Thursday, February 7, 2008

Asperger's Syndrome

For whatever reason, I decided to visit http://www.education.com, really, just to see if the website existed. As I thought, it was a website consisting of different articles and such for parents, teachers, and students. While looking through, I actually found an interesting article generally explaining Asperger Syndrome. I realized how important it is for educators to be aware of a disease such as this, since often times it is quite possible to overlook, claiming a child may just be "socially awkward".

Recently, Asperger's has been more open in the public eye. For example, a contestant on America's Next Top Model had Asperger Syndrome, as well as a fictional character in a book I recently read. Since it is a milder form of Austism, it is often times not seen as very serious, but it is difficult for these children to learn, unless a teacher can understand how to help them.

Here are some websites with advice and other links to help students with Asperger's that may be in your class. Since they, usually, are "normally" functioning, there may be a student in our classes with Asperger's, whether it has been recognized and they have an IEP plan or not. We need to be able to recognize how to help these students with their learning!

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/education.html
http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/karen_williams_guidelines.html
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Asperger_Syndrome/

2 comments:

Dr. Luongo said...

I have taught several students with Asperger's Syndrome. And, you are right-- they are "normally functioning" with certain characteristics that require educational modifications. The students I worked with went to a special education room for part of the day and had IEPs.

I think this post is an excellent one, Jackie.

You are starting to explore the world of education that you will enter soon. And being aware of issues such as Asperger's Syndrome is a step in the right direction.

Ariane said...

Thank you for spreading the word!