Incorporating Social Goals in the Classroom

A Guide for Teachers and Parents of Children with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Rebecca Moyes

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2001
• ISBN:
  9781846421945
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Classroom Management

This book provides practical, hands-on strategies to teach social skills to children with high-functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome. It includes a detailed description of the social deficits of these children as they appear in the classroom - difficulties with such things as understanding idioms, taking turns in conversation, understanding and using tone of voice and body language - and ways to address them. Instruction is included in the book to enhance the development of appropriate, measurable, and meaningful individualized education plans (IEPs) to incorporate social goals. Lesson plans are included to facilitate the ability to 'teach' these social goals. Parents will find this text an excellent training tool to help develop social education curriculums for their children, and teachers will find it particularly helpful as an easy-to-read manual containing many 'nuts and bolts' strategies to utilize in the classroom.

CHAPTER ONE

Is it Autism or Asperger
Syndrome? – Diagnostic
Criteria

In recent years, parents of children with high-functioning autism have been searching for a way to explain why their child has language, does not bang his/her head, and is able to participate in typical schools with relative success (for the most part) if they truly have ‘autism.’ They have learned that the label frightens and intimidates everyone they inform who must work with the child in some way (teachers, doctors, scout leaders, even relatives). Yet, they know there is a definite need to clarify with these individuals that their child has a problem so that he/she will not be misunderstood. They search for more appropriate explanations for their child’s behavior and latch onto terms such as: sensory dysfunction disorder, auditory processing disorder, semantic pragmatic disorder, or social awareness disorder. They attach themselves to these labels because they don’t quite feel ‘at home’ with the use of the word ‘autistic,’ and they don’t want their child to be compared to individuals with this disorder who are silent and/or socially aloof.

Hans Asperger, a Viennese pediatrician, first described in 1944, (Asperger 1944) children who appeared to have autism but were more able in their use of language and in their social interactions. These children had fluent speech and a desire to interact with other children. They were intensely preoccupied with certain subjects, were poorly coordinated, had trouble with intricate social skills, and had little ability to empathize with others. He helped to initiate a treatment program for these children that included speech therapy, physical education, and drama practice to address these deficits.

Table 1.1 includes six categories of criteria (A – F) for the diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, one of the pervasive developmental disorders.

Table 1.1: Diagnostic criteria for
Asperger Syndrome from DSM IV (1994)

A. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

1.marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction

2.failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level

3.lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g. by a lack of showing, bringing or pointing out objects of interest to other people)

4.lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

B. Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

1.encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus

2.apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals

3.stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g. hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)

4.persistent preoccupation with parts or objects.

C. The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

D. There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g. single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years).

E. There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood.

F. Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia.

Reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn, copyright 1994 by the American Psychiatric Association.

Asperger Syndrome is diagnosed when a child has two social interaction impairments from the first category; one behavior pattern from the second category; a clinically significant impairment in social, occupational or other important area of functioning; no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g. single words used by age two, communicative phrases used by age three); no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or age-appropriate self-help skills or adaptive behavior; and when criteria are not met for another specific pervasive developmental disorder or schizophrenia.

The use of language is probably the most discriminating factor identifying these children with Asperger Syndrome, rather than high-functioning autism. However, it seems that today this disorder is being diagnosed far before the age when a child could demonstrate fluent speech! Thus, the explosion and overuse of this term has created much confusion among parents and educators.

The following questions and answers may help to clear up some of this confusion.

Is there a problem with using the wrong label?

For some children, yes! It becomes very difficult for certain children diagnosed after the age of five to qualify for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) if their expressive language is considered normal and their academic abilities appear intact. In many states, before the age of beginning school attendance, a child is considered eligible for early intervention services for special education if he/she has a diagnosis of an autism/pervasive developmental disorder and has significant delays in areas that may affect his/her educational progress (speech/language, fine or gross motor skills, self-help skills, cognitive abilities). Children diagnosed with a pervasive developmental disorder at an early age generally do. However, if the child is diagnosed after the age of five, he/she must still demonstrate the need for specially designed instruction to be eligible to receive an individualized education plan (IEP). If this newly diagnosed child is currently able to make passing grades, control his/her behavior, exhibit age-appropriate fine and gross motor skills, and/or speak fluently, it becomes difficult to qualify for IEP services under IDEA for help with social skills. Special education personnel are becoming very aware of which labels require more services. The ‘autism’ label is generally considered to be a more severe label than ‘Asperger Syndrome.’ It is not a relief to a parent and of no help to the child diagnosed with a less severe pervasive developmental disorder if he/she can not obtain the necessary supports with this label. For this reason, it may be beneficial to use autism as the diagnosis rather than Asperger Syndrome.

