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News, Views and Careers for All of Higher Education
July 7
My Semester With an Asperger Syndrome Student
I am not a psychologist or otherwise qualified to say for certain that “Fred,” the name I am using as a pseudonym for one of my students, has Asperger Syndrome. He never identified himself as such, or sought any accommodation. I have not even been a teacher that long, having recently become an assistant professor after a 30-year career in the business world. Before meeting Fred, I had, however, read media coverage of the seemingly swift rise in the reported incidence of autism-related disorders, including the controversy over whether the phenomenon was related to childhood vaccinations. After meeting Fred, I took it upon myself to do some reading. From that reading, and from my four months of interaction with Fred, I feel comfortable that my lay diagnosis has at least some accuracy.
Related stories
Week One
I completely miss the first clue that something is different about “Fred” during the first class of the semester in an undergraduate business school class: the white mesh gloves he wears throughout class. I do not even notice when he comes up after class and fires off several questions. He is a bulky young man, in his 20s, with shaggy light brown hair and wearing all gray including a gray ski jacket.
I do take notice the very next day, however, when I log on to the Blackboard site for the class and see that a student has sent me five or six e-mail messages in rapid succession following class the evening before. I usually receive only one or two e-mail messages a day from students for this class, and rarely so early in the semester and not related to an examination.
I answer the first two or so questions, with responses like “no, but see page __ of the textbook.” By the third question, however, I respond back, “Fred, you can get the answers to these questions yourself by reading the book and you should not be sending me questions unless you cannot find the answer there.” His response: a quiet, “OK.”
That same day, I start some research. First, I consult my department chair, who refers me to a seasoned professor in the same department. He tells me that Fred had enrolled 10 years or so before, and is coded “SP” rather than “FR”, “SO”, “JR” or “SR.” Several weeks later, I would use online faculty resources to check Fred’s record myself and see that “SP” apparently stands for “Special Non-degree Low GPA.” My colleague volunteers that the university likely would not admit someone like Fred today, referring him instead to a community college. My department colleague also tells me that Fred has taken my course before. That night, thinking that Fred seems to fit the profile of someone with autism and Asperger Syndrome, I start surfing the Web for information on those topics.
The next day is an office hours day. As an adjunct professor, I hold my office hours in the student lounge, bustling with other students, and located at the entrance of the school. Fred is waiting for me and holds the front door open for me. His gloved hand holds a print-out of the first class’s slides, about 15 pages’ worth. While normally such a stack of paper might be about 1/16-inch thick, Fred’s stack is a fluffy one-inch tall, full of pencil marks and several highlight colors and obviously well-thumbed.
Fred wants to review most of the slides but mainly wants me to repeat back to him the points made in the slides. I recall the word I had learned from my Internet surfing on Aspergers the night before: “echolaic.” Several times, he says things like, “I already knew that.” If he ever makes eye contact with me, I do not see it.
During this first “office” visit, Fred is clearly pleased with the results of the online extra credit assessment for the first chapter. In an effort to encourage students to review course material immediately after class, I make available on Blackboard, for 48 hours after each class, an online test consisting of five true-false or multiple choice questions on the chapter just completed. If every single extra credit assessment is taken and every single question answered correctly, a student can raise his or her final grade by ten percentage points. The catch is that a student must attend at least 75 percent of the classes to get the credit.
Fred has gotten four out of five correct on the first assessment and wants to make sure that I know that. I say, “Good work!.” His response is no response – he just moves on to his next clarifying question. After 30 minutes or so, I tell him I think we are done and that others ought to have a chance to ask questions. He looks quickly around the room to see if anyone else from the class is waiting, and quickly jumps up and says “OK.” I notice in class that evening that he has not signed the seating chart I pass around, but had sat in the same seat as he had in the first class: front left corner several seats removed from the next student.
Week Two
In the weekend following the first class I do more reading, including checking out of the library Ann Palmer’s Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome (2006). This is an excellent resource for confirming Fred’s symptoms but is clearly aimed more at parents than teachers. One helpful anecdote is the author describing how her son, who is autistic, had received a D+ in a college course for which he needed to earn at least a C-. The professor had turned down a request for extra credit because the student seemed disinterested during the course term.
Fred asks one question after the next class. His reaction to my answer is that he “already knew that.” Coincidentally, after that same class another student hands me an official disability accommodation form, advising me that she might need to get up and leave during classes, might need more time to take exams and might need a peer note-taker. I wonder if Fred would benefit from such accommodations.
