Asperger’s Syndrome and Literacy:

Asperger’s Syndrome and Literacy:

A Look At The Disorder And Instructional Approaches For Teachers

Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) was first described in the 1940’s as a new category of developmental disorder, yet only recently it is now recognized as a more commonly occurring condition. Children with AS are frequently blended with mainstream classrooms, and, to date, few comprehensive review articles of AS have been published in medical literature. Studies suggest AS is more common than Autism - Autism traditionally occurs in 4 of every 10,000 children, whereas Asperger’s syndrome affects  20-25 children of 10,000. However, some children with low AS impairment are misdiagnosed with either an emotional disturbance or Attention Deficit Disorder. Teachers in today’s classrooms, where cases of Asperger’s Syndrome are becoming more visible, need to know how to recognize signs of AS, how to teach AS students phonemic awareness, how to assess the learning development of these children, and how to choose effective approaches to contemporary classroom instruction.

To begin with, teachers need to understand what Asperger’s Syndrome is – an autistic spectrum disorder. “Asperger [Syndrome] is the term applied to the mildest and highest functioning end of what is known as the spectrum of pervasive developmental disorders. [AS] was ʻofficiallyʼ recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for the first time in the fourth edition [DSM-4] published in 1994” (Bauer). AS affects three aspects of neurological development: “social relatedness and social skills, the use of language for communication purposes, and certain behavioral and stylistic characteristics involving repetitive or perseverative features and a limited but intense range of interests” (Bauer). Symptoms and characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome change during stages of normal growth for children.

Students with Asperger’s Syndrome may experience dynamic variations in development. The New York University Child Study Center recommends regular speech and language evaluations for students, young and old, “to address unevenness of academic performance and to help develop important interventions to support ongoing academic progress” (What Does a Student).

            Preschoolers with AS may show symptoms of delayed early language development and diminished level of comprehension, including inaccurate interpretations of explicit and implicit meanings “with rapid ʻcatch-upʼ between the ages of three and five years” (Bauer). At the elementary school level, “academic progress […] is an area of relative strength; for example, rote reading is usually good, and calculation skills may be similarly strong, although pencil skills are often considerably weaker” (Bauer). This poor handwriting problem is an issue that will stay with the AS child for life, along with clumsy motor skills, and hypersensitivity to auditory and physical pressure experiences. In high school, children with Asperger’s have “ongoing subtle tendencies to misinterpret information, particularly abstract or figurative/idiomatic language” (Bauer).

1.      Case Studies

The challenges faced to families and educators of children with Asperger’s paint a dismal picture of the future. Most families that have tried school learning disabilities programs for their children with AS have had poor results. In a “population-based epidemiological study carried out by [Christopher] Gillberg’s group in Sweden […] nearly 0.7% of the children studied had a clinical either diagnostic of or suggestive of AS to some degree” (Bauer). Gillberg proposes only some speech and language difficulties, connected with literacy deficiency, are required criteria for a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome. So far, the suggested connection between literacy deficiency and Asperger’s Syndrome is blurred.

In an 8-month case study of an eight year old child, clinically diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, computer software, known as Hyperstudio*, was introduced. The purpose of the software was to facilitate the student to gain skill in the technology and to absorb some fundamental values of society. The subject of this case study was assessed using the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability-revised, after his first two years of schooling, and the assessment indicated that the child had no reading problems. Herein is the essence of why educators can dismiss the problems of AS children, why these students are misdiagnosed, and why teachers need to familiarize themselves with the signs of AS.

Teachers may find it difficult to assess the learning development of children with Asperger’s because the students exhibit a professional style of speech; they have a learning style that differs from other learners – they frequently learn by memorization, but lack the ability to produce and comprehend higher level language. Studies indicate that these children are showing signs of echolalia, the condition of repeating words and phrases that have been overheard in conversations, television, etc; often these expressions are used inappropriately. Thus, once teachers understand this feature of Asperger’s, they’ll be able to recognize children with AS “do not understand jokes, irony, or metaphors” (Forder).

But, like so many other case studies, the data obtained on children with Asperger’s is limited. “Most of the research on emergent literacy has been conducted with children from print-rich homes that identify with the dominant, school-oriented culture, where parent-child interactions provide experiences similar to classroom interactions” (Wilkinson). If proper evaluations and assessments are made on children with AS, the information provided will bring all educators and faculty involved with these students together to make a positive difference in their academic success.

2.      Methods of Instruction

Traditional methods of teaching phonemic awareness to children with autism spectrum disorders do not work. “Students with moderate to severe autism […] have difficulty attending as well as understanding the parts-to-whole concept when breaking down words into phonemes” (Laz). One reason why these children have difficulty understanding this concept is because of their dependence on visual cues. This paper suggests that an effective method to teaching phonemic awareness to these children is incidental teaching. In this method, teachers focus on “direct teacher and student interaction using materials that are important to the student” (Laz). Emphasis is placed on “teaching in the moment with purpose and intent” (Laz). Other suggested methods for teachers include reintroducing visual cues, music, rhyming books, thinking-out-loud (different from reading aloud), modeling phonemes with musical instrument sounds (to break up the monotony of clapping-out sounds), and magnetic letters.

