Supporting Students with Asperger's Syndrome in General Education

Abstract

This scenario, heartbreaking to families and teachers who care, is a familiar one for people with Asperger’s syndrome. Identified by Austrian Hans Asperger in 1944, but only recently gaining prominence in the educational community (Safran, S. P., 2001; Wing, 1981), this neurologically based, autism-spectrum disorder significantly affects social perception, interactions, language, and nonverbal communication. With average to superior intellectual capacity, the child with Asperger’s looks typical but lacks the social awareness and skills needed to connect with his or her world. This article provides educators with strategies that will help children practice and learn the classroom and life rules that many students naturally acquire; moreover, these strategies represent good teaching practices that benefit all children.