Fred sends off three e-mail questions after class, either not requiring a response or at most requiring a response of “That’s right.”
During office hours that week, he finds me quickly and we review the class slides. Taking a verbal cue from me that we were about done after reviewing each and every slide, he quickly stands up and leaves the table. Later, I pass him in the computer lab, ski jacketed and gloved, staring at the next class’s slides just a few inches from the PC monitor.
Week Three
In the previous two weeks, I had posted my class slides on Blackboard several days in advance. I fail to get the slides up by 24 hours before a class this week, however, and Fred calls that to my attention by e-mail. He also wants me to recognize that he had scored a 100 percent on an extra credit assessment.
Week Four
I am not able to have in-person office hours this week, so I experiment with the real-time “Chatboard” feature of Blackboard. There is only one student online, Fred.
Week Five
This is the week of the first exam. Fred has more than his usual four or five e-mail messages that week in advance of the exam, asking questions like “What do I need to know about…?”
After the exam, for which I use a Scantron form, I can pick Fred’s form out of the other forms even if he had not put his name it, because he has darkened the answer bubbles with ferocity. With trepidation, I immediately run the forms through the scoring machine after class. My heart sinks when his form zips through with a score of 66.
Week Six
During office hours in the student lounge, Fred is not the first to see me. However, after spending 30 minutes or so with two other students I notice out of the corner of my eye that he is sitting behind me about two feet away, and facing away, listening intently to my conversations with the other students. When it is Fred’s turn, he wants to review his exam. He is clearly disappointed in his results, but brightens when I note that he has gotten all of the questions right on a particular topic. I ask him what he had done differently on that chapter, and he seems puzzled. Still, it gives me something positive to talk about with him.
It is shortly after this session that I notice that his student record has a notation of “Low GPA.”
Weeks Seven and Eight
I am still receiving about 15 e-mails per week from Fred. Most do not require a response, or are in the nature of “What do I need to know about….” He does not participate in the second Chatboard substitute for office hours.
Week Nine
Fred greets me at the front door of the school for office hours this week, immediately before the second exam, but tells me that he does not have any questions for me “right away.” He sits a few feet away from me while I talk to other students. I notice that he is reading a review book for the professional examination offered in the subject of the course, in preparation for the second exam.
I am relieved to see that he scores a 74 on the second exam. Perhaps not surprisingly, he does not miss the same questions most often missed by the other students. Even as a new teacher, I know how predictable it is that the same questions will be missed most often, even in different classes taking the same exam. When I do not have the results posted as quickly as I did for the first exam, Fred asks me via e-mail when I will have them posted.
After the results are posted, Fred immediately advises me that his average is now a 70, and asks me what he can be doing over Spring break to prepare for the classes after the break. This saddens me to think that he does not see the vacation as a respite but rather as an annoying deviation in routine.
Week Ten
I read Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin, a Ph.D in animal science, who is autistic but also a recognized expert on livestock behavior and facility design. I wonder if my use of pictures and other visuals are helpful to Fred. Grandin’s book is inspirational but a bit depressing in its coverage of most of the author’s experiences as a student.
Week Eleven
Fred sends me a reminder e-mail that the slides for a particular class are not ready when they normally are. During office hours, he sits close by while I talk to a spirited student about a wide variety of topics some of which are not related to the class. He pronounces the student preceding him a “piece of work.” He also is perplexed by a prior class’s discussion involving a gay man serving as a dressing room attendant at a women’s undergarment apparel chain. I detect both some hostility as well as puzzlement.
Week Twelve
In e-mails, Fred seems to challenge the answers to several of the extra credit assessments that he gets wrong. He defiantly asks how he was “supposed to know” the meaning of a word (“adjudicate”) that I had not defined. I wonder what the reason for his irritability is.
I catch a teaser on a morning news program on autism in college. The program describes a program at Marshall University for students with Asperger Syndrome and an organization called Higher Education and Autism Spectrum Disorders, dealing with all aspects surrounding the experience for students with autism spectrum disorders in higher education.
Weeks Thirteen and Fourteen
I get a reminder from Fred when I am late in posting class slides, although one other student also does so. He scores a 100 percent on an extra credit assessment and I say “Great work!” in an e-mail to him. During office hours, he asks me if on the final exam I will test on a concept that is taught at the post-bachelor degree level only, and I say simply, “No,” and he moves on. Mentally, I am trying to remember the concept myself.