“Studies indicate that students with autism use typical phonological cues to read words” (Laz). Therefore students, with and without autism, use phonics similarly to decode words, but language difficulties may interrupt the learning process of autistic children. Neuropsychological evaluation and identification of specific needs with an IEP can lead to specified aid for these kids. One common feature among IEP’s for children with autism spectrum disorders is scaffolds.

“Used as a metaphor in pedagogical theory, a scaffold is an interactional mechanism for learning and development” (Wilkinson). This paper discusses two types of scaffolds, directive and supportive, identified in the article, Classroom Language and Literacy Learning. In as much as directive scaffolds are “the most formal organizational unit of classroom interaction”, supportive scaffolds represent a more flexible and effective approach to contemporary classroom instruction (Wilkinson). The NYU Child Study Center would side with the supportive scaffold approach since they promote the idea that children with Asperger’s need to be “provided with the proper level of support for success without placing them in unnecessarily restrictive environments” (What Does a Student). When compared to the rigidity of initiation-response-evaluation (IRE) of directive scaffolds, supportive scaffolds seem to be (almost) tailor-made for Asperger’s Syndrome children; this approach encourages students to express themselves in literate ways once they’ve acquired essential, cultural tools. Supportive scaffolds promote immediate evaluation by assessment, which allows for ʻon the spotʼ modifications while teaching, another must-have component in an IEP for Asperger’s students. This type of guided practice, when combined with the instructional support of graphic organizers, is also recommended in the text, Teaching Children to Read. (Reutzel)

Asperger’s Syndrome also functions as a stumbling block in the education process because it is known to hamper student participation in classroom activities, such as reading aloud and question-and-answer exchanges with teachers. Thus supportive scaffolds must be used to break up different reading assignments when AS students are blended with standard classrooms. Students with AS often have difficulty understanding certain aspects of figurative language, e.g. metaphor and idiomatic speech, that is prevalent in various works of fiction.

Teachers can follow a system for managing their classroom with a blend of Asperger’s Syndrome students by first realizing that a particular student has a developmental disorder. Next, the teacher must take an individualized approach; treating this student like everyone else will not work. Once an approach is developed, staff and parents must work together, they need to plan for the child, and teachers need to incorporate these idea exchanges into IEP’s (individual education plans) to monitor progress and keep consistent, structured and predictable classroom routines.

Rules should be applied carefully, AS students have a way of adhering to only the sets of rules given and ignoring rules that are normally implied for others, and with some flexibility. In his article, What Is Asperger’s Syndrome, Dr. Tony Attwood recommends teachers to incorporate visual aids whenever possible, such as schedules, charts, lists, and pictures. Attwood warns teachers to avoid using abstract language in their lessons. Such figurative, unrealistic wording may be misunderstood by AS children. Teachers should align learning activities in their daily lesson plans with the student’s special interests. “Teachers can creatively connect the child’s interest to the teaching process” (Attwood).

3.      Summary

The common diagnostic mistake of attention deficit disorder (ADD) for students actually suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome makes teachers’ jobs even more challenging than previously expected. In today’s classrooms, it is not just a possibility for teachers to recognize signs of Asperger’s Syndrome - it is a necessity for effective classroom instruction. In summation, teachers can recognize a student’s need for individualized literacy instruction once that child exhibits qualitative impairments in social interaction, subtle communication skills, and restrictive interests.

           

Notes

* Hyperstudio is an interactive multimedia program designed for use by students, teachers, engineers, musicians, film makers, and others “to provide a completely up-to-date media-rich creative environment for presenting ideas, stories, and adventures” (Software).

Works Cited   

Attwood, Dr. Tony. “What is Asperger Syndrome?” Oasis@MAAP. 2005. Web. 28 March 2010. 

Bauer, Stephen, MD, MPH. “Asperger Syndrome”. Oasis@MAAP. Web. 28 March 2010.

Forder, Anthony R., Me.d. “Multimedia Connections: A Case Study of A Child With Asperger’s Syndrome.”  Oasis@MAAP. 1997. Web. 29 March 2010.

Laz, Linda K. Teaching Emergent Literacy Skills to Students with Autism. Boise State University, May 2009. Web. 29 March 2010.

Reutzel, D. Ray, and Robert B. Cooter, Jr. Teaching Children to Read: The Teacher Makes the Difference. New Jersey: Pearson, 2008. Print.

“Software MacKiev and Roger Wagner Announce the Reintroduction of Hyperstudio®.” mackiev.com. 14 Nov. 2008, Web. 29 March 2010.

“What Does a Student With Asperger Syndrome Need in a School Program?” NYU Child Study Center. Web. 29 March 2010.

Wilkinson, Louise C., and Elaine R. Silliman. “Classroom Language and Literacy Learning.” Handbook of Reading Research: Vol III (2000): n. pag. Web. 30 March 2010. http://www.readingonline.org.