Dear All,
Could anyone who has Asperger's Syndrome or knows anything about the condition please have a glance at the following and tell us if it's O.K? We have to present it to our class on Wednesday, so I'm really sorry about the urgency, but it is. Our tutor insists on our doing this, even tho the Manual was written by a adult with Asperger's with some assistance from me...
If you want to know what this is all about it's all explained the the extracts from my class journal after the "Manual".
Thanking you most sincerely,
Jai Guru Dev,
"Sundari"
Introduction:
Welcome to the realm of Aspergers Syndrome. If you are a teacher and/or a and adult who cares for a child who has Aspergers Syndrome, it may be necessary for you to more closely look as to how you approach this particular child. We however have not produced this handbook to question the skills, integrity or commitment of yourself or any of your peers.
But, as we live in the real world and you no doubt have the care of more than a child with Aspergers Syndrome to worry about, we have produced this small handbook with some practical strategies which might help you avoid some of the traps that an adult in your position can fall into.
What you are dealing with in a majority of AS (Aspergers Syndrome) cases, this is not a child with a learning difficulty, but rather a child with a PROCESSING difficulty.
In other words, this child in most cases has a high to very high IQ, but the way in which he/she approaches the world can be very different.
Aspergers Syndrome is said to be a form of high functioning Autism. This means that unlike a child with low functioning Autism or Savant Syndrome that they do not live in a world of their own. It's rather that they live in our world but walk to the beat of their own drum.
If handled with care and respect this child has a very good chance of growing into an adult where they can excel in any task and career they chose.
The speed with which they can learn and adapt can depend very much on how you approach the child. Most of the steps are designed to be simple and somewhat generalized as no two AS children are the same. It means that adapting and improvising with each particular child, but we feel sure that you will see a difference when you the techniques like the ones described here.
As R. Miles wrote in the New Scientist Magazine, "Classical Autism is a disability, because it causes social and communication difficulties, and also involves learning difficulties or language delay. But with Aspergers Syndrome, it's not quite that simple.
Clearly from a parents or teachers perspectives, a child's odd behaviour is a disability. But that might be saying more about the environment in which the individual finds him or herself than about the condition.
From the perspective of a person with Aspergers Syndrome, they just seem to be different, not disabled. Socializing isn't one of their strong points. And they'll readily admit that they find the rules of social behaviour difficult. But they develop deep interests in the detail of a narrow, usually impersonal topic.
Their social disability is only a problem in an environment where everyone is expected
to be equally socially able."1.
1. http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opinion.jsp?id=ns22865
Text of Manual (without pictures.)
1) With an child with AS, it might be better to position him/her at the front of the class so they won't be distracted by having to look over other children.
2) The AS child can be easily distracted and distressed by movement, sudden noise and a myriad of other stimuli which normally happens in the classroom, so placing the AS child next to loud and/or noisy children might be counterproductive. A quiet child should enable the AS child to better concentrate on his/her work.
3) It can be a good idea to utilize overriding interests (bearing mind that such interests can change) as a reward for the AS child completing their work. The child may give you the same subject in an assignment. or you can offer them some time at the end of class to discuss what interests them. If the child is interested in a subject (let's say Dinosaurs), consider reaching an agreement that if he/she finishes their work, you'll give them 10 minutes to research or discuss what interests them.
4) Learn to recognize stress signs / indicators in the AS child. If this child becomes agitated, they can become extremely difficult to deal with. Please remember that the AS child is extremely susceptible to loud and unexpected stimuli, so raising your voice is generally not a good idea (no matter how tempting it might be).
These children can also become difficult if they believe they're right and are simply over-ruled and/or ignored. These children often have issues with being validated and can become difficult and withdrawn. They can then appear to be stubborn and uncooperative through embarrassment.
It can be better to take 10 minutes to discuss an issue than having to deal with a potentially uncontrollable child.
