Nurturing Our Spectrum Children In And Out Of School

Being different is really okay!

Published in

A Parent Is Born

10 min readNov 19, 2021

I became a better teacher when working with Asperger’s and Autistic Spectrum students. I learned they are brilliant children who see the world through different lenses and add so much to society.

Regrettably, our society lacks education concerning children with Asperger’s. Nevertheless, the emergence of a new movement has begun to highlight their uniqueness through the portrayal of characters in television shows and movies. I will share the knowledge I have acquired on how to teach children who behave differently in a way that cultivates a positive and effective classroom environment.

I remember the surprising backlash it created among the teachers during training on Asperger’s Syndrome. Some teachers felt it wasn’t up to them to accommodate these children, that these children needed to comply with their rules. The instructor neglected to share that many of our most incredible innovations came from people on the Autistic Spectrum.

Famous persons with Asperger’s are Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Mark Twain, Emily Dickinson, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and Temple Grandin.

Having taught many children with Asperger’s over the years, I knew we needed to learn as much as we could about neurodiversity.

I also knew it wasn’t about training the teachers; it was also about creating a collaborative atmosphere for parents with Asperger/Autistic children.

What is Asperger’s Syndrome?

It is defined as a neurodevelopmental disability that affects the ability to interact and communicate with people effectively. Asperger’s are highly functioning people on the Autistic Spectrum. Children with Autism may be unable to communicate and/or have difficulty with gross motor skills. Asperger’s children typically have a non-inflectional tone in their speech and have awkward mobility.

Asperger’s children typically demonstrate the following behaviors:

Social interactions are awkward
Depressive moods
Inability to perceive gestures
Difficulty in recognizing others’ feelings
Aggressive behavior
Difficulty in understanding humor
A significant difficulty with non-verbal movement and behaviors, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, awkward or clumsy body postures, and gestures

Facts About Asperger’s Syndrome:

One in fifty-nine children in the United States has autistic spectrum disorder.
Diagnosis doesn’t require lab testing or imaging.
There are no known cures or treatments available.
It can last several years or be lifelong
(More information can be found in the resources below)

Creating a Home & Classroom Environment for These Students

An excellent example of the characteristics of Asperger’s can be seen in the following television shows. Freddie Highmore portrays a doctor with Autism and Savant Syndrome in ABC’s The Good Doctor. In CBS’s The Big Bang Theory, Jim Parson’s character, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, portrays a Theoretical Physicist with quirky behaviors.

Although I made these environmental changes in my classroom, the same can be done in your home to make deeper connections with your child.

1.) Begin With Their Peers

I had to teach my students why people with Asperger’s and Autism do things differently from the typical school population. This leads to a classroom that supports their peers rather than shuns them.

However, this must be done while the student is present so they can share their feelings in certain situations and hear how their peers can help them adjust to noises, transitions, and inappropriate behavior.

For example, this class discussion can be about things we do that may make others uncomfortable. Some children can ignore loud noises, but for the Asperger’s child, this same noise puts them off task.

Having various students, including your Asperger’s students, share how disruptions make them feel, the students can consider alternative ways to handle noise or disturbances.

Jonathan*, one of my previous students, was a sweet child, but he didn’t realize that he stood too close to his friends, which bothered them. For the class to learn boundaries, we had open conversations about what we liked and needed.

For example, “Jonathan, I want to hear your story, but I need you to stand farther away from my face” teaches everyone to respect each other’s needs to make them comfortable. The phrase “I want… but I need…” can be used for most situations.

It also helped that I taught the students about the neurophysiology of the brain. Once they knew how their minds worked under stress and how to calm their brains, they had more compassion for classmates with different tolerance levels than they did.

2.) Share Lesson Plans with Parents

If the child was previously diagnosed, I would meet with the parents about alternative homework, alternative projects, behavior modifications, and in-school support. This takes some planning, but once established, it can create a close rapport with these families and make unexpected eruptions in the classroom less stressful.

I send home a copy of my lesson plans with the student. Yes, plans change, but it keeps the parents informed on what may be coming up and considerations for adapting the lessons for their child.

Homework is modified to benefit the students at home. With our Asperger’s students, I’d rather see them practicing with siblings or parents to be introduced to people, share toys, converse in small talk, and be compassionate than memorizing facts and figures.

I discover the child’s passions since most Asperger’s children are obsessed with a particular topic. Once we find the carrot, projects, and homework can be adapted to their interests.

For example, one of my students was obsessed with Dinosaurs. The class was learning about geography then, so I had him work on mapping skills of the 20 top famous archeological fossils found around the world. Simple adaptations can bring meaningful learning for the challenged child and make for a happier classroom.

3.) Allow Flexibility with Curriculum and Assessments

This was such a significant paradigm shift for my Asperger’s students. We can’t expect them to think or act in the same manner as their peers. Consequently, I had to properly evaluate what these children were learning and then realize that they might not be able to demonstrate their abilities like their peers.

Learning their strengths and weaknesses in their learning style also made me more aware of my teaching style. I had to consider their difficulty in regulating stress, such as informing them of a Vocabulary test or changing the class routine for the day.