Last Week of Class and Final Exam
Fred has his usual questions during office hours, based on well-worn copies of class slides. He tells me that he has gone to a government agency Web site to do his own reading, even though I had never suggested doing so. He also tells me that his “advisor” had given him a particular piece of advice about test-taking. Intrigued, I ask him the name of his advisor. I consider calling the advisor, but decide to wait to see what Fred’s final grade turns out to be. I look him up and see that he is a “general studies” advisor.
I am out of town for the final exam, given in the late afternoon during finals week, and have it proctored by a student assistant. At 8:44 am the following morning I have an e-mail from Fred asking me when the results of the exam will be available.
After returning from out of town, I gather up the exams and head toward the Scantron machine, with Fred’s grade top of mind. Again, I notice that his form is heavily marked. I am somewhat relieved to see that his score is 75. I head to my office to see how the math works out after taking into account his 7.9 extra credit assessment points. With those points, Fred’s final grade works out to be … 80, a B.
Lessons Learned and Observations – About Fred
- Asperger individuals often are sensitive to touch and wear loose-fitting clothing. Fred never did take off his gloves or jacket in my presence.
- Fred did not tolerate changes in routine, including last-minute posting of class slides, another classic Asperger symptom.
- He did not want confrontation, even if his tone or behavior might indicate otherwise.
- Fred wanted to be treated like every other student. Hence, my decisions not to ask him if he has Asperger and never to let on to him that I knew this was his second shot at the course were probably wise decisions.
- Fred never indicated that he “thought in pictures” or otherwise relied on my pictures and other visuals to remember the material. During office hours, however, he did recall my examples used during class.
- The extra credit assessments were a benefit to Fred, I believe. He could take them anonymously immediately after class (indeed, I suspect he raced to the computer lab immediately after class, because he never asked another question following class, after the second class). He scored better on these exams than he did on the regular exams, thereby boosting his grade from a C to a B. The exams’ immediate testing of materials covered just hours or even minutes before might have appealed to his desire to echo back what he has learned.
- Individuals like Fred crave clarification. His questions constantly sought the key to his knowing the right answers. Even his last e-mail to me upon reading his final grade and my congratulatory note revealed his desire for certainty: “It looks like I got 75% on exam 3 and a B for the class?” My response: “That’s correct – good work! ”
- And one more thing: Fred had perfect attendance.
Lessons Learned and Observations – About the Teacher
- My experience demonstrated several limitations we as teachers face with learning disabled students: lack of knowledge about the disability itself; restraints arising from privacy rules; and lack of time to fully meet the student’s needs.
- Fred’s failure to self-identify his condition put me in an uncomfortable box: Asking him about his situation would mean offending him and violating his privacy, but not asking him would also mean not being able to direct him resources that might help him.
- We all must make adjustments for our students’ particular needs in each class. Just as an eager non-English speaking student in the front row makes us realize that we cannot use too many colloquialisms and local examples, so too did I realize that much of what Fred needed was simple repetition of key concepts.
- If the incidence of autism is indeed rising, all college teachers might need to learn to make adjustments for these students, who undoubtedly will seek higher education.
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Comments
An excellent article. Thanks for taking the time with Fred. There are many Freds out there and some of them are very bright, but AS does mean that some consideration needs to be given to the presentation of information.
Grant Goodman, at 7:10 am EDT on July 7, 2008
universal accomodations
I applaud this professor for taking the time to better understand the educational needs of his student and to present “accomodations” based on his understanding of Asperger Syndrome. However, I suggest to all those who teach to consider these “accomodations” as good teaching techniques that could benefit all students. How about all the students who have less pronounced learning needs? How about the visual learners and the poor test takers who excel in writing assignments? I encourage all of us in education to rememember the idea of multiple intelligences and to use multiple teaching and learning styles every day in the classroom.
Marge Hamilton, VP Academic Affairs at Camden County College, at 8:15 am EDT on July 7, 2008
Universal Design
There is no normal. There is no such thing as a normal student. And everyone lies somewhere along a vast “attention spectrum” — some diagnosed — be it Asperger’s or “ADHD” — most not. This is true of every other spectrum of human capability — mobility, literacy, art, dexterity, musical talent.
