Teaching Aspergers Kids the Ways of the World
Asperger Syndrome covers so many different things that it can be hard to describe exactly; it is often described as an autism spectrum disorder and Uta Frith, in her book Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, described AS individuals as “having a dash of Autism”. Some Asperger reserarchers consider AS as the same as High Functioning Autism, while others feel that it is better described as a Nonverbal Learning Disability. In any case, there is much we can do to help AS students not just learn academics, but learn their place in the world. In his book Freaks, Geeks, & Aspergers Syndrome, Luke Jackson suggests
- Give your child clear and specific instructions about what you want your child to do.
- Avoid using similes and paryicularly letaphors unless you can explain them accurately.
- Don’t ever presume that your child can pick up the rights and wrongs of certian behaviors along the course of his or her life.
- All things need to be spelled out clearly to any child, but a child on the autistic spectrum needs things spelled out to them more than most.
- Teach them about the value of money and the rights and wrongs of taking other people’s things. Explain clearly that this is a rule.
- Explain things in a way that is very clear and use comparisons that your own child is likely to understand. Analogies from their specialist subject will capture their attention.
- Keep checking with your AS kid to make sure they have understood.
Great advice from a 13-year old with Asperger Syndrome. For Elijah School, I think the greatest of these is #1: give the child clear and specific instructions. This has really helped us communicate more effectively with our students.
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