldon cooper-sheldon cooper. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/26600000/Sheldon-Cooper-sheldon- cooper-26619181-680-496.jpg
Wendy, s. (2013, January 21). Sheldon cooper asperger syndrome. YouTube. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiQtKWkIt5o
Asperger syndrome is one of the mildest forms of Autism. Typically someone with Asperger syndrome is at least of average intelligence, if not highly intelligent. This is a good benefit and means they can learn to live a fairly normal life, but it also means that their impairments can be very hard on them. The main impairments for someone with Asperger syndrome is social and communication.
Characteristics:
4 major Social characteristics of people with Asperger syndrome.
1. Impaired Social Interaction: difficulties and/or inability to read social cues. This often times is viewed by others as a willful disregard of social etiquette, making a student peculiar. In fact, many times a person with Asperger Syndrome appears clueless about what proper behavior is for certain situations.
2. Take everything Literally: the inability to take situations/statements in a nuanced way impairs a person with Asperger syndrome from fully understanding many situations. Often times, they will think about the situation later, and after deep reflection, attain the nuanced meaning. For example, the phrase, "I feel like a pizza," can confuse someone with Asperger syndrome. They think you literally feel like a pizza, and may be wondering how exactly a pizza feels.
3. Interpret situations using logic: Although this is a very valuable skill, people who have Asperger syndrome often will exclude emotion of sentiment when understanding a situation. This can be make them come to unique answers, and find themselves in uncomfortable situations, when they really have done nothing wrong.
4. Inability to understand the "hidden curriculum": The hidden curriculum is the social norms, the "do' and don'ts" of every day life. Most people learn these incidentally and take these behaviors for granted. People with Asperger do not learn these norms, at least not without direct instruction. What makes it difficult is that the hidden curriculum depends on where you are, so in different places you have to act different ways.
2 Major communication characteristics of people with Asperger.
1. Problem with Pragmatics: Pragmatics is the social use of language. People with Asperger syndrome have a difficult time with pragmatics. People with Asperger syndrome may talk with abnormal voice inflection (such as monotone), talk too loudly or quietly, talk too quickly or slowly, lack the ability to take turns during conversation, engage in monologues, or repeat what they are saying over and over. People with Learning Disabilities may also have problems with pragmatics, but people with Asperger syndrome have a much more severe problem with pragmatics.
2. Problem with Nonverbal Pragmatics: Nonverbal pragmatics is such things as standing too close to someone while talking, intense staring, abnormal body posture, failure to make eye contact, inexpressive face, failing to signal interest, approval, or disapproval through body language, and failing to understand gestures and facial expressions.
Conclusion of characteristics: The problem lies in that people with Asperger Syndrome have social disabilities, but the problems that they have with communication compound their social disabilities. This can lead to them being ostracized, often losing friends even if they are able to make them. This isolation is not usually welcome.
Accommodations
- Provide a predictable schedule.
- Maintain a safe environment, where other students are not a distraction or problem.
- Make a few transitions as possible, eliminating unnecessary movement.
- Prepare the student for any changes in routine.
- Use cooperative learning groups which can help social skills, also allowing the student to show the abilities they do have.
- Always use POSITIVE reinforcement.
- Set firm expectations and stick to them.
- Break assignments into small sections as to not overwhelm the student.
- Include in oral Q&A.
- Have a cue that you and the student have created that they can understand as to redirect their attention.
- Visual instruction is very necessary, especially with younger ages.
- Give more time if needed.
- In some cases, having a "crisis plan" in place is necessary. This is so when the student can't cope with their struggles to interact with their peers, they can go somewhere to calm down.
- Use visual schedule and activities.
- Assign students to groups
- provide concrete examples
- Use hands-on activities
- Avoid idioms, irony, sarcasm.
- Give students enough time to process.
- Keep verbal instructions short.
- Be clear and firm about behavior.
- Offer practice tests that will show what the questions will be like.
- Provide study guides that reflect the format and material on the test.
- Potentially allow extended time for tests.
- Allow for testing in a quiet room.
- If they have a particular interest, try to include that interest in class, or at least for a special project.
- Use small groups/pairs so that a person with Asperger syndrome can have social interaction.
Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2012). Exceptional learners: An introduction to special education (12th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Hutten, M. (n.d.). My Aspergers Child: Teaching Aspergers Students: 32 Tips for Educators. My Aspergers Child. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.myaspergerschild.com/2010/12/teaching-aspergers-students-32-tips- for.html
McGee, S. (n.d.). Aspergers and classroom accommodations. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Aspergers_and_Classroom_Accomodations
Ministry of Education, Special Programs Division, British Colombia (2008, April 24). Teaching strategies for working with students with asperger's syndrome (AS). Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.uwyo.edu/learn/_files /docs/brownbag_docs/aspbergers_strategies.pdf
Sheldon Cooper. (n.d.). Sheldon cooper-sheldon cooper. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/26600000/Sheldon-Cooper-sheldon- cooper-26619181-680-496.jpg
Wendy, s. (2013, January 21). Sheldon cooper asperger syndrome. YouTube. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiQtKWkIt5o
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