5) It can be wise to be realistic with expectations. One of the difficulties an AS child runs into continually is their inability to develop at the same speed as other children of their own age. Please also bear in mind that these children have the capability to accelerate in their mental development as they get older.
They should develop both physically and intellectually in 'spurts' and have a potential capability of surpassing many of their peers in their later years. A teacher/carer who gives a young AS child the early support they often need can go a long way to giving these children a good basis with which to mature as an adult.
6) Special attention should be paid to gaining social skills. AS children often have little idea about personal space. If you notice the child moves into another person's personal space, ask them to imagine how far the other person can stretch their arm. Then ask them to stop where they think the other person's fingers would be. This can then give them a good idea where to stop when talking to another person.
They often can be easily manipulated by other children which is normally generated by the AS child's own lack of self-esteem. It can be crucial that if you decide to intervene, that embarrassment for the AS child is not a major factor.
7) An AS child can be extremely good at picking up details and facts. Consider encour-aging the child when they come up with facts, but if these facts don't have anything to do with the subject at hand, set a time when you can discuss them later. However, if the child wants to talk about turtles, and you're teaching SUBTRACTION ask the AS child if you had 6 turtles and 3 swam away, how many would you have left ??
Once the AS child can make a connection between what they're interested in and what you're showing them, life for everyone can become a lot easier.
8) It is always easy for someone else to write a manual for how to handle difficult children. One aspect which is often overlooked in the rush to help the child, is the experience is the dedication and experience of teachers, carers and others who have
been charged with the care and nurturing of these most special children.
When all else is said and done, it is your instincts and ability which can make a difference.
In conclusion: This manual has been based a simple need to shift the emphasis from an AS child having a learning disability to where it should sit a processing difficulty. These special children just process information differently to the rest of us.
One of the important people in the life's journey of an AS is you and therefore a crucial factor in the development of that particular child. It would be impossible to write a manual or rulebook to cover every possible contingency when dealing with an AS child. It is often difficult to see what makes this child different from his/her classmates but we're suggesting that the presumption of a disability is what can cause a problem in this case.
We're not even suggesting that you pay attention to all that we have written in this small booklet. It was hoped that this publication could give you some ideas and different concepts with which to work. We thank you for your time.
13th June, 2001
Week 7. Workshop.
Today Mark, Fiona and I met with Linda, the person from the Asperger's Support Group that meets in Ocean Grove. What a dedicated mother! - she's the one who got in touch with the college in the first place… So we are VERY LUCKY, Mark and Fiona and I. We did NOT have to look for a group. It came to us. However, this means, of course that we did not get the practice of negotiating.
Apparently the Support Group knows a lot about Asperger's syndrome, the Disability Discrimination Act, etc. - she gave Mark a diskette which when Mark printed out was enough to fit into a A4, inch thick, folder!! No, what the group wants is some assistance in getting help for their children. They are getting NO support at all from the government, and so are NOT doing as well at school as they could be - given that usually their I.Q's are usually very good.
So the four us conferred, but we didn't know exactly what was achievable - given our time constraints and the fact that we are only students as yet… She said that the group would like some money to go to conferences, buy books, etc. She also said that the group's children could benefit from having integration aides in the classroom…
We asked when their next meeting was and she said the following Monday. We asked whether we could attend and she said she would ring the Psychologist and ask, but that she was sure that it would be O.K. We said we would speak to John to see what we could do in our Research Project and come and put a proposal to the Support group that is facilitated by a psychologist, by the way…
So, it seems that the group has most of the knowledge that they need. (After all, they live with their children!!) What they want is something to give them a strategic edge when it comes to helping their children's teachers understand Asperger's behaviour patterns and putting their case to government bureaucrats and officials. We shall have to talk to John & Joan.
20th June, 2001
Week 8. More skills. Evaluation.