There is a key sentence in this article: “Coincidentally, after that same class another student hands me an official disability accommodation form, advising me that she might need to get up and leave during classes, might need more time to take exams and might need a peer note-taker. I wonder if Fred would benefit from such accommodations.”
Of course Fred might, so might half the students in the room, so these things need to simply be allowed without diagnosis, without humiliation — http://speedchange.blogspot.com/2008/05/social-justice-and-me.html — without official forms.
This is also true regarding visual thinking (thinking in pictures), which is far more common in our human population than our text-based academic society would ever admit. It is true (as identified by the author) about language learners — even those who know “English” often find themselves clueless amidst the language of academics. It is true about technology interaction — some will leap into classroom conversations but not into on-line message boards, some will do the reverse, others both, for still others both are uncomfortable. It is true about the need for feedback — some will need much, others little or none.
If we create learner-centered educational environments which support the widest variety of learning styles we will open higher education up to the widest range of potential beneficiaries. If we treat higher education as a ritualistic hazing ritual by insisting on tight adherence to the faculty’s notion of attention, behavior, knowledge acquisition, and assessment we will preserve higher education as nothing more than an enforcer of social reproduction.
One last note — the idea of office hours for any faculty in a public lounge is abhorrent. Students need to know that their communications with their instructors have some level of privacy attached. Had UAB provided this professor with a reasonable meeting space, he might have known much more about the specific needs of his students.
Ira Socol, Michigan State University, at 8:15 am EDT on July 7, 2008
Isn’t this a FERPA violation?
I am shocked that a faculty member would be given the information that a student in his class has a “low GPA". Each student should have the right to an independent assessment in a class, and no teacher should be given advance information that would prejudice himor her about the student’s aptitude.
Carol, at 9:25 am EDT on July 7, 2008
My daughter has Aspergers, and I applaud you for making this effort. My daughter is in first grade and is doing grade school work. She is highly intelligent, but her speech is still poor. I know by the time she is in college, we will have learned a great deal about teaching kids with autism. I now recognize that a few of my fellow students probably fit on the spectrum, but they were treated bady by the students and the profs. Professors will need massive amounts of education on teaching, and universities need to provide it. Otherwise they will not be equipped to handle the influx of students entering their doors in the next 10 doors.
Angela Burton, at 9:45 am EDT on July 7, 2008
10 years, not doors. Hit that submit button too quickly.
ALB, editor at University of Illinois, at 10:00 am EDT on July 7, 2008
Many Aspies go undiagnosed
My son has Asperger Syndrome, which was only diagnosed when he was already in high school. Many Aspie kids, I’m sure, go undiagnosed through their college years. As a result, these students can’t self-identify to their teachers. The “piece of work” comment leads me to believe that Fred may well be undiagnosed (or may have received a diagnosis, and rejected it).
Kudos to the writer for both his efforts to help Fred and to share that process with the rest of us. Many would have regarded such a student merely as an irritant, and such a semester as merely an incident, happily in the past.
However, please be aware that some Aspie (and other autism-spectrum) kids don’t present at all as Fred is described. Many have extensive speaking and writing vocabularies. Many master information received via one sensory channel, yet fail to master seemingly simpler subject matter presented in another form. Many can listen, or read and listen together, but can’t take notes at the same time without losing their train of thought. Many are deeply analytic — their “off the wall” questions reflect a different understanding, not a lack of it.
For all of us who teach, finding out how our students learn best, and trying to provide information (or lead them to information) in those forms, is a key skillset. We don’t have to be psychologists with any particular theoretical understanding of the syndromes involved, we just need to be empiricists.
Of course, maybe that’s just the Aspie in me talking. (My son comes by the syndrome honestly.)
Rick Martin, at 11:10 am EDT on July 7, 2008
‘My Semester With an Asperger Syndrome Student’
Your article perpetuates a false assumption: That all Aspies are inherently strange.
1 in 166 people in the general population have some form of autism, so it is likely you have taught Aspies or perhaps an HFA before. In fact, given that newer IQ tests that are autistic-specific put fully 1/3 of those who test on the above average or higher range, it is a good bet that there is a higher percetage of autistics attending college (maybe 3 or 4 per 166) than there is in the general population.
