My ASD Child

Academic Traits of Students on the Autism Spectrum: What Teachers Need to Know

“Would my child (6 years old) with high-functioning autism be better served by an alternative or private school? Is it possible for him to succeed in regular public school? Are there special issues his teacher should be made aware of?”

Most kids with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s (AS) receive their education in general education classrooms, albeit frequently with the support of Special Education teachers.

Most of these young people are well equipped to benefit from general classroom experiences. They typically have average intellectual abilities, are motivated to be with their peers, and have good rote memory skills and other assets that bode well for their academic success.

However, some kids with HFA and AS do have several problems in academic performance, largely due to social and communication deficits connected to the disorder. Also, some of them have a learning disability.

Other concerns that make it difficult for some children on the autism spectrum to benefit from general education curricula without support and accommodations include:

concrete and literal thinking styles
difficulty attending to salient curricular cues
difficulty in discerning relevant from irrelevant stimuli
inflexibility
difficulty understanding inferentially-based materials
obsessive and narrowly defined interests
poor organizational skills
relative weakness in comprehending verbally presented information
poor problem-solving skills
trouble generalizing knowledge and skills
difficulty in comprehending abstract materials (e.g., metaphors and idioms)

Strengths of young people with HFA and AS tend to be in comprehension of factual material. They are also very good in the areas of oral expression and reading recognition. With appropriate support, most kids on the spectrum can be successful in public school, and many are able to attend college or technical school - and enjoy a variety of successful careers.

Many teachers fail to recognize the unique academic needs of students on the autism spectrum, because they often give the impression that they understand more than they do. Their pedantic style, seemingly advanced vocabulary, parrot-like responses, and ability to word-call (without having the higher-order thinking and comprehension skills to understand what they read) may actually mask many of the deficits these students struggle with.

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Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Students on the Autism Spectrum that Teachers Need To Be Aware Of

“Is it common for a child with autism (high functioning) to have more behavior problems at school than at home? My 13 y.o. son has been getting a lot of time in detention. Can I excuse him from it and not reschedule? A teacher gave him detention for what I consider to be an unfair reason, and she refuses to hear his side. He goes to a public middle school.”

RE: “Can I excuse him from it and not reschedule?”

You don’t have the authority to exempt your son from the school's disciplinary actions. If there is a problem with a particular disciplinary process (e.g., detention scheduled to be served at a time that creates a hardship for you), you can contact the school's administrative staff to ask for consideration of an alternative date and time for the detention.

RE: “Is it common for a child with autism (high functioning) to have more behavior problems at school than at home?”

Yes, many children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s do act-out in the classroom, largely due to (a) over-stimulation of the senses (e.g., florescent lights, smells from the cafeteria, noisy and crowded hallways, etc.) as well as (b) social skills deficits (e.g., when the youngster fails to take his turn in a playground game because he doesn't understand the social rules of an activity).

Furthermore, these challenges frequently involve feelings of anxiety, loss of control, and an inability to predict outcomes. Rather than simply trying to be defiant or disruptive, students on the autism spectrum typically have behavior problems connected to their inability to function in a world they see as unpredictable and threatening. In other words, when they have behavioral difficulties, their problems are most often associated with their social ineptness, an obsessive interest in a particular subject, a defensive panic reaction, etc.

Many of the traits of the disorder can look like purposeful misbehavior in the eyes of teachers. For example:

attention problems may be viewed as simply “not paying attention”
become overwhelmed with too much verbal direction may be viewed as “unwarranted expression of frustration”
difficulty maintaining friendships can be viewed as “antisocial behavior”
difficulty transitioning from one activity to another may be perceived as “oppositional behavior”
difficulty waiting for their turn (e.g., standing in line) may be looked at as “impulsivity”
difficulty with fine motor activities (e.g., coloring, printing, using scissors, gluing) may be viewed a pure “laziness”
difficulty with reading comprehension (e.g., can quote an answer, but unable to predict, summarize or find symbolism) may come across as simply “ignoring the teacher’s instructions”
meltdowns are often viewed as “tantrums”

Moms and dads usually have significantly greater concern about the behavior and social skills of their “special needs” youngster than his or her teachers do. Parents often perceive their child to have substantial deficits in a variety of socially-related areas (e.g., conduct problems, aggression, hyperactivity, etc.) as well as internalizing problems (e.g., withdrawal).

Teachers, on the other hand, often perceive the HFA or Asperger’s student to have both fewer and less significant deficits than do parents – and may mistakenly discipline the child for “poor conduct” rather than recognizing the extra challenges the “special needs” student must contend with. Thus, it’s important for parents to educate their child’s teachers on his or her specific challenges that result in behavioral and/or emotional struggles.