Last week after the meeting with Linda in the morning, we saw John about the Research for his class. We had decided that we would do a piece of research based on a questionnaire about the children of the Ocean Grove based support group. We worked out a set of questions which John sanctioned. and Fiona typed up. We had worked on a QUESTION PROPOSAL (a hypothesis) beforehand in John's class that he had also Okayed. We shared they cost of photo-copying the questionnaires… And I will give Mark some petrol money…
We are fortunate, I think that we are such a small group with an over-riding interest in our topic. We don't seem to have any "differences" to iron out…
I suggested to Mark that he and I (for Joan's class - this one) should think up a project as we had so little time - we came to this group late, of course, and had very little time to negotiate a project that would be feasible for us to complete. He demurred at first, then suggested his "manuel" for teachers and parents. I said I would do some research on it, and the "Frontispiece" if he would write the manual… After all, he has "insider" knowledge… We both knew we should have asked people what they wanted; howver we felt that time constraints we pushing us along.
So Mark and I (Fiona could not come unfortunately and I had to skip a "Social Connections" planning meeting to be there) went and saw the research group on Monday afternoon. (It was lunchtime and the young ones who escorted us to the right office were cute: they saw my black-t-bar shoes and asked if I was coming to school! When we said we had come to visit from college they were suitably impressed…)
Mark told the group that we had considered Linda's requirements and come up with an idea that we THOUGHT would go some way to giving them ammunition with which to achieve their goals. We told them what classes we were doing and explained we had a timeline. They were happy with that and happier still when Mark told them that our findings were really THEIRS and they could use them as THEY saw fit to lobby school teachers/principles, school councils, COGG, the State Government, etc. The findings would be their property, NOT ours.
We left them with all the copies of our questionnaire. They said they would photocopy any extra that they might need - there were some families that had more than one child with Asperger's…
I then explained that THREE of us were doing "Research", but only Mark and I were doing "Prac Strats" and asked if the manual would be OK. They all looked delighted. I think we did an internal evaluation and breathed a sigh of relief… So far, so good.
(I must say the parents in the group had looked upon Mark with something akin to awe when he told them his - sometimes turbulent -history; they all would like him to be a mentor to their children; he gave them hope for the future of their kids. One mother voiced their feelings, I think, when she said something like: Hear we sit, enjoying a rare opportunity to have several different conversations all going at once, and there you are, 'cool as a cucumber'!" [People with Asperger's syndrome are exceptionally, extremely, noise and 'hustle and bustle' sensitive, apparently.] Mark explained that he had taught himself to FOCUS on one conversation at a time…)
For me, I must say it was a delightful experience to be among a set of parents who did not treat me with any degree of "difference". That's because they had all come to the realisation that "disability" had more to do with the "labelling" tendency of society (in the realms of the "Social Model") and often, when it comes to daily living cannot be entirely situated in the "Medical Model", where the person with the impairment is seen as the "problem" to be "cured".
In the former case, ALL buses, taxis (we waited with a girlfriend THREE HOURS one day for a taxi for her) and trains need to be accessible (in some places in America and Europe for example, the trains are level to the platform), ALL doctor's surgeries need to have accessible premises and manageable equipment (for example I have to be weighed at my dog's VET'S!!!), ALL houses need to have one ACCESSIBLE ramp (otherwise we give people in wheelchairs (quite innocently, perhaps) the subliminal message that they are NOT WANTED ), all teachers would be taught about disability (instead of it being an "extra" in their courses, as indeed would all courses:architecture, law, medicine, hospitality, business studies, psychology, etc. as my friend at Deakin DRC, Jenny Shaw opines - she thinks "Disabilities Studies" an anachronism).
Otherwise as Rev. Dr. Chris. Newell, (the genethesist who uses a wheelchair), says we live with "AN APARTHEID THAT IS NOT NAMED!".
(It is interesting that Itzak Perlman the world famous violinist who has polio now WILL NOT play in opera houses and theatres with no lifts, dressing rooms and toilets big enough to accommodate his wheelchair, etc. He eventually got sick of being carried upstairs, dressing in corridors, etc).
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