Part 10: Teaching Strategies for Students with Asperger’s and High-Functioning Autism – Poor Motor Coordination
Young people with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA): are often physically clumsy and awkward are often unsuccessful in games involving motor skills experience fine-motor deficits that can cause penmanship problems, slow clerical speed and affect their ability to draw have stiff, awkward gaits Programming Suggestions for Teachers: 1. Some kids with AS and HFA benefit from guidelines drawn on paper that help them control the size and uniformity of the letters they write. This also forces them to take the time to write carefully. 2. When assigning timed units of work, make sure the youngster's slower writing speed is taken into account. 3. Refer the “special needs” youngster for adaptive physical education program if gross motor problems are severe. 4. Young people with AS and HFA may require a highly individualized cursive program that entails tracing and copying on paper, coupled with motor patterning on the blackboard. The teacher can gui