by Sammy Stein

Created on: September 21, 2010

As a teacher, you will come across all kinds of students and all kinds of personalities, disabilities, quirks, foibles and behavioural issues but for any teacher, the mystery surrounding students with Asperger's Syndrome can be difficult to deal with because they may appear very able, hard working students one minute and then lapse into a tantruming, rude and difficult individual the next.

It is important to try to understand how Asperger's Syndrome affect those who have it. Firstly, they are high functioning people with normal or above average intelligence who do well academically. Socially, they may be on the outside of most groups, failing to keep and maintain friendships, although they make appear to make friends easily at first.

Given continuous support and routine, students with Asperger's Syndrome thrive in the class room and problems tend to come when they are asked to work in groups, when there is a change to the daily routine or when things get noisy and they have to move around to work. Then, you may be in for a surprise and this is the key. Asperger;s students never fail to surprise as their outburst can be so unpredictable and sometimes it is hard for a teacher to know what caused it.

Asperger's Syndrome does not come with an easy 'fit-it' and reading books about it does little other than to help you understand how they come to be diagnosed because I have yet to meet a student who falls exactly into the criteria cited in books for diagnosis but they do exhibit any number of symptoms from the syndrome regime including a failure to deal with change, an inability to empathise and deal with the moods and reactions of others, a failure to read social cues such as body language and facial expressions and this can lead to working in groups being difficult.

Give a student with Asperger's clear instructions, tell them of any changes in advance and explain what those changes might be and do not expect them to actively take part in role plays, creative art or group work and you will find them cooperative and worthy students but drop your guard, think all is well and back off with the support and you may be in for an outburst which can leave you devastated, surprised and totally taken aback. Because people with Asperger's cannot cope socially in some situations, they will do everything to avoid them and this can often mean they become violent and rude in order to escape the confines of the classroom.

It can help having visual aids to help students with Asperger's which they can show you if they feel they are not coping and have permission to leave the room for a short time to avoid anxiety levels reaching fever pitch. It can also help if you inform the class as a whole of any changes coming up, give clear timetables and instructions on what to expect in your lesson on a sheet and explain tasks clearly. This will actually help the whole class ,not just those with Asperger's Syndrome.

Most studnets with Asperger;s Syndrome want to please and theyt want to achieve. With the right support and understanding, tehyt can do so and you will find you have very able, interesting and reactive students in your class.

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