The symptoms you describe COULD be Asperger’s Syndrome, but the symptoms seem much closer to OCD. The gloves to prevent contact with germs, the barrage of e-mails, the nit-picking over wrong answers, etc.
In my travels I have met many people who have been diagnosed AS, and even when you work with them for extended periods, they seldom exhibit the traits you describe, although a few do.
Every Aspie is different. Some have hyper-sensitivities. Some have hypo-sensitivities. Others experience synesthesia. But not all have these traits.
Please keep that in mind going forward. Thanks.
Thomas D. Taylor, at 11:15 am EDT on July 7, 2008
Universal Design
You should be applauded for taking the time to research what may not be viewed as “normal” in our Higher Ed. world.It is true that the number of “Freds” is rising and people with all types of disabilities are entering college at a much higher rate than before. I don’t, however, think that many faculty members will go to the same extent as you did in researching the various disabilities they may come in contact with in their courses. Instead, if we consider all the possibilities of who we may come into contact with in our “universe” we can plan our approach to teaching in a more inclusive, effective way. All the special accomodations offered to students with disabilities typically equal what we would consider good teaching. Although some accommodations will always be required, the need for many of them could be alleviated through good student-centered education.
Michelle, Director at Office for Students with Disabilities, at 11:25 am EDT on July 7, 2008
Knowing them one by one
The better the university, the more successful it is at “knowing its children one by one” (as John Henry Newman famously said). When students and faculty alike are known in a sustained way as individuals, rather than as tokens of a type, a whole world of educational opportunity is opened. The author is to be commended for seeking to understand this individual student better, in order to serve him better.
Bureaucratic institutions, such as universities, often contain structural disincentives to this kind of personal attention — disincentives that are designed to make management easier rather than education better.
Other structural configurations are possible, however: configurations that maximize interpersonal knowledge and attention. The most tried-and-true of these is the “house model” of advising and student support, which the author may be pleased to know has recently been proposed for his own institution, the University of Alabama at Birmingham:
http://collegiateway.org/news/2008-birmingham
R.J. O’Hara, The Collegiate Way, at 1:35 pm EDT on July 7, 2008
Diagnosing
One of the reasons that FERPA seals the records of students is that people who are unqualified continually “diagnose” students. Some of them diagnose the quality of their effort, some of them diagnose mental disorders. As a parent whose child’s elementary school teacher improperly diagnosed his son in kindergarten, I can tell you that premature labeling by amateurs can be damaging—especially for students who don’t have the resources to combat the school system’s desire to medicate and pacify.
There are two ways that a university teacher can ethically label a student with any mental condition: one is through the disabilities office of the school providing the student with documentation for a legal accommodation, the other is through disclosure from the student. Anything else is guesswork, and should be discouraged.
What’s wrong with saying, “This student’s approach is a little unusual, but he’s not making demands on me that are unfair to the other students, and I can meet them"? What does the label add to what looks like a compassionate and successful interaction?
I applaud the writer for his efforts to meet the students’ needs. But I’m troubled by the labeling.
And I’m appalled by the lack of support for adjunct teachers, which is a lack of support for the teachers, the students and for learning.
Patrick A. Dolan Jr., at 2:50 pm EDT on July 7, 2008
What is described in detail here is so similar to an experience I have had. The author has done a good job of tracking the semester’s events. Wanting to address a disability but not knowing how to even bring it up is a disturbing experience. If those students take more than one class with the same professor, it does not get any better. What if the student challenges the grade? Should the instructor have done something, knowing or strongly suspecting that special circumstances were involved?
There is more than a little to think about in cases like these.
Kathleen March, at 3:35 pm EDT on July 7, 2008
Privacy concerns and stereotyping
There is a VERY serious privacy issue here. Although the student’s real name was not disclosed, a large amount of personal information about him was revealed in this article, to the extent that anyone who knows him and reads this article can easily identify him. (Are there any other students on the campus who habitually wear white mesh gloves to class? Probably not.)
In addition, the rampant stereotyping and the gee-whiz tone of earnest ignorance looks like something that might have been written about other minorities 50 years ago:
“My Semester with a Homosexual Student: I am not a psychologist or otherwise qualified to say for certain that “Sidney” is a homosexual, but because of his effeminate mannerisms and the pink shirt that he wore to class one day, I feel comfortable that my lay diagnosis has at least some accuracy.”
