A Teachers Quick Guide To Aspergers Syndrome

By Dave Angel www.ParentingAspergers.com/blog

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Disclaimer The writer of the material present in “A Teacher’s Quick Guide To Aspergers” believes that a multidisciplinary approach to parenting Aspergers children is of extreme importance. This means combining the approaches of a wide variety of disciplines involved with Asperger’ children and their parents such as social workers, nurses, teachers, doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, speech therapists. Also it involves using the knowledge and information of parents themselves. The author recognizes that within scientific, educational, social and medical fields there are widely divergent viewpoints and opinions. This material is written for the express purpose of sharing educational information gathered from the experiences of the author and other people in the areas mentioned above. None of the information contained in this e-Book is intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure Aspergers, nor is it intended to prescribe any of the techniques, materials or concepts presented as a form of treatment for Aspergers. Before beginning any practice relating to Aspergers it is highly recommended that you first obtain the consent and advice of a qualified health, education or social care professional. Should you choose to make use of the information contained herein without first consulting a health, education or social care professional, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your inalienable right. However, the author assumes no responsibility for the choices you make after your review of the information contained herein and your consultation with a qualified health, education or social care professional. None of the statements in this article or in the book have been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), or the American Medical Association (AMA). Every effort has been made to accurately represent this product and its potential. However your level of success in attaining the results claimed in this program depends on the time and effort that you devote to the program, ideas and techniques mentioned. Results will vary for people on an individual basis. We cannot guarantee your success nor are we responsible for any of your actions.

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Index Page Introduction

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What Is Aspergers Syndrome?

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Common School Concerns

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Social Communication

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The Way That The Aspergers Mind Works

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Sensory Issues

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Motor Skills

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Other Related Conditions

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Aspergers Teachers Cheat Sheet

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Introduction I just wanted to write a few words as a way of introduction to this resource “A Teacher’s Quick Guide To Aspergers” If you don’t already know me I run a website for parents of children with Aspergers (www.parentingaspergers.com/blog), and one common worry that I hear repeated again and again from parents is about their child’s education. Now obviously parents have a lot of different types of worries on this subject; because education is so important for all young people (whether they have Aspergers or not). But one key area that concerns a lot of parents is the level of education and knowledge that their children’s teachers have on the topic of Aspergers. This obviously varies greatly from school to school, state to state, and even country to country. Now in my opinion the vast majority of teachers out there are hard working and genuinely in the profession to help people; but they may not have been given the basics when it comes to Aspergers. So I’ve designed this short resource for: 1. Teachers with no real understanding of Aspergers; to help them gain the fundamental understanding that they need. 2. Teachers with some understanding of Aspergers; to give them a reminder or “top up” of their existing knowledge. I hope you enjoy the resource and find it useful, Dave Angel

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1. What Is Aspergers Syndrome? Brief History and Statistics: 

Aspergers Syndrome is a condition characterized by varying levels of difficulty in social interaction. Children with Aspergers also have repetitive and restricted patterns of interest and behavior. Aspergers is one of the pervasive developmental disorders although it differs greatly from many other disorders in this category. Aspergers differs from other spectrum disorders in that the cognitive and language development remain intact.

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Aspergers Syndrome is named after Han Asperger, an Australian paediatrician, who published his first research paper on Aspergers in February 1944. It wasn’t until his death in the 1980’s that it became a much wider known condition.

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Although statistics are never entirely accurate – it is estimated that 1 in 100 children have Aspergers Syndrome. Aspergers is a much more common diagnosis in boys than in girls. In fact the boy to girl ratio is about 10 boys to each girl (but for various reasons it is felt that girls are largely under-diagnosed).

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While there is as yet no clear evidence as to the causes of Aspergers Syndrome, research supports that genetics may likely play a role. There may also be certain 'triggers' which may precipitate the condition. These include environmental factors like pollution, food intolerances (particularly to foods containing wheat, gluten, sugar and dairy products), digestive problems and even childhood vaccinations (particularly the MMRI). But I would like to emphasis that this is largely speculative and not backed up by any clear and definite science as yet.

