1 asperger syndrome: a discussion of common...

6/30/2011 www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu

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Welcome to the LASARD Workgroup

ASPERGER SYNDROME: A Discussion of COMMON

EXPERIENCES AND CHALLENGES

The Workgroup will start promptly at 1PM (2PM ET).

http://www.louisianaschools.net/

A DISCUSSION OF

COMMON EXPERIENCES

AND CHALLENGES

ASPERGER SYNDROME

ALTHOUGH ASPERGER SYNDROME SHARES

SOME CHARACTERISTICS WITH HIGHER-

FUNCTIONING AUTISM, THERE ARE SOME

UNIQUE FEATURES, AND A DIFFERENT

DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESSION AND

PROGNOSIS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH AS.

(MYLES & SIMPSON, 1998)

www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu 6/30/2011

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Asperger’s and ASD

Think of a student you know with Asperger Syndrome…

What are some personal characteristics you have witnessed to be most challenging for the student within the education setting? (Elementary/High School).


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Workgroup: Focused Discussion

Diagnostic Criteria: A qualitative impairment in Social Interaction, as

manifested by two of the following:

Failure to develop friendships that are appropriate to the child’s developmental level.

Failure to spontaneously seek out others for interactions, including sharing of interests, enjoyment, or achievement.

Impaired use/interpretation of non-verbal behaviors such as eye gaze, facial expression and body language to regulate a social interaction.

Lack of social and emotional reciprocity and empathy.

Based on Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-IV-TR (p.84), by American Psychiatric Association, 2000, Washington, D.C.


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Diagnostic Criteria: Repetitive/Restrictive Stereotyped Patterns Of

Behavior, shown by at least one of the following:

Significant preoccupation with one or more objects/special interests that is unusual in intensity and focus.

Preference and inflexibility for routine and consistency. Repetitive stereotypical motor movements such as hand

flapping, whole body movements, twisting.

Based on Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-IV-TR (p.84), by American Psychiatric Association, 2000,

Washington, D.C.


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Diagnostic Criteria: A qualitative impairment in Communication Skills

Fluent speech but difficulties with conversation skills There is a tendency to be pedantic, have an unusual prosody and to make a literal interpretation.

Based on Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-IV-TR (p.84), by American Psychiatric Association,

2000, Washington, D.C.

What are some challenges teachers face when providing instruction to students

with Asperger Syndrome?


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1/28/2008 www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu 9

DREW….Tall, matter of fact boy who wears a frown

most of the time but has a disarming grin, VERY CURIOUS and has

big brown eyes that sparkle when he gets excited.

Towers over other kids in kindergarten

Pretty social when interested in topic and talks out loud to himself

Converses well above average using “big” words.

Love computers (obsessively)

Loves Science

Likes to read

“I’m good at math too but it’s not my favorite.”

Mid-year reading/math assessment in kindergarten placed him at a midyear 1st grade level.

Walks and bumps into everything Does not like art (“stuff sticks to hands

and to hard to do”) Does not like music/most class group

activities (too loud) Crawls under desk. Looks away or at feet when talking Wears coat all day even during spring Sits in desk with feet curled under him Picks up things he want and takes Writing frustrates him; often causes

daily melt down Wanders during transition; often gets

lost coming in from recess. When copying from board or presented

with difficult task..he often states that a “Ball” is bouncing in front of his eyes

Cognitive Development Patterns:


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Uneven cognitive development patterns Average or above average intellectual capacity “Theory of Mind” Deficit (Baron-Cohen, Leslie , & Frith, 1985).

May perform higher than average in areas of: Perceptual organization Spatial visualization Memorization, Rote knowledge Sight Word and Decoding skills Often challenged in areas of comprehension, problem solving, and abstract concepts: Organization- Inability to process multiple tasks, keep track of personal

belongings Attention/Concentration-off task, confused Perspective taking related to use of information about oneself or other’s

intentions and beliefs (Barnhill, G.P., Hagiwara, T., Myles, B.S., & Simpson, R.L., Brick, M., & Griswold, D. (2000).