“My Semester with a Negro Student: Although I could not be entirely certain that “John” was not just a white guy with a dark tan, I took it upon myself to do some reading about Negroes, and I felt comfortable with my assessment when I saw him cheering for Jackie Robinson and eating fried chicken for lunch.”
Et cetera.
While the intended message of this article appears to be the importance of making adjustments for each student’s individual circumstances — a point with which I agree — careless stereotyping and amateur diagnosis are not the way to go about it. Autistic people are as individual as any other group of people; not all autistics think in pictures, etc.
When discussing someone who is or may be autistic, his or her privacy should always be respected, and stereotyped assumptions should be avoided.
abfh, at 6:20 pm EDT on July 7, 2008
conflicting trends
This is an interesting article (a couple of family members and friends have autistic sons). For me, some of the comments are even more challenging. It is an truism that there are multiple forms of intelligence and that there are multiple ways of learning. Unfortunately, this truism is in conflict with many trends in higher education (some of which are in conflict with one another too). Any method of teaching privileges some students at the expense of others. “Critical thinking,” largely evaluated through essay exams, dominates the humanities and to a lesser extent higher education in general. Discussion-centered teaching and student team projects are “best practice.” Scantron is a dirty word. Lectures are almost as suspect, but they remain central in large classes in which graduate students do the grading and are the only teaching staff likely to know student names. Tutorial supplements, as described in the article, are rare and necessarily so. My first question: how best to combined different methods for different learning styles? Another and more painful question: are all learning styles appropriate for higher education, particularly in the humanities that expect extensive and analytical reading?
David Fahey, at 8:25 am EDT on July 8, 2008
On the dangers of doing therapy without a license
As a psychology professor and a mother of an elementary student with Asperger’s, I found this article both troublesome and annoying. Troublesome because a nonprofessional should not be out there making psychological diagnoses, no matter how much “lay” reading he has done. Annoying because his comments come across as patronizing, condescending, and uninformed. So he has a student who is concerned about his standing in the class and visits him during office hours. Good heavens, I would *love* for my C students to invest that much time and effort into improving in my class.
It’s also not at all clear to me that the individual described has Asperger’s, based on the “symptoms” listed. But it would be irresponsible for me to speculate on what, if anything, is going on with this student, so unlike the author of the this article, I will refrain from doing so.
Unfortunately all this article has done is make me worry even more about the stigmatization my son may have to face when he reaches college.
mjk, at 10:35 am EDT on July 8, 2008
Anyone who was in the class will easily be able to pick out which student this was. That means Mr. Yoder has published an entire semester’s worth of grades for a student at IHE. This is shocking and must be illegal.
dave, HOLY PRIVACY VIOLATIONS!, at 2:25 pm EDT on July 8, 2008
Some friendly criticism
Three things:
1. The first commenter wins the thread and must immediately have 100 Internets awarded to him. Srsly.
2. Office hours in a student lounge? You have got to be kidding! That’s bad for everybody, prof or student, NT or Autie!
3. What abfh said, about betraying implied confidences.
Justthisguy, at 7:45 pm EDT on July 8, 2008
I am a current college student with Asperger Syndrome. I agree with many of the above comments regarding the privacy issues and the fact that this student isn’t necessarily representative of AS students. I wrote a lengthy blog entry/review of this piece on my blog, linked above. Please look at it if you have any interest.
SRR, at 10:40 pm EDT on July 8, 2008
As a doctoral graduate student in Clinical Psychology, I too am greatly concerned about the privacy that was violated for the sake of this misguided article. Mr. Yoder makes the disclaimer that he has no professional training in psychology or psychiatry, yet decides to make an uninformed “diagnosis” anyway, thus perpetuating misinformation and the idea that anyone can make diagnostic judgment calls with the help of Google.
I think it’s highly irresponsible of the website editors to publish this piece, considering the serious privacy issues.
Dana, at 5:20 am EDT on July 9, 2008
thank You
Excellent example how a layperson with a genuine empathy can help others to accomplish a better life. Much more important under the circumstances. I wish all students (subordinates, children, etc) to enjoy treatment like this. By the way, confidence was not broken.
Ivan Chromej, MD, at 8:25 am EDT on July 9, 2008
What privacy issues?
Dana, What privacy issues? He isn’t a therapist within any definition of the word. No state protects communications or observations of a professor upon his students. In fact, professors are free (and, in fact, do), call their students “retards” all the time.