Common Characteristics: There are several common characteristics that medical professionals look for when diagnosing someone with Aspergers: 

Lack of Social Communication Skills - The foremost of all Aspergers symptoms centers on social ability. There is a wide range of social skills that affect how we relate to other people. When these skills are lacking, our ability to relate to others, make friends, and hold meaningful conversations is severely diminished. Here is a list of affected social skills:

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All around social awkwardness.

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Inability to recognize social cues, gestures, and body language.

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No concept of the meaning of personal space.

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Inability to hold a meaningful conversation-not recognizing the rules of shared communication (does not know how to begin or end a conversation, or to wait his turn to talk).

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Inability to understand sarcasm and humor.

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Inability to recognize changes in vocal tone, voice inflection and vocal speed.

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Advanced language skills with a stiff, formal vocabulary and excessive talking.

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Lack of Empathy - Another common Aspergers symptom is displaying a lack of apparent empathy. Many children with Aspergers struggle to understand the emotions of others, and to put themselves in another person's place emotionally. Children with Aspergers may come across as flat, without feeling, aloof, or rude.

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Poor Eye Contact - Poor eye contact is common in children with Aspergers. Symptoms include an inability to maintain eye contact, as well as unusual staring. Some children with

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Aspergers will not display an obvious eye contact problem. Older children and adults may overcome eye contact issues with therapy and practice. 

Intense focus on one special interest or topic - Another of the main Aspergers symptoms is the obsessive interest in one or two special topics. This interest will control the child and his conversations. He will study and research this interest until he becomes an expert. Some children keep notebooks of information, others collect physical objects related to the topic. There will be little room for conversation, study, or activities that are unrelated to the special interest. The special interest may change over time, but the pattern of behavior will remain the same.

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A few additional Aspergers symptoms must be noted. Struggle with changes in routine, difficulty in transitions, inability to handle a lack of order, and fine and gross motor skills weaknesses are all common on the list of main symptoms. They are very sensitive to environmental stressors (things that may affect them in their immediate environment such as people, television programs or sudden movements - in fact anything really), and sometimes they engage in rituals (e.g. repeating certain behaviors again and again).They are anxious and tend to worry obsessively when they do not know what to expect; stress, tiredness and sensory overload (too much noise, light or crowds) can easily throw them off balance.

Does Aspergers vary in severity or impact? 

Aspergers does vary in severity and impact. The difficulties that children experience are in the areas of social interaction, fascination with special interest, and repetitiveness. The severity of each of these difficulties varies from child to child. Some children may not display all problem areas and others may. Aspergers is just like any other condition in that it varies in severity. The severity can depend on when the child receives diagnosis, the level of therapy and intervention they receive, and genetic make up. Timely diagnosis and therapy can greatly improve the severity of characteristics of Aspergers.

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2. Common School Concerns The most common school concerns for children with Aspergers include: 

Problems in social situations, such as making small talk and friendships;

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Highly focused areas of interest and expertise, often to the exclusion of more common childhood interests;

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Not very good coping strategies or problem solving skills;

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A strong need for structure and predictability;

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Problems using figurative language and slang;

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Think in very literal terms;

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Appropriate vocabulary can mask problems in comprehension;

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Hyper or hyposensitivity;

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Anxiety or depression;

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Understanding and dealing with emotions and outbursts of temper;

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Difficulties in paying attention or organization;

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Ritualistic or repetitive behaviour;

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Clumsiness and difficulty handwriting.

Problems with things like social skills and coping strategies can often lead to children with Aspergers being labeled as deliberately defiant or wilful. When in actual fact their behavior can often be the direct result of some of the characteristics of Aspergers. In the next few pages I’ll highlight in a little more detail some of the main concerns.