Communication/Interaction

Social Knowledge


Pedantic speech pattern, speaks fluently but words/phrases may occur as odd during conversation

Confused use or understanding of speech forms such as, metaphors, idioms, parables allegories

Repetitive comments/topics, difficulty with complex language, multiple meanings tendency to fixate

One sided conversation style, narrow focus, repetitive phrase use

Inappropriate “blurting out” during class/conversation

Doesn’t understand social rules, interprets literally, lacks reciprocity

Standing too close to others, abnormal posture, lack of eye contact, facial expression

Emotional-anxiety, frustration, low self esteem, difficulty coping with social demands

In adolescence with the increase of social responsibilities, often see greater anxiety, withdrawal and depression

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Common Social Behavior Patterns:

Other Common Characteristics:


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Sensory Awareness Hypersensitive to sounds

Attention to visual stimuli may cause overload

Preference for certain foods, textures

High tolerance for pain

Engage and display in self stimulating behaviors

Physical/Motor Poor Balance/Coordination

Clumsiness, difficulty with game play

Writing, art activities, fine motor tasks may be difficult

Teachers Should Incorporate Best Practices:


13 LAQI 13: Student schedules are individualized and include links to

student interests/preferences as indicated on the IEP/ITP.

LAQI 25: Individualized environmental supports include more than two methods of implementation(e.g. human support(adult and peer), visual support, and material support) if needed.

LAQI 29: Instruction on individualized skills is observed within or across primary instructional activities and on-going routines in the classroom, school, or community (i.e., embedded instruction of social interaction skills, self help, and communication).

LAQI 38: Plans include systems for collecting data on student performance (grading, completing checklists , etc.)

LAQI 65: Routines for students include unstructured opportunities for social interaction with typical peers in social and academic contexts.


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LET’S THINK ABOUT AN AREA OF INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING…

WHAT ARE SOME SKILL DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES AND CONSIDERATIONS NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE STUDENT

WITH ASPERGER SYNDROME?

Consider Student Learning Preferences:


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Learning and Memory: Can student focus attention and store information? Does student recall visual information better than oral/written? Strategies: How does student approach a new task? How does he/she face problems they already know the answer? How does student organize information? Student Behavior Patterns: How does student apply retrieved information in daily functioning? What behaviors affect social interactions? What behaviors affect academic performance or school requirements?

1/28/2008 www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu 16

Incorporate Successful Strategies:

Approach Benefits Considerations

Environment: Incorporate and use of multiple methods of visual supports • Peer buddies • Schedules • Assignment books • Travel cards • Home base • Social Stories • Video Modeling • Graphic Organizers

• Helps with organization of information

• Promotes attention to the focus of content

• Naturally incorporates social and behavior supports

• Support should be age/grade appropriate

• Should allow for student independence

• Incorporate Preferences

• Involve Family/Significant Persons

EXPECTATIONS: INSTRUCTED

DISPLAYED

MODELED

CONSISTENTLY REINFORCED

VISUALS CAN “IDENTIFY BOUNDARIES”

& SERVE AS A REMINDER

May also help to SET A MORE POSTIVE TONE IN THE CLASS.




Task Modification: (Ex. Skill is broken down into component parts and taught to mastery)

• Addresses splinter skill development(student can

complete a specific step but not entire task)

• Can be used with academic, functional, behavioral , social, and vocational areas

• Student Preferences (students who prefer “big picture” may not receive well)

• Involvement of Para/Parents

• Assessments (typically focuses on task achievement not approach)

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TRACE NAME WRITE NAME WITHOUT HELP



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Priming: Introduction of information, activity, assignment prior to use

Predictability

Familiarizes and diffuses anxiety about activity

Increases potential for success

Should be planned ahead

Involve parents for support

Perform consistently

Provide reinforcement to the student for attention to material

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Visuals, visuals and more visuals

can remind and cue the organization of task

to promote independent completion.



