by Cody Hodge

Created on: July 04, 2009

If you have ever been around someone with Asperger's syndrome, you know that it can be a little awkward. It isn't that they are trying to be weird, or socially inept, it's just that the problems that they have almost force them into a life I am sure they don't want to be living. So the key is to figure out how to treat people with this syndrome, and make their lives a little bit easier so that everyone can get along. This is especially true with kids, and dealing with this as a child can't be easy, so you have to make sure you get them involved with things.

One of the biggest things with someone that has Asperger's is that they tend to be very focused on certain things. I worked with a guy who had the syndrome, and he was really into bikes. He didn't know why it was bikes, but he just really loved bikes. He would go on for hours about them, and wouldn't leave you alone unless you told him to stop talking, and do some work. Find out what the child is really interested in and see if you can't develop something that would pertain to that interest.

People with Asperger's tend to be very socially awkward. Reading social cues, taking hints, and being able to get into the flow of a conversation is tough sometimes for a person with this disease. Therefore you have to be very persistent, and condition the child to learn social cues, and making sure that the child is aware that they are being invited to get involved.

Mixing in an interesting subject will help a student with the syndrome become more aware of surroundings. Just like learning a foreign language is easier when we see the English word next to it, it will give them a frame of reference for when they might be talking about something else as well. This will help the child interact better with other students, and help them get into a familiar social pattern, or at least get in that direction.

Having other students help the child is nice as well. When I was at work, I would always tell my co-worker when the conversation was over, or when I didn't want to be talked to. He would understand that best, and it worked out pretty well. Whenever I was direct with him, I was able to get him to understand me better. This works well with a child because with all children you have to be direct, and sometimes have people be blunt with you.

It can be tough to be a teacher of a student who has special needs. It is tougher still to be a student who has special needs. It is a team effort to get a child involved no matter what he or she has, or even if the child is healthy and normal. Having a good support system is critical, and the familiar setting of a school can really help the child.

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