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3. Social Communication Children with Aspergers struggle to communicate socially. Having conversations, managing conflict, playing cooperatively, and making friends are extremely hard for them. Thankfully, they can learn to excel in these areas with a little help. Generally for all children; social skills are taught naturally in the classroom. However, children with Aspergers Syndrome fail to grasp the concept in this manner. So social skills must be taught systematically with much practice. Conversational skills are important to everyone. Children with Aspergers generally have their own topic of interest that they want to discuss with others. They tend to go on and on about a topic without giving others a chance to talk. Also implied meaning may be hard for them to interpret. Children with Aspergers need to learn conversational skills for success in life. They can develop this by practice talking and taking turns (e.g. by using their favorite game to teach them about turn taking and talking). 

Most children struggle to interpret verbal and nonverbal cues. They need help to understand facial expressions that imply pleasure or displeasure, and verbal cues that imply that a person wishes to change the subject of a conversation. So “facial recognition” software programs or simple work using cut out pictures of people with different expressions on their faces can be invaluable.

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Children with Aspergers generally have their area of special interest (be it ants, trains, numbers or whatever). They need to understand how to talk about topics other than the ones that interest them. They need direction so you could discuss various other topics of conversation that children their age may enjoy, so that they have something meaningful to bring to the conversation. Bargain with them by rewarding them with conversation time to talk about their interests if they can talk about the interests of others for a while.

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Being very blunt is also a challenge – as a child with Aspergers can be very honest and direct without realising the impact on others, for example “you’ve got a fat belly”. The teacher should ensure that class members are aware of this so that they will be less likely to be offended.

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Children with Aspergers will often struggle with non-literal language such as sarcasm, irony, metaphors and rhetorical questions, when used by others. So communication with them should be as concrete and literal as possible. Cooperative Play Skills - Learning to play cooperatively with others is another area in which children with Aspergers struggle. They are often not interested in the interests of others, so it is extremely hard to teach this skill. They can learn with a bit of help from you.

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Use their special interest as a way to encourage cooperative play. If the child likes movies about action figures, create an activity around the movie that others can join in with. Create an opportunity for the child to show off what they know about their special interest. They are more inclined to interact with others when the others are interested in their interests.

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Encourage imitation of the actions of other children. This is an opportunity for them to learn by example. When they watch children without Aspergers play cooperatively, they can learn something new that can help them with their play skills. Reward their efforts for imitating the play actions of others. Discuss with them why they should play in the manner in which their friend models.

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Social rules are generally picked up by most children through experience, but those with Aspergers have to learn them in a rather more concrete, and times repetitive, fashion. For example that it is not acceptable to swear in class, you must hang your coat up in before class etc.

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You may also want to teach them how to join in play situations without interrupting the ongoing play. They need to learn how to allow others to welcome them into a play situation.

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Making and Keeping Friends - The lack of social skills makes it hard for children with Aspergers to make and keep friends. They want to make friends, but they do not know how to go about it. They may feel lonely. They can learn to communicate effectively so that they can learn to make friends and keep them. 

Children with Aspergers need to learn how to make friends at school. They need to be helped to use opportunities such as recess, lunch, and class change to make conversation and build friendships. As the teacher; create situations where your child can interact socially with others at school, for example in activity groups or helping in the school “tuck shop”.

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You can use social stories to teach a child how to make friends The stories provide situations and offer several possible options to solve a problem. There is also the opportunity for children to provide their own solution to solve the problem. Find a social story that covers making friends, and use the story as a tool to help the child.

Managing Conflict and Bullying - Problems can arise when a child with Aspergers does not get their way, when someone teases or bullies them, or when they do not understand something. Conflict is impossible to avoid completely, but there are ways to reduce the amount of conflict that your child encounters: 

Role-play is a great way to teach conflict management skills. Create situations that the child may face, such as bullying and teasing, and provide them with options to use when these situations arise. Encourage them to create their own conflict resolution tip as you progress in your role-play.

