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Asperger’s Understanding a Misunderstood Disorder. This workshop is brought to you by the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children An Affiliate Group of the NJEA. Asperger's Inside out. By: Ryan and Joyce McGibbon. What is Asperger’s Syndrome?. ?. Autism Spectrum.
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Asperger’sUnderstanding a Misunderstood Disorder This workshop is brought to you by the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children An Affiliate Group of the NJEA
Asperger's Inside out By: Ryan and Joyce McGibbon
Autism Spectrum A diagram representing the autism spectrum Asperger’s syndrome High functioning autism Autism
Social Skills For children who have Asperger's, it is hard to make and keep friends. It is also hard to work and play with other people.
Social Skills Sometimes it can be good to stand out from the crowd.
Social Skills But sometimes you just want to fit in!
Social Skills • So what do poor social skills really mean to my everyday life? • Social outcast • Excluded • Lonely • Bullied • Few friends
Facial Expressions • So what does this mean to my everyday life? • I miss a lot of social cues that people use to understand how other people are feeling • Unaware when people lost interest • Unaware of peoples frustration • Unaware if people upset • It seems like I don’t care, but it’s just that I don’t recognize the signals!
Tones of voice Sarcasm Jokes Teasing
Tones of voice So what does this really mean to my everyday life? Anger Enemies
So, what does this mean for the classroom teacher? AS students are often viewed as being rude disruptive insensitive to others time intensive immature and/or attention seeking All of these actions are explained by Asperger’s, but a few changes in your behavior can minimize the impact of their behavior on your class
Is the problem just Asperger’s? Asperger’s frequently goes hand in hand with other disorders • Sensory issues • Mood disorders such as phobias, anxiety, and depression • ADHD • Motor issues/difficulties such as Tourette's, tics, and dysgraphia • OCD • Processing issues
Sensory Issues Be cognizant of sensory issues – very real issue often not taken seriously • Fluorescent lights – issues range from mildly distracting to making words jiggle on the page. • Minimize issue by sitting by window/natural light or provide table lamp (with traditional light bulb) • Labels in clothing, seams in socks, etc, can feel like razor blades • Sound sensitivity – loud noises can cause physical pain • Help overcome by gradually building sound tolerance • May be hypersensitive to smells. Do you wear cologne? Have smelly markers? Bring tuna for lunch? • Often difficulty with screening out background noise – difficult to follow conversation in a crowd, follow directions in a classroom • All can lead to sensory overload which can lead to behavior problems
Mood disorders Children with Asperger’s frequently have mood disorders • Take phobias seriously but do not feed into them • Anxiety about everyday situations common and transitioning is often difficult • Unexpected changes can result in difficult behavior, anywhere from being a little irritable to a full blown meltdown • Never forget that this is the result of anxiety and fear of the unknown, not bad behavior • If possible, talk them through the difficult situation. Discuss what is going to happen or what they need to do next, repeat as it happens or as they do it, and praise afterwards for handling a challenging situation • Do not try to reason with them during a meltdown, likely to exacerbate it. Allow them to go to a predetermined safe place/happy place to calm down. Discuss the event after the fact. • Be on the lookout for signs of depression, common due to social isolation especially in middle school • Be aware that fear is the main emotion in those with autism. The fear center of Temple Grandin’sbrain is 3x normal size so be understanding of seemingly irrational fears!!!
Processing Issues Children with Asperger’s frequently have processing issues • Auditory processing – normal hearing screening normal but missing parts of speech (eg hard consonant sounds, end sounds, etc) • Make speech sound like a bad cell phone connection! • Improve communication if they look at your face as you speak. If cant look at your eyes (common) have them watch your mouth
Processing Issues • Visual processing issues –images may be pixelated, cubist, words may vibrate on the page, etc • Things that may help include no fluorescent lights, colored paper (especially pastels), glasses with colored lenses (experiment with cheap sunglasses), baseball cap to block glare of overhead lights, etc. • Use laptop or tablet not desktop – different type of screen • i-pad for typing – no need to move head and focus between keyboard and screen • If must use regular computer screen , experiment with background color, font color, and brightness to get optimal set up.
So what does all this mean? • Sensory disorders, mood disorders, focusing issues, and processing disorders all have to be overcome in order for learning to take place • So, just how are you supposed to do that?????
