Asperger's Syndrome And Instructional Intervention

Asperger's Syndrome and Instructional Intervention

Asperger's Syndrome (AS) is a pervasive developmental disability first identified in 1944 by Dr. Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician. However, since his paper was written in German and published during World War II, his findings were not well known in the United States and in other non-German speaking countries. In 1981, Dr. Lorna Wing, a British researcher, brought AS to the attention of the English-speaking world. In addition to summarizing Asperger's findings, she also pointed out the similarities between AS and autism, raising the question: Are they the same disorder or two separate ones (Ozonoff, Dawson, & McPartland, 2002)? It was not until 1994 that the American Psychiatric Association included AS as a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; Myles, 2002).

Although some debate exists among researchers, AS is considered part of the autism spectrum (Attwood, 1998). Autism is generally defined as having an impairment of both normal social interactions and communication (Out of the Deep Freeze, 2003). However, individuals with AS are often highly verbal (Gottlieb, 2003). Even though labeled high-functioning autism, AS may cause the greatest disability in adolescence and young adults when it comes to developing social relationships. People with AS desire social interactions, however they lack the appropriate social skills (Barnhill, 2002) and, in turn, have trouble interacting with people (Travis, 2003). They do not have the ability to read social cues and will often display socially and emotionally inappropriate behaviors: lack of empathy, one-sided interactions, pedantic and repetitive speech, and intense absorption in certain subjects (Attwood, 1998). Non-verbal communications skills are also impaired. These may include: limited use of gestures, clumsy body language, limited facial gestures, inappropriate expression, and peculiar, stiff gaze (Attwood, 1998). Additional characteristics of AS include literal thinking, poor problem-solving skills, poor organizational skills, and difficulty in discriminating between relevant and irrelevant stimuli (Myles & Simpson, 2002).

Identifying an individual with AS usually does not occur until after the preschool years. The symptoms are not generally recognized earlier because of average or above-average language and intellectual functioning (Safran, Safran, & Ellis, 2003). Many children with Asperger's are first diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They may have problems with social interactions, but their main difficulties are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It is not until the inappropriate social behavior becomes a greater concern that they are diagnosed with Asperger's (Watkins, 2000).

Children with AS often have behavioral and emotional problems connected to their deficient social skills. These often involve feelings of stress or loss of control (Myles & Simpson, 2002) and these behaviors can range from simply annoying to highly disruptive behaviors (Safran et al., 2003). In order to help students with AS, interventions must be used that target improving social understanding rather than trying to change certain behaviors in certain situations. Improving the social understanding can be addressed by teaching appropriate social skills. These social skills may include problem solving, conversation skills, anger control, identifying and managing feelings, dealing with stress, and organizational skills. A school psychologist may assist by providing direct social skill instructions to the student and training parents and teachers in strategies to use. Some of these strategies include social stories, comic strip conversations, and social autopsies. In addition, teaching students the "hidden curriculum" or "unwritten rules of conduct" are important parts of social skills teaching (Barnhill, 2002). Making sure that the student understands the "hidden curriculum" is necessary especially when the behaviors can escalate to the point of disrupting the classroom. This "hidden curriculum" are expectations that most students naturally understand but will be missed by students with AS. For example, knowing when to listen, how to question, or how to start and end an interaction would generally be understood, but a student with AS will not acquire these skills automatically and may be unable to apply these interactions in the appropriate situation (Safran et al., 2003).

Safeguards for students with AS must be in place before effective intervention can take place. Students should be notified in advance of any change in school routine (Watkins, 2000). Students must be taught coping skills that they can use whenever there are periods of escalation. This may include relaxation techniques and "self-talk strategies." Tense situations can be diffused before they get out of control. At any time that the student becomes overly stimulated, there should be a safe place that he can retreat. Having a plan to get the AS student to do an alternative task or run an errand outside of the room can be useful (Safran et al., 2003).

Teaching social skills will vary from student to student since AS covers a wide range of ability levels. Teachers must realize that a student with AS may not look at them in the eyes or that they may mumble when speaking (Watkins, 2000). Other non-disabled students will watch the teacher if they are unsure how to react to a situation in the classroom. The teacher must be able to demonstrate tolerance and encouragement. This response from the teacher will be recognized and practiced throughout the classroom by the students. The teacher must also recognize when the non-disabled students are supportive of the student with Asperger's (Attwood, 1998).

Teaching social skills can be achieved by modeling, coaching, role-playing and feedback, and by explaining to the student why the skill is important (Barnhill, 2002). Many of their social skills are in deficit because they lack common sense and an awareness of social standards (Myles & Simpson, 2002). Being taught how and why something is acceptable may improve a social skill deficiency (Barnhill, 2002). However, some children may apply their newly learned skill universally and become confused if their interactions are accepted in one setting but frowned upon in another (Myles & Simpson, 2002). Also, once codes of conduct are explained, a student may become a "classroom policeman" and enforce them to an extreme, unaware of his classmates' disapproval. This includes voluntarily giving information about behaviors of other students when the teacher was distracted (Attwood, 1998).

Students