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Find a buddy in the school with strong social skills to assist the child. Their buddy can assist them with managing conflict. This friend can be someone that they go to when they do not understand a situation or when they do not know how to handle a situation.

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Encourage greater communication in the child. Teach them to communicate to school personnel if a conflict arises. Ask them to express their feelings about situation so that you can figure out ways to reduce problematic situations.

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4. The Way That The Aspergers Mind Works Generally children with Aspergers are intelligent or even of high intelligence. But the way that the mind functions for children with Aspergers impacts on their ability to succeed socially and academically in school. Some of the major issues here are theory of mind, black and white thinking, empathy, and emotions: Theory of Mind is a concept that implies that others have their own plans, thoughts, and feelings. This makes it easy for people to understand the attitudes, emotions, and beliefs of others. Children with Aspergers lack the ability to do this. They see the world through their eyes only. So children link their own feelings to the feelings of others, which makes it almost impossible to predict or anticipate a response. The absence of the ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others is at the core of most issues that children with Aspergers have with social interaction and communication. Black and White Thinking is linked to theory of mind. Black and white thinkers think in terms of “always” and “never.” They see the world in terms of extremes. The real world is not black and white. Children with Aspergers tend to fall into this type of thinking. Black and white thinkers suffer from depression, anxiety, and many other everyday problems and issues. An example of black and white thinking in a child with Aspergers is thinking that he must be perfect at everything he does. Another example is if a child exaggerates the importance of an event. Remember, children with Aspergers see things in extremes, so it is hard for them to handle many of life's situations. Empathy is the ability to understand the feeling and emotions of others. Many say that children with Aspergers lack this ability. It is not that children with Aspergers do not feel emotion, but children with Aspergers find it hard to see beyond themselves. For example, a child can show love and affection to a dog or a sibling, meaning they experience emotion as others do. The key element to a child with Aspergers showing emotion is that the target of the emotion must be of interest to the child. If the child is not interested in hearing about a classmate's skiing trip, the child will not show empathy. Children with Aspergers can learn to identify emotions and recognized nonverbal cues that signal a certain emotion. 

There are numerous ways that children with Aspergers can be helped with these 3 interlinked issues:

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Use literature to discuss complex and conflicting feelings of others.

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Look at past and present events through the eyes of various historical and cultural groups. Role-play is an excellent way to teach children about the perspectives of others.

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Discuss the thoughts, motivations, and feeling of others. Use probing words like “feel” and “remember” during the discussion.

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Use social stories. Social stories are a way to teach more than one concept. The stories not only teach children conflict resolution strategies and social skills, but they help them realized the thoughts and feeling of others. Children are able to see what others think and feel while utilizing social stories.

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Drawing develops theory of mind. Drawing provides children with yet another way to practice strategies. They can draw pictures of people having conversations that portray what others are thinking. Emotions - A child with Aspergers can often be dealing with a number of emotions that he/she cannot explain. Stress and anxiety are major issues for children with Aspergers Syndrome. Here are other problem emotions that can manifest themselves as challenging behaviours and anger.

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Frustration caused by lacking social skills can quickly become anger.

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Aggression caused by being bullied can escalate to anger.

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Depression caused by self-isolation can eventually lead to anger issues. Some people have said that the emotions are missing when you have Aspergers. This is untrue – children with Aspergers Syndrome have a full range of emotional responses. The problem lies within emotional recognition. Recognizing when to respond and how to respond in an appropriate manner is where the problem lies. Executive Functioning – Executive functioning is the “bigger picture” mental functioning that we generally take for granted, for example organising, planning, making strategies, remembering details etc. Children with Aspergers struggle with executive functioning and this can impact on their ability to understand the key points in a school lesson, and understand exactly what they are being taught as a whole. Generalising Knowledge – Students with Aspergers are often very good at learning facts and information in a “rote” type style. However often they will struggle to take the information and be able to effectively apply it to other situations, or out of context. So whilst on the surface they look like they “understand” something – in reality they may struggle with the concept as a whole and what it means.