Is there a way around the problem?

‘Use the diagnosis that provides the services’ (Attwood 1998, p.151). This author would like to add this warning: do not ‘upgrade’ an autism label to Asperger Syndrome when the child is transitioning from preschool to elementary school simply because the child is more able. The new label may exclude him/her from obtaining services in school districts more familiar with the diagnosis. For instance, in many elementary schools, language therapy is frequently not recommended for children who can speak, have age-appropriate pronunciation, and can understand the communication of others. However, language interventions can certainly include work on pragmatic language deficits (or the social, practical applications of language). Eliminating language therapy and language goals on the IEP because the child is fluent may have drastic repercussions for children with Asperger Syndrome later if pragmatic weaknesses are not addressed in another area of the child’s IEP. For this reason, keeping the ‘autism’ label and the historical information about the child’s development close at hand are recommended if he/she is in jeopardy of losing services.

What does ‘high-functioning autism’ refer to anyway?

The use of the term ‘high-functioning’ means that the child has average or above average intelligence. It has nothing to do with the number of autistic symptoms the child has. A child with ‘high-functioning’ autism could be a child who has many self-stimulatory behaviors, little social interactive ability, little expressive language, and yet has a near normal IQ score.

Can you sum it all up? Should we say it’s Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism?

In this book, we will use both labels interchangeably. However, you should consider what the child needs in the way of services presently before determining which label you will use. Consider the child’s prior history as a toddler. Include what services his/her doctors require for him/her to succeed now. Do not get hung up on choosing the most ‘socially appropriate’ label. Find descriptive literature that best describes the child to provide to educators and those working with him/her. Back this up with a doctor’s evaluation and recommendations when you proceed to the IEP meeting to develop his/her educational ‘map’ for success.

What would you say is the greatest area of need for children with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism?

Social skills instruction. Social skills instruction is by far the most misunderstood and least addressed area of need for children with Asperger Syndrome and high-functioning autism.

If teachers and professionals surveyed parents of children with Asperger Syndrome and/or high-functioning autism and asked them what their greatest desire is for their children, they may be surprised to discover that a good many of them would respond that they just want their children to have friends.

The ability to be accepted socially can be a huge predictor of a child’s successfulness in later life. Their ability to obtain and keep a job in adulthood will largely be determined by their social adeptness. Parents of children with this diagnosis are much more aware of this than other parents. Children with Asperger Syndrome become very aware of their differences, often when they are as young as seven or eight years of age. This can cause poor self-esteem and even depression in many of these youngsters. Many teenagers, when the demand for social interaction increases and becomes intricate and intense, will require medication to cope with their depression and anxiety. They will need a ‘safe person’ to turn to if they become targets for bullies and/or excessive teasing. They will need understanding teachers and parents who will be able to recognize if and when the ‘mainstream’ setting may not be working for them and be ready with modifications and adaptations. They will need, throughout their school years, a solid, age-appropriate social skills curriculum to help them address their inherent weaknesses in this area and enable them to meet with success not only in their school settings, but also in their homes and communities.

CHAPTER TWO

Deficits in Social
Communication

‘The school-age child spends as much of his time as possible in the company of his peers from whom he learns firsthand about social structure, about in-groups and out-groups, about leadership and followship, about justice and injustice, about loyalities and heroes and ideals…he learns the ways and standards of adult society.’

– Joseph L. Stone and Joseph Church (1968) Childhood
and Adolescence: A Psychology of the Growing Person

‘Then you should say what you mean,’ the March Hare went on.

‘I do’, Alice hastily replied, ‘At least I mean what I say – That’s the same thing you know.’

– an excerpt f...