How does asperger syndrome affect education?

Answer 1

Children in secondary school go to the normal classes but are helped with by a "learning supporter"

The majority of them require no assistance to learn and take classes with everyone else. They just struggle with the social context of the classes.

Answer 2

The child would need to try and make friends, usually the class teacher.

Children with Asperger's Syndrome DO have the ability to make friends like any other person, but dislike it when adults try to force them to make friends.

Asperger's Syndrome makes it harder for the diagnosed to be social, but it is not an impossible task.

Let the child take it's time meeting new people, as they will make friends at a more comfortable pace.

Another view (a teacher's perspective)There are some fundamental changes to make to the dynamic of the classroom. You have to be aware that an Asperger's child will try to get to the root of every thing - they will continue to ask why questions, well past when everybody else feels they know enough. As a teacher you need to head this off without dampening their enthusiasm. Usually saying, "That is a terrific question but it is much too complicated for now. Come and talk to me later." will work, or be ready and have a webquest set to go so that they can find the deeper reasons for themselves when they get home.

You also have to know how to engage them in things they think are irrelevant to their interests - knowing how what you are teaching relates back to their key interests can make your life as a teacher much easier - as it is pointed out time and again when discussing discipline issues, engage them and they will be yours.

Another issue is their unwillingness to engage in group work - be ready for this by knowing if there are children in your class they are willing to work with. Hopefully you have more than 1 such child, as it can be wearing on the same person being partnered up all the time. otherwise be prepared to allow them to work solo.

If the child has an attendant (depending on the schooling system they can get funded support for an attendant for some or all classes), additional changes come into play. Whilst the attendant is there to support the child, they are also there to support he teacher, assisting with others who may not understand what is being taught, collecting some materials from another room, etc. However, do not confuse them with being a teaching assistant for you - they are there to provide support in whatever form is required for the child first and to assist as they can when they can.

The attendants I have worked with have been responsible for ensuring that notes are taken promptly (sometimes taking the notes themselves and then having the child rewrite them in free lessons or at home), that the child is understanding what is required in the learning activities. they may have conversations with the child, which at first seem to be rude and unwarranted, but are in fact aimed at getting the child to participate effectively in the lesson. As a teacher you need to accommodate this and help your class to understand why it is important that this student has this conversation with the adult assisting them.

Answer 3

I'm not a professional or anything, but I'm an Asperger Syndrome person finishing middle school. Also, I have a very mild case, so please take that into consideration. I'm writing this from third person because not all of these traits apply to me, just some.

One of the areas Asperger's influences is focus. It can be hard to focus on some things and much too easy to focus on others. If you give an Asperger a task, they will focus on it with single minded determination. For example, if they are asked to complete a math packet, they will work diligently and want to finish it a lot. They will not want to stop until they're done. If asked to describe a picture, if someone comments on something they say, they won't want to listen to the comment- they want to finish their sentence. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that they'll do what they're told, but almost to well. This can interfere with group work. However, when listening, if Asperger's are bored, it's easy to skip out on something vital being said- such as a important due date or requirement. This can cause problems, obviously, and it can make it hard to take notes by only listening to the teacher.

Asperger's like to have control aka do it their way. Once again, this can make group work a problem. Another way Asperger's involves group work is that they generally have problems looking at others in the eye- the mouth is preferred- when talking, which tends to creep some people out.

Another way is organization. Asperger's kids like organization- and need it. Once, I didn't write a due date for a health project in my assignment pad. I knew it was coming up- I just was waiting it to pop up in there, and didn't start because I didn't think I needed to. It's important to them to have everything written down or arranged properly. I alphabetized my bookshelf, and when I used to collect trading cards, frequently reorganized those. My point is that organization is something important in Asperger's.

Another trait is obsessions. It's easy for an AS kid to get hooked on something, and stay hooked. For myself, it's reading-many different genres, but that's not important. What is is to make sure this NEVER INTERFERES WITH SCHOOL! If an AS kid is reading this, if a parent is, it's VERY EASY to just do what you want instead of what you should do- your homework. So be sure to keep your loves for something in check.

Finally, physical appearance. Many times, Asperger's simply don't care about bathing or wearing clean clothes or matching clothes. They don't see the point in it- or might just think they have better things to do. If they are properly dressed and bathed, however, their social standings will be much better- for obvious reasons, allowing them to enjoy school more.

And most importantly, intelligence. AS kids generally have high intelligence- they just are not good at interacting with people (which is another way it could affect school). That will help them, though.

I hope this has been an informative answer.

Answer 4

They're all different. I was never a Straight-A Student, but I always did my best.