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5. Sensory issues 

Sensory integration disorder affects most children with Aspergers. Sensory systems control every move we make and a faulty sensory system leads to problems that affect many areas of education. It is important to understand the sensory systems and how they work. The three main sensory systems are the tactile (sense of touch), vestibular (senses that respond to movement), and the proprioceptive systems (sensations from muscles and joints).

In the school setting, children with Aspergers sensory issues can really suffer. Children may be over sensitive to sensory input, or they may be under sensitive to input. Most children are a mixture of sensitivity within the sensory systems. Here are some of the commonly affected areas within each of the three sensory systems: *

Lights

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Sounds

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Smells

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Touch

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Stimming-spinning, rocking, hand flapping, or humming

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Loss of balance

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Sensory seeking crashing, falling, or bumping into things or people

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Fine motor/tactile grasp- (poor grasp affects handwriting)

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Disruptions caused by the Aspergers sensory connection interfere with all aspects of the child’s life. It is imperative that these sensory problems are addressed.

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Occupational therapy and sensory integration therapy, both performed by occupational therapists, are the most common treatments for sensory issues. A good sensory profile plan will look like play and will be fun for the child. It will include a variety of activities like joint compressions, deep pressure massage, skin or body brushing, swinging, and jumping. Remember, each child’s sensory profile is unique, so these activities will vary.

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In the school setting, a child with Aspergers sensory issues will need this sensory profile and corresponding activities in order to remain calm and focused. For example, a sensoryseeking child may jump on a trampoline for a few minutes before tackling his math lesson. Teachers must be aware of the sensory needs to help the child perform and cope better in the classroom. The book, “Answers to Questions Teachers Ask About Sensory Integration”, by Stacey Szklut and others, can be a very useful additional resource for teachers.

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6. Motor skills (including writing) Many children with Aspergers Syndrome find handwriting a particularly difficult skill to acquire and are likely to need special help right from the start. Fine motor skills in other areas (cutting, drawing) are difficult for them, too. The term dysgraphia is used to refer to a disorder of written language expression in childhood. Difficulties in writing have a negative impact on academic achievement in school and cause problems for teens and adults with Aspergers when on the job. Writing (either printing or handwriting) is the most complex fine motor skill to develop and problems seem to run in families. Writing involves multiple brain functions. It requires the simultaneous and sequential integration of attention, multiple information sources, memory, motor skills, language, and thinking skills. Fine motor coordination and motor memory require balancing, flexing, and contracting movements while stimulating some muscle groups and inhibiting other muscle groups, all of which support hand/eye coordination. In addition, the child must use visual memory for the symbols, whole word memory, and visual attention to details, such as spacing and spelling. All of these skills require developmental readiness and usually can be improved with practice, although not always. 

There are several types of dysgraphia. Specific dysgraphia results from spelling disabilities, motor coordination problems, and language disabilities such as aphasia. Motor dysgraphia is sometimes related to physical problems, motor planning deficits, and visual-spatial perception problems. Non-specific dysgraphia may result from developmental disability, psychosocial deprivation, or poor school attendance. There are three subtypes: * Dyslexic dysgraphia, in which written symbols are not very legible and spelling is very poor, but copying is not difficult; * Dysgraphia due to motor clumsiness is shown by poor legibility, good spelling, and difficulties in copying; * Dysgraphia due to a defect in the understanding of space leads to poor legibility, good spelling, and poor copying.

