Lifespan Issues in Asperger Syndrome
Lynda Geller, Ph.D.

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Elementary School
When AS children enter public school there are many new challenges. Many of these children still have not been diagnosed and so their unusual behaviors are being interpreted by school personnel in a variety of ways. The majority of these children can be academically successful in mainstream settings, at least in the primary years, but proper support is absolutely crucial. Much of this support comes through the IEP process, an integral part of which is accurate diagnosis so that appropriate educational classification and planning can be done. The support of experts in autism spectrum disorders for both school personnel and families can make the critical difference in achieving successful adjustment in a wide array of functioning areas. A consultant can assist in socially integrating the child among peers, giving specific help to special service personnel, training classroom assistants, and training parents to insure a consistent approach across settings.

An issue of great significance for individuals with AS is the co-occurrence of Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD). While not everyone with AS has this disability, it is extremely common and frequently undiagnosed. For children who have had IQ testing, a discrepancy between verbal and performance IQs, with verbal skills being higher, is often indicative of NVLD. For individuals who have not been extensively tested, characteristics of disorganization, difficulty getting thoughts on paper, inability to complete assignments or remember to turn them in, trouble keeping track of assignments, appointments, and the like, and lack of motivation may be signs of NVLD. Children and adolescents who seem to have significant discrepancies among their abilities, or their abilities and actual performance, should have neuropsychological testing to help determine if this specific learning disability is the cause. The recognition and treatment of NVLD is another area where school personnel may need consultative support as children who have this disability may have often been stereotyped as lazy, unmotivated, defiant, or undisciplined at home. It can be truly daunting for the AS student to cope with both social difficulties and the academic problems that having a learning disability presents. To the child with both of these diagnoses, the world can seem to be a very confusing and hostile place. As they try harder and harder to meet parental and academic expectancies, the demands seem only to become more hopeless to meet. The result may be a child who begins to act out, withdraw, or behave more inappropriately. We typically see children begin to experience this kind of problem around fourth grade age, when the academic work becomes more complex and teachers expect more independence in work habits. To cope with these issues a strong combination of academic support and understanding, educational advocacy, and psychological support are crucial. The IEP process is the tool to gain these services and proper diagnosis is the key that drives the IEP.

Middle School
For many children with AS, the elementary years may be relatively uneventful. While their social disability may present some recurring problems, often their peers are understanding and they may have developed some acquaintances with whom they feel comfortable. However, the challenges of middle school can be devastating, even for the student with supportive parents and school personnel. The social environment becomes much less supervised. Physical education class, the locker changing room, the cafeteria, the halls between classes, the locker, the bus stop, and after school areas can all be opportunities for the AS student to manifest social differences and to be singled out for them. Academically, the organizational skills needed to travel from class to class with needed materials, relate to seven or more different teachers, bring home correct homework assignments, hand in homework on time, and deal with long term assignments may be overwhelming. Again, as many of these children also have NVLD, organizational issues can be a major impediment.

Under this kind of pressure, the preadolescent child may feel trapped and hopeless. A wide variety of coping responses arise, many of them counterproductive. Depression and anxiety may be present and various inappropriate behaviors may arise. At this point it is very important to try to determine what elements of the child's life are causing the difficulties. Is the student overwhelmed with the work, the stimulation level, or the numbers of peers? Is the child being bullied away from adult eyes? Is the child unable to relate to so many adults? Do the adults the child relates to have a sufficient understanding of the disabilities involved? One teacher making disparaging remarks can ruin any child's day, and this can happen if teachers are unaware of the problems of a student with AS. Unlike elementary school, it is much more difficult to get a complete team together, simply because of the scheduling challenges involved. The neutral eye of a consultant can often identify several elements that are affecting the student's adjustment just by observing the progression of a day of school. So, while it can be more complicated to call a full team meeting, some level of pre-training, ongoing assessment, and planning can be crucial in facilitating adjustment to middle school.

>>>Page 3: High School

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