Larry, at 2:25 pm EDT on July 10, 2008
“Fred wanted to be treated like every other student. Hence, my decisions not to ask him if he has Asperger and never to let on to him that I knew this was his second shot at the course were probably wise decisions.”
If it were me, I would have told him about AS — although you need not say you think he has it. Just ‘I was reading something interesting a couple days ago, about a condition called Asperger Syndrome.’ and then describe some features (granted, from me that would be less strange than from others, since I often discuss syndromes with people). If he thinks it sounds like him, he can look it up further or ask you more. Or else you could leave a printout about AS where he’d find it. My reason for suggesting letting him know about AS is that Fred is clearly struggling, and although you can read up on AS and help him, other teachers won’t know about it. If Fred knows, he can inform his teachers, get accomodations or even ’self-accomodate’.More ideal would be to build a society where diagnosis isn’t needed for accomodation, as another person suggested.
Ettina, at 3:45 pm EDT on July 10, 2008
How disappointing that you stereotyped an entire group of people, with a powerful label, because you had one student with eccentricities that you could not understand. Had you done the simplest of research about AS, you would have realized that making generalizations for people with AS is inherently faulty.
As a mother of an Aspie, married to an Aspie, I hoped your article would contribute something positive. Instead, I find your conclusions misguided, and your empathy and ethics lacking.
Sally, pissed off, at 9:55 pm EDT on July 24, 2008
stereotyping students
The lessons learned you state imply that Fred is typical of AS, and you have concluded from your experience that disability equals failure. That is fallacious, especially since AS covers a wide spectrum and does not necessarily mean academic problems. Instructors should not stereotype students in a category and jump to the conclusion that all others in the category are like him. In fact, reading the journal makes me question some of the testing techniques more than the response of the student.
Simon Bronner, Professor at Penn State, at 9:55 pm EDT on July 24, 2008
Asperger’s
Thanks for your extra dose of understanding for this student. As a parent of a 13-year old son with Asperger’s I am always grateful when a teacher takes the time to learn something more about this disorder. Much gratitude!
Lenore, at 7:40 pm EDT on July 28, 2008
Asperger’s
Thank you for your empathy with the student who was struggling. I don’t believe you have identified the student and therefore this is not an ethical breach of confidential information. If only more teachers would consider taking some measures to help the student who seems atypical and struggling. My son and I fit into those categories. I want us to be judged with less critisism, when we do things differently than the typical person. Some people will make judgements on those of us who have these challenges, and conclude that we are less intelligent or “from another planet". More compassion and a desire to understand where people are coming from would be wonderful, especially in the schools and place of employment. If the teacher would respond with greater patience when a student asks their questions after class, the student would have a greater chance of understanding the material presented. A one on one question and answer conversation allows the student to more easily express themselves. Often my son will be told by his teacher to go read the book or do the practice test to learn the information. What he really needs is a more definitive answer or an explanation of the material simply given in a different way. Teachers need to be compassionate with students who learn differently than most.
Christie, at 12:25 am EDT on July 30, 2008
As a mom of a 15 year old with Asperger Syndrome I salute your efforts to understand this boy and help him.
My son is very intelligent but more affected that this young man. Fortunately he is not bothered that he has this and will tell a person who is with him.
I think it is better for people to know what is going on with my son so that his behaviors to compensate for his anxiety or dealing with sensory issues are not misinterpreted in a negative way. It is much better for a teacher to know what is going on.
Donna Gruber, at 8:25 am EDT on July 30, 2008
Way to Go!
I think that this was a fantastic way to present information to others that might encounter the same type of student. Why look at this in a way of violations of rights, when in essence it is just informative and helpful?! I am studying to be a teacher, and find this article to be very intersting. I never once thought about what rights the teacher was violating, and it saddens me that the true message of this writing was overlooked. Thank you for sharing such great information that can help others and for taking the time to let us know about your experiences. It WILL help someone regardless of the rights people think have been violated.
Opinionated, at 9:00 am EDT on July 30, 2008
Semester with ASD
As a special educator and a parent of a 16 year old with ASD I found your article to be very interesting. I believe my son is in regular ed making good grades because of teachers like you who try to figure out ways to help each and every student. Thanks!
Kathy Carraway, at 1:15 pm EDT on July 30, 2008
Prof Yoder’s article
I enjoyed reading Prof. Yoder’s article