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Regardless of the type of dysgraphia that the child has, as he/she progresses through school, the requirement to write legibly, at speed, will increase. In secondary school, children are obliged to write almost constantly, taking notes, writing essays, and copying homework assignments. So obviously the child will experience even more stress as he/she goes through school unless steps are taken to help: * The school is required to make accommodations for the child's disability and provide appropriate interventions, which should include gross and fine motor skills training and adapted physical education. * At this time, printing may be easier for the child, instead of cursive writing. If the child is in upper elementary school, accommodations made for him may include: shortening assignments, increasing performance time, grading first on the content of the work and then on the quality, avoiding negative reinforcement, using oral exams and allowing oral presentations by the student, and giving tests under un-timed conditions. Another accommodation is the use of a computer or other assistive writing device. Keyboarding should be a top priority and there are many enjoyable programs for children that teach it.

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7. Other Related Conditions As well as Aspergers often children will have related diagnoses too such as anorexia, ADHD, ODD, anxiety, OCD, Tourette’s and depression. In particular depression can be very significant in teenagers with Aspergers – often in relation to the social problems and challenges that they find at that time in their lives. I hope that this has given you a good insight into a child with Aspergers and the issues that you need to be aware of. On the next page I have compiled a one page “cheat sheet” which you can have pinned up somewhere at your desk or in the classroom to help remind you, and others working with the child, at a glance about some of the most common issues. Thanks for reading, Dave Angel P.S. You can sign up for free weekly email tips about children with Aspergers at www.ParentingAspergers.com/blog

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Aspergers Cheat Sheet For Teachers This cheat sheet is designed to be a quick visual aid for teachers in understanding the main challenges for children with Aspergers in school: 1. Challenge with Social Skills: Children with Aspergers will often struggle with two way conversations, building and maintaining friendships, and will be vulnerable to bullying/teasing. Reason: They struggle to understand verbal and non verbal cues, use very literal language (and struggle with abstract language), have an all-encompassing special interest, and have challenges with empathy and theory of mind. Solutions: Use concrete, basic language at a slow pace in class (avoid metaphors), and encourage other children to do so too. Explicitly teach conversational skills, social skills and friendship skills (including buddying and role play). Incorporate the child’s special interest into academic and social aspects of class. Be vigilant around any bullying issues, and set the tone of a “fully inclusive” classroom by your own actions. 2. Challenge with Academic Skills: Children with Aspergers will find handwriting difficult, can learn facts (but struggle applying learning), and struggle with organisation and attention. Reason: Problems with fine motor skills, executive functioning (understanding the “bigger picture”), being able to generalise learning across situations, and sensory overload. Solutions: Consider printing (rather than cursive writing), shorter assignments and more keyboard work. Break down work into smaller sections with explicit instructions on what is expected of the child. Try to facilitate the child’s sensory needs as much as practically possible in the classroom environment. Offer frequent short breaks from work. 3. Challenge with Emotional Issues: Children with Aspergers often experience high levels of stress, anxiety, frustration, anger and depression. Reason: These type of emotions are heightened as the child may experience sensory problems, bullying, social isolation, difficulty understanding and fitting in the “social world” around them, and problems due to sudden routine changes. Solutions: Supporting the child with academic and social issues (as seen in challenges 1 and 2) will help reduce a lot of these emotions. Offer structured visual timetables, and try to keep to the schedule as much as possible. The child will need support/guidance with any significant changes in routine. 4. Challenge with Behavioral Issues: Children with Aspergers can display extreme aggressive behaviours and rages (also known as meltdowns). Reason: All behaviours are a means of communication, and it is likely that any extreme behavior shown by a child is because they are communicating that they are experiencing one of the negative emotions (outlined in challenge 3). Solutions: A pre-arranged strategy (including a “break out” area) is often the best way to diffuse a difficult behavioural situation. Often there are smaller clues of irritability prior to a full meltdown and support should be offered at this time (e.g. focusing on routine or task in hand) to avoid it escalating. If it does escalate then a clear action plan for ensuring the safety of child, teacher and other students should be in place, and used when necessary.

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