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Enrichment Most students with Asperger Syndrome have superior to very superior intelligence

Allows great opportunity for incorporation of the students’ special interests Allows opportunities to increase social participation in an area of strength

District or School assessment/criteria for participation

Planning for Instruction: MATH

Assess Knowledge

Skill Development Considerations

Hierarchical Subject: Early skills must be established to assure mastery of further skills 1. Concrete 2. Semi-concrete 3. Abstract

Basic Concepts • Numeration • Mathematical language • Measurement • Place Value • One to One Correspondence • Geometry • Fractions • Graphing

Use of multiple visual oral strategies to probe knowledge and application

Computation Clinical Math Interview (CMI; Skrtic, Kvam, & Beals, 1983).

Involves ability to correctly calculate equations Implement a variety of Oral and Visual teaching strategies

May appear to be a strength but student may not understand process

Problem Solving/Functional Application

Development is dependent on ability to apply and generalize basic concepts Allow oral explanation/ demonstration of steps used to work a problem

Students may answer correctly without understanding process

Planning for Instruction: READING


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Assessment must emphasize comprehension and application

Establish both independent reading level and instructional reading level

Selection of comprehension to evaluate both recognition and recall-response levels

Miscue Analysis-examines pattern of errors in passages, gives insight into students reading skills as a total process (Stanford and Siders, 2001.)

Listening Capacity-level of understanding of material read aloud

Cloze Procedure-determines contextual analysis strengths and weaknesses

Students with Asperger Syndrome may have adequate word analysis and word recognition skills

How can I (teacher) support students with Asperger Syndrome to

develop skills that increase independence

and social involvement at school?


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Can I Relate?

Working knowledge of Asperger Syndrome

Develops relationship of trust with student

Provide environment with structure/consistency

Enjoys students and expresses that enjoyment

Provide instruction in more than one modality, realizes visual is a strength

Provides adequate “wait time” for students to process information

React calmly and provide non threatening feedback

States expected behavior and provide examples

Listen to student, analyze individual need and adapt curriculum to

facilitate

Limit instructions given, uses short direct phrases

Apply rules as universals (“Everyone in class should listen while I talk.”)

Accepts cognitive and social abilities of student

Develops learning potential

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

American Psychiatric Association.(1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental

disorders (4th ed.) Washington, DC: Author

Attwood, T. (1998). Asperger Syndrome: A guide for parents and professionals.

Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kinglsey Publishers.

Baker, J.E. (2003). Social skills training for students with Aspergers syndrome and

related communication disorders. Shawnee Mission, Kansas: Autism Aspergers

Publishing Co.

Grandin, T.& Kate Duffy. (2008). Developing Talents:Careers for Individuals with

Asperger Syndrome. Shawnee Mission, Kansas: Autism Aspergers Publishing Co.

Gray, Carol. (2000) The New Social Story Book: Illustrated Edition. Arlington, TX:

Future Horizons.

Gagnon, E. (2001). The Power Card: Using special interests to motivate children and

youth with Asperger Syndrome and autism. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger

Publishing Company.

Myles, B.S. & Simpson, R. (2003). Asperger Syndrome: A Guide for Educators and

Parents (2nd ed.) Shawnee Mission, Kansas: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.

Quill, K.A. (2002). Do-Watch-Listen-Say: Social and Communication intervention for

children with autism. Essex, MA: Paul Brookes Publishing.

WEB Resources


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www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu- LSU Human Development Center (LASARD Project)

www.aspergersyndrome.org- OASIS @ MAAP- The Online Asperger

Syndrome and Support Center

www.autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu –Autism Professional Development Center

www.ocali.org- Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence

www.autismspeaks.org- Autism Speaks

http://www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu-/

http://www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu-/

http://www.aspergersyndrome.org-/

http://www.aspergersyndrome.org-/

http://www.autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/

http://www.ocali.org-/



http://www.autismspeaks.org-autism/



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