Part 1: Teaching Strategies for Students with Asperger’s and High-Functioning Autism – Introduction
Due to the numerous complaints I have received over the years from parents regarding the (alleged) lack of effective teaching strategies specific to students on the autism spectrum – and teachers’ general lack of knowledge in instructing this population – I’ve decided to do a series of posts on the matter. This is Part 1… Although AS and HFA differ from Autism with respect to language acquisition and early cognitive development, they do have similarities (e.g., in the areas of social impairment, impairment in reading social non-verbal language, inflexibility, and persistent preoccupation). Problematic behavior in AS and HFA students is essentially the result of (a) failure to learn necessary adaptive behaviors (e.g., how to establish satisfying personal relationships), and (b) the learning of ineffective responses (e.g., discovering that one can avoid unwanted tasks by acting-out behaviorally). AS and HFA students are impaired socially, and often do not detect social cl