But, each case is significantly different! Sometimes "misbehavior" is exactly that - misbehavior - and not necessarily a trait of the disorder. This is were it gets tricky. A particular behavioral problem (e.g., yelling at the teacher) in one student on the spectrum may be motivated by sensory issues, whereas that same behavior in another student on the spectrum may be simple rebelliousness. Which if which? Only the teacher who is well-educated on the symptoms of the disorder, as they relate specifically to the child in question, will know.

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How to Help Teachers Understand Your HFA or AS Child’s Social Difficulties

“What are some of the social problems that children with high functioning autism have? I’d like to share them with my child’s (age 7) teacher to help her understand him better. Currently, she thinks he ‘just needs to be more cooperative and attentive’. I wish it were that easy!”

High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s (AS) is first and foremost a social disorder. Young people on the autism spectrum are not only socially isolated, but also demonstrate an abnormal type of social interaction that can’t be explained by other factors (e.g., shyness, short attention span, defiance, aggressive behavior, etc.).

Children with HFA and AS are known to lack the motivation to interact with others. But their social difficulties frequently stem from a lack of knowledge in initiating and responding in various situations and under variable conditions (e.g., the child may appear odd because of his continuous insistence on sharing with peers an obsessive interest in vacuum cleaners, despite their displays of apathy for this “weird” topic).

Social difficulties may range from social withdrawal and detachment to unskilled social interactions. Nonetheless, even within this broad range, children on the spectrum may be socially awkward, emotionally blunted, self-centered, inflexible, and have difficulty in understanding nonverbal social cues.

Kids with HFA and AS may be able to infer the meaning of facial expressions and match events with facial expression, but the difficulty arises when dealing with the simultaneous presentation of facial, voice, body, and situational cues. Thus, even when they actively try to seek-out others, they encounter social isolation because of their lack of understanding of the rules of social behavior (e.g., eye contact, proximity to others, gestures, posture, etc.).

Students on the autism spectrum are able to engage in routine social interactions (e.g., basic greetings) without being able to engage in extended interactions or reciprocal conversations. Parents often describe their “special needs” child as lacking an awareness of social standards and protocol, lacking common sense, tending to misinterpret subtle social prompts, cues, and unspoken messages, and displaying a variety of socially unaccepted behaviors.

Kids with HFA and AS typically display emotional vulnerability and anxiety (e.g., they may become upset if they think others are invading their space or when they are in unpredictable or new social situations). However, in contrast to most of their “typical” peers, kids on the spectrum often do not reveal their anxiety through voice tone, overt agitation, etc.

As a result, they may escalate to a point of crisis because of peers’ unawareness of their discomfort – along with their own inability to predict, control, and manage uncomfortable situations. (As a side note, the HFA or AS child is a relatively easy target for peers who are prone to teasing and bullying others.)

While they are known by others for their lack of social awareness, many children with HFA and AS themselves are aware that they are different from their peers. Consequently, problems with self-esteem are common. These problems often are particularly significant during adolescence and young adulthood.

Variable social situations make it difficult for kids on the spectrum to apply social rules in a rigid and consistent way. Social rules vary with circumstances (i.e., there are no inflexible and universal social conventions and rules). This lack of social consistency is especially confusing for children with HFA and AS.

They often painfully discover that interactions that may be tolerated - or even reinforced - in one setting are rejected or punished in others (e.g., one 4th grader with HFA could not understand why his calling Mrs. Potts (his teacher) "Mrs. Potty" in the restroom was funny to his peers, while saying this in the classroom (in the presence of Mrs. Potts) got him in trouble.

Children on the autism spectrum do not acquire greater social awareness and skill merely as a function of age. In the real world, ALL children are required to use increasingly sophisticated social skills and to interpret ever more subtle social nuances as they progress through school. Consequently, children diagnosed with HFA or AS may find themselves more and more in conflict with prevailing social norms as they move through adolescence and into young adulthood.

As a result of these norms - and the experiences that follow – kids on the spectrum are vulnerable to developing a variety of problems (e.g., depression and anxiety may appear at this time, they experience a continuing inability to effectively interact with peers as well as an increased discomfort and anxiety in social situations).

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How to Prevent Meltdowns in Children on the Spectrum

Meltdowns are not a pretty sight. They are somewhat like overblown temper tantrums, but unlike tantrums, meltdowns can last anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour. When it starts, the Asperger's or HFA child is totally out-of-control. When it ends, both you and your child are totally exhausted. But... don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. At the least provocation, for the remainder of that day -- and sometimes into the next - the meltdown can return in full force.

Click here for the full article...

My ASD Child

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Academic Traits of Students on the Autism Spectrum: What Teachers Need to Know

Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Students on the Autism Spectrum that Teachers Need To Be Aware Of

Top 10 Dietary Books for Parents of Kids on the Autism Spectrum

How to Help Teachers Understand Your HFA or AS Child’s Social Difficulties

"Autism Awareness" products made by an autistic child...

Crucial Strategies for Parents of Challenging Kids on the Autism Spectrum