In these situations, most Asperger’s children do not do well with change. I had to have written and visual directions, which isn’t as easy to recreate. Asking my Asperger’s students to repeat what I asked them is a common way to determine if they understood what they should do.

I had to put myself in their shoes. How can I prove that I understand something without assessing it traditionally? For example, if an Asperger’s student felt overwhelmed with a 30-question Math test, could I reduce the number of questions or give the test over a few days? Adapting to their needs helps them feel successful, and you can get a more accurate assessment of their learning.

Oral quizzes became a quick and easy way to assess comprehension and understanding of concepts. Most curriculum assessments can be completed by allowing the students to use art and design as a form of assessment. The student could create a poster, diorama, model, or diagram, including the necessary content, with a minimal writing assignment attached.

Ironically, many of our universities are removing standard testing to prove a student’s performance in the classroom. When I started implementing these innovative ways to test understanding, I realized it made my job easier and made the students less stressed.

Think of how we are evaluated as teachers. We don’t sit down with a multiple-choice test each year. We prove our knowledge through collaboration, outcome-based data, and a portfolio of work.

4.) Create a Calming Environment

Creating a room where students can read or write without distraction establishes an atmosphere of mutual respect. If you do it for one student, you do it for all, with only a few exceptions, which we discuss in class.

Tools I use to help students self-regulate their learning.

Study Carousels- cardboard or wood can be stacked around desks to create a less visually distracting learning area. My Asperger students often grabbed a portable carousel around their desks during center rotations or independent writing. This lessened the visual distractions that can occur when children are working independently.
Padded Headphones- I was able to round up broken headsets, such as those with tape recorders that no longer worked, which provided a quieting effect for the child.
Plants- yes, plants. Not only do plants soften the room, making it more inviting, but it also helps air quality. I used the maintenance of the plants as a job for my Classroom Economics. Many Asperger’s children loved learning about the appointment of a horticulturalist.
Fish- You must decide if your classroom can handle a small aquarium. I used the one pictured above for many years. Even raffling off the opportunity for students to take home “Charlie” or “Fidget” at the end of the year. Betta fish are very straightforward to care for, especially using the aqua plants that help aerate the bowl or aquarium. Some teachers go bigger and get the rectangular kind with a heater and the little scuba diver, but I wanted to keep it simple. My Asperger’s students loved earning time to visit our class fish. It was also a very calming place for them to recenter themselves. One of my Asperger’s students would stare at our fish while I was doing a read-aloud. I was amazed at how he never lost track of what I was reading as he stared at the fish. I also provided Post-It notes for students to ask questions they had about fish. Students would earn Classroom Economic money for correctly researching the answers. Many students also enjoyed being our classroom Marine Biologist for their job.
Flexible Seating- Now more than ever, I appreciate sitting or standing when I work. After recovering from an automobile accident, I had to move around more than I used to. This, of course, was essential for me. Still, Asperger’s students also need the flexibility to sit or stand when their bodies can no longer remain still. Parents will be the first to tell you whether their child has issues with standing or sitting still for long periods at the beginning of the school year. Often, I would allow my Asperger’s students to choose their own seating as long as it would not disturb others. I would set up boundaries and practice how to move without disturbing others. I typically allowed the whole class to do flexible seating within reason, especially when doing small-group or independent activities.
Mindfulness Stressed Base Reduction- Utilizing the latest research in mindfulness skills, I taught my students self-regulating skills to help them through various transitions and behaviors during the day. Meditation with breathing techniques, finger labyrinths, journaling, and mindful transitions helps students become more purposeful in their choices. Asperger’s students thrive with routine and smooth transitions, so keeping the day’s schedule easily visible is essential.
Visual Schedules- Most teachers display their schedules on their board for the day or week. For Asperger’s students, this is crucial. They feel most secure in environments that don’t change. Keeping them informed of schedule changes helps them adapt quickly to a new event or conflict. I learned that making them my “Administrative Assistants “and having them post the schedule on the board in the mornings would help them visualize their day. I created laminated labels that had magnetic tape on the back. They would move the magnetized cards to their appropriate time slots. Explaining why a change occurred in their daily schedule helps them learn about impermanence and flexibility, with which they often struggle.
Classroom Buddies- this was established at the beginning of the year during their neuroscience training. Students were given a list of behaviors to look for and then were taught how to intercede. Behaviors such as crying, sadness, anger, aloofness, and jealousy were role-playing. Then, we discussed what that person may need when we recognize these behaviors. Often, students would learn that giving the person a smile with a compassionate nod was all the student needed. Anger or violence should only be dealt with by an adult, not the student. Buddies would help each other with daily check-ins by asking how they were doing and practicing small talk.

These are just a few things I learned over the years to help our Asperger students adapt easier to the energy and chaos a classroom can create.

Neurodiversity is here to stay. More than ever, we have to adapt to these changes in our classroom demographics. Learning various techniques in dealing with children with alternative ways of understanding and learning helps us become better teachers for all students.