How to help AS students succeed 1. Clearly explain your expectations • Try to speak slowly so they can keep up with what you are saying • You should explain yourself clearly so they understand exactly what you want them to do. Be very specific • Try to use concrete language as figurative language and sarcasm can be very confusing. • Check in with your AS student as the class begins independent work to clarify that they understand your expectations
How to help AS students succeed 2. Multitasking is very challenging for AS students • Break down tasks into manageable steps • Provide written step-by-step directions or graphic organizers • Don’t ask them to listen and take notes, they often struggle do both at the same time • Provide class notes whenever possible.
How to help AS students succeed 3. Problems working with other people in the classroom • AS students often feel like outcasts • Assign partners or prearrange a sympathetic student for partner work • AS students don’t respond well to change so while it may seem like they’re being bossy, they’re just trying to avoid unexpected changes • Let them know if other kids are getting frustrated or angry with them as they often miss the social cues that tell them that
How to help AS students succeed 4. Distractions • Students with AS are often very distractible, both from external and internal distracters • Have set routines in the classroom, especially for less structured times of day such arrival and dismissal • Be aware of sensory issues and be prepared to make necessary changes to avoid sensory issues causing a distraction • Working in a group can be stressful and distracting. Consider allowing to work alone or assign role of student observer for some projects. • Have a secret signal to use to keep your AS student on task without making it obvious to other students.
How to help AS students succeed 5. Beyond your classroom • Students with AS often have difficulty in transferring knowledge to new situations • Specifically teach your AS student that the rules you have applied to help them, apply in other settings too • Share your successful strategies, consistency is key • Be patient! You may find yourself thinking, “I shouldn’t have to teach Johnny this at his age” Keep in mind that with Asperger's students, you dohave to teach them basic behavioral rules as they do not pick up on them naturally like other children
Alex Behavior Rules 1. I will be respectful to my teacher • Why: I should always treat others the way I want to be treated myself Reward: Earn stickers Consequence: One = Reminder/Warning plus apology Two = No sticker plus written apology Three = Call mommy 2. I will use a strategy to cope if I am upset • Why: I don’t want to say or do something mean to my friends Reward: Earn stickers Consequence: One = Reminder/Warning Two = No sticker Three = See Mrs. Furka 3. I will accept responsibility if I do something wrong • Why: I am in control of me, no one else is Etc ……... 10 stickers = 5 minutes free time 20 stickers = prize box
What Can I Do to Help Myself • Anger ball Listen to Music • Deep breathing Doodles • Count backwards from 20 Imagery • Shapes Beary Notecards Anger Ball Squeeze your anger ball. If you squeeze your anger into your ball, it can’t come out of your mouth or fists Trace shapes Choose a shape from the booklet and trace the shapes with your fingers. Count Backwards from 20 Start at 20 and count backwards down to 1. If you still feel mad, start at 20 again but this time count backwards by 2’s Etc …..
How to help AS students succeed 6. Problems with homework • Students with AS are often exhausted by the end of the school day • Allow flexibility with homework assignments. • Be prepared to modify written homework assignments for AS students with motor difficulties • The skills the students master are what is important, the way in which they prove mastery can be flexible.
How to help AS students succeed 7. Other problems AS students may face • Staying focused for long periods can be difficult so be prepared to give ‘brain breaks’ • Making a choice can be very stressful so limit the number of options given • Hypersensitivity to sights, sounds, or smells is common so be prepared for extreme or irrational reactions • Don’t lose sight of the fact that this is a disability and while many of the behaviors can be annoying, they are beyond the students control and are not done with malice.
How to help AS students succeed You are so much more than a teacher In addition to being a teacher, you are also a • Social Coach • Behavior Therapist • Mediator • Advocate • Beacon of Hope
Famous people suspected to have Asperger's • Fictional people who show some signs of Asperger Syndrome • Michael Scott (played by Steve Carel in The Office) • Temperance “Bones” Brennan (in Bones) • Sheldon (played by Jim Parsons in Big Bang Theory) • Mr. Bean (played by Rowan Atkinson) • Basil Fawlty (played by John Cleese in Faulty Towers) Jamie Hyneman (Mythbusters) Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder) Bill Gates Michael Palin (Monty Python) Satoshi Tajiri (creator of Pokémon) Albert Einstein Isaac Newton Benjamin Franklin George Washington Abraham Lincoln Leonardo da Vinci Beethoven Elvis Shakespeare And Many More…
If you would like to teach children in your class about Asperger’s and how they can help a student with AS to succeed, check out www.myfriendryan.org • There you will find an informative video for kids, and resources for teachers to build a supportive understanding community in their classroom.
