My ASD Child

“I’m a 5th grade teacher (Baltimore area) with a challenging 10 year old student diagnosed on the high functioning end of autism. My question is what are some of the ‘social areas’ these special needs students struggle in, and how can I tailor my approach to make accommodations for those areas?” Children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s have several important areas of challenge that can negatively impact their social competence.  Here are the main ones: usually have a desire to be part of the social world, but lack the skills to do so use monotone or stilted, unnatural tone of voice use inappropriate gaze and body language take expressions literally over-eagerness to answer questions or participate in classroom activities often talk at people instead of to them often avoid eye contact misinterpret social cues may not like physical contact may “appear” egocentric lack of control of facial expression inability to grasp implied meanings have well-d

Question Our 10-year-old son is diagnosed with high functioning autism. He is bright and inquisitive, but has great difficulty picking up on social cues and understanding many aspects of friendship. We struggle to coach him in these areas ...our explanations often don’t make sense to him. Any suggestions? Answer High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger's presents kids with a variety of social and emotional stumbling blocks. Due to difficulties understanding implied meaning, humor, and other inferential reasoning skills, these young people are often confused by the rapidly changing landscape of social interaction. Their tendency toward quick and literal interpretation of words can produce significant problems with establishing and maintaining friendships. Preoccupations with narrow, solitary interests can impede their capacity to converse on the range of topics that typically interest peers. Moms and dads of kids on the autism spectrum often help them make sens