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Developing Social Skills at Home and School

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Aspergers (high functioning autistic) children usually want to fit in and have relationships with other people – they just don’t know how to do so properly. They lack an understanding of conventional social rules and often “appear” to lack empathy. In order to improve socialization, Aspergers kids need to learn and focus on socialization from an “intellectual” standpoint. What may come naturally for those without Aspergers needs concentration by those with it. Perhaps the best socialization tips for Aspergers children come from practice. The only way for the youngster to learn how to be social is to participate in numerous events and outings. How to Help Aspergers Children Develop Social Skills— Tips for Parents: 1. Communicate with pictures. To teach Aspergers children to be social, incorporate picture stories into their daily lives. This is important for difficult subjects such as sharing and communicating feelings. The stories should communicate how to handle the s

Making Sense of High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's

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Think back to the days of grade school. Can you remember one or two peers (probably male) who were a bit different from the other children? Maybe they exhibited some of the following ‘strange’ behaviors: They always stood too close to you They constantly wiggled and rocked while sitting at their desks They made odd, distracting noises They never looked anyone in the eye They never raised their hands They never seemed to have any friends They talked on and on about favorite subjects They waved their hands and knew all the answers They were noisier than the others They were often teased, chased, shoved, tripped, called names and bullied Do you remember anybody like that? These kids probably had Asperger's (AS) or High-Functioning Autism (HFA), but no one knew much about it then. To help make sense of the disorder, we will need to look at the deficits associated with it. Here are the three core deficits: 1. Theory of mind deficit: an inability to recognize tha

The Learning Style of Students on the Autism Spectrum

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"As a teacher with three high functioning autistic students in my class, I would like to know the best way to approach different subjects in a way that will work best for them. Thanks in advance." Students with Aspergers (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) exhibit difficulty in appropriately processing in-coming information. Their brain's ability to take in, store, and use information is significantly different than neuro-typically developing kids. This results in a somewhat unusual perspective of the world. Thus, teaching strategies for these students will need to be different than strategies used for students without the disorder. AS and HFA students typically exhibit strengths in their visual processing skills, with significant weaknesses in their ability to process information via auditory means. Thus, use of visual methods of teaching, as well as visual support strategies, should always be incorporated to help the student better understand his/her enviro

The Gift of Aspergers

Mrs Primproper talks about how people with Aspergers are great at "systemizing":