NAMI NORTH CAROLINA

Symptoms/characteristics:

• Severe difficulty with social interactions; socially naïve, inappropriate, awkward

• Repetitive, narrow and unusual patterns of behavior and interests
• No clinically-significant delays in language or cognition, unlike classic autism. 
• May appear clumsy or have delayed motor development.
• Appears eccentric to other children.
• Loner, but intensely wants to be included by other children; wants to be sociable.
• Often frustrated by writing.
• Needs space.  May be hypersensitive to light, touch, noise, or smell.   
• Lacks conversational reciprocity, unless explicitly taught.

Brain biology:

• Processes faces as objects; reduced activation of fusiform gyrus (Yale, 2000).
• Likely genetic factors being researched.
• A pervasive developmental disorder.
• Often accompanied by mood and anxiety-spectrum disorders.
• Possible overlap with Nonverbal Learning Disability. 

Treatment: 

• Teach and practice (rehearse) rote strategies for recognizing and handling social situations.  No medication.
• Consult autism organizations for comprehensive treatment information and school support, especially Division TEACCH of UNC Chapel Hill.
• Treat accompanying mood and anxiety disorders.  May include medication.

Classroom applications:

• Often Verbal IQ much higher than Performance.  Teachers typically overestimate academic ability, underestimate frustrations.  Remember, 80% of communication is non-verbal! 

• May have more difficult behavior in school than home.  Parents are more predictable -- hence less anxiety-provoking -- than classmates.

• Use social stories (simple, first-person accounts of appropriate social behavior.)
• Compensate for writing difficulties (grapho-motor problems).  Reduce quantity of written work.  Teach keyboarding.  Use oral evaluation.
• Capitalize on verbal strengths.  Relate subjects to narrow interests.
• Student may find some reading assignments and courses “pointless” if high in social content and low in practical or concrete application.  Needs fiction with strong plot.  May intensely dislike fiction, love nonfiction.
• Delineate space so other students don’t intrude (e.g. mat or chalk outline on floor.)
• Protect from bullies or predatory students.
• Avoid unstructured or unsupervised social situations.
• Avoid crowding in lines, bleachers or hallways.
• Do not insist on eye contact.   Encourage to look at other person’s forehead if eye contact is difficult.

Advice for parents/care givers

• Read first-person accounts to gain empathy (see “Books for teachers and parents -- Emergence: Labeled Autistic” below.)
• Prepare child for novel social situations well in advance.  Rehearse.
• Recognize and reward small steps toward desired behaviors.
• Provide plenty of structure.
• May be soothed by whole-body pressure, squeezing into tight space (e.g. between bed and wall), or by rocking or spinning.
• Remember inflexibility often results from anxiety about unpredictable situations.  Use social stories to clarify expectations, provide concrete guidelines.
• Get plenty of rest and respite.

Books for children:

• Asperger's: What Does It Mean to Me? by Catherine Faherty, Gary B. Mesibov.

Books for teachers and parents:

• Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Tony Attwood, Lorna Wing.
• Incorporating Social Goals in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers and Parents of Children with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome by Rebecca A. Moyes
• The OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome: Advice, Support, Insight, and Inspiration by Patricia Romanowski Bashe, Barbara L. Kirby
• Emergence: Labeled Autistic by Temple Grandin – first person account

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