Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T16:16:33.424Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Secondary School Success for Students with Asperger’s Syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Deslea Konza
Deslea Konza*
Affiliation:
University of Wollongong
*
Dr Deslea Konza, Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522 Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Many students approach the transition to secondary school with feelings of both excitement and apprehension, but it is excitement that usually prevails. For students with Asperger’s Syndrome, however, those aspects of secondary school that most students anticipate with great enthusiasm, such as being in a new and larger environment, having different teachers and increased subject choices, and meeting new people, are sources of great anxiety. Despite the increasing numbers of students being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (Safran, 2002), many teachers have limited understanding of the condition, or of appropriate strategies for the successful inclusion of students with this diagnosis (Williams, 2001). This paper examines aspects of secondary school that are particularly challenging for students with Asperger’s Syndrome and describes ways in which these issues were addressed by teachers who approached these challenges with flexibility and ingenuity.

Type
Research Article
Information
Australasian Journal of Special Education , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , 2005 , pp. 128 - 139
Copyright
Copyright © The Australian Association of Special Education 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adreon, D. (2002). When problems arise: Stabilization and restructuring. Miami, FL: Council for Exceptional Children.Google Scholar
Adreon, D. & Gerhardt, P. (2005, April). Asperger Syndrome and adolescence: Strategies for successful transition planning for middle and high school. Paper presented at the International Conference of the Council for Exceptional Children, Baltimore, MD, April.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed. text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Asperger, H. (1991). Autistic psychopathy in childhood. In Frith, U. (Ed.), Autism and Asperger Syndrome (pp. 37–92). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Attwood, T. (2003). Navigating social and emotional pathways of autism. Sydney: Southern Sydney Therapy Centre.Google Scholar
Baron-Cohen, S. (1996). Mindblindness. An essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Black, S. (1999). Major school transitions require more than a one-shot orientation. American School Board Journal, 186, 53–55.Google Scholar
Bock, M. A. (2001). SODA strategy: Enhancing the social interaction skills of youngsters with Asperger Syndrome. Intervention in School and Clinic, 32, 272–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullard, H. R. (2004). Ensure the successful inclusion of a child with Asperger Syndrome in the general education classroom. Intervention in School and Clinic, 39, 176–180.Google Scholar
Church, C., Alisanski, S., & Amanullah, S. (2000). The social, behavioural, and academic experiences of children with Asperger Syndrome. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 15, 12–20.Google Scholar
Cotter, J., Warren, A., & Pearson, L. (2001, November). Teaching social skills to individuals with Aspergere Disorder. Paper presented at the State Autism Conference, Sydney.Google Scholar
Cumine, V., Leach, J., & Stevenson, G. (1998). Asperger Syndrome. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd.Google Scholar
Frederickson, N. & Turner, J. (2002). Utilizing the classroom peer group to address children’s social needs: An evaluation of the circle of friends intervention approach. Journal of Special Education, 36, 234–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, B. J., Cronin, P., & Candela, P. (2002). Asperger Syndrome or autistic disorder? The diagnostic dilemma. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 17, 145–151.Google Scholar
Gray, C. (1995). Social stories unlimited: Social stories and comic strip conversations. Jenison, MI: Jenison Public Schools.Google Scholar
Jenkins, J. R., Antill, L. R., Wayne, S. K., & Vedas, P. F. (2003). How cooperative learning works for special education and remedial students. Exceptional Children, 69, 279–92.Google Scholar
Kim, J. A., Szatmari, P., Bryson, S. E., Streiner, D. L., & Wilson, F. J. (2000). The prevalence of anxiety and mood problems among children with autism and Asperger Syndrome. Autism, 4. 117–132.Google Scholar
Konza, D. (2001). Classroom management: A survival guide, Katoomba: Social Science Press.Google Scholar
Lavoie, R. (1994). Learning disabilities and social skills: Last one picked first one picked on. [video] Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service, (available from Peter Rosen Productions, Eagle Hill Foundation, Inc., Greenwich, CT)Google Scholar
Linn, A., & Myles, B. S. (2004). Asperger Syndrome and six strategies for success. Beyond Behaviour, 14, 3–9.Google Scholar
Myles, B. S., & Adreon, D. (2001). Asperger Syndrome and adolescence. Shawnee Missions, KA: Autism Asperger Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Myles, B. S., Troutman, M. L., & Schelven, R. L. (2004). The hidden curriculum. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Safran, J. S. (2002). Supporting students with Asperger Syndrome in general education. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34, 60–66.Google Scholar
Savner, J. L., & Myles, B. S. (2000). Making visual supports work in the home and community: Strategies for individuals with autism and Asperger Syndrome. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Co. Google Scholar
Shoffner, M. F. & Williamson, R. D. (2000). Facilitating school transitions into middle school. Middle School Journal, 32, 47–52.Google Scholar
Wilde, L. D., Koegel, L. K., & Koegel, R. L. (1992). Increasing success in school through priming: A training manual. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California.Google Scholar
Williams, K. (2001). Understanding the student with Asperger Syndrome: Guidelines for teachers. Intervention in School and Clinic, 36, 287–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wing, L. (1981). Asperger Syndrome: A clinical account. Psychological Medicine, 11, 115–130.Google Scholar
Wing, L., & Gould, J. (1979) Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classification. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 9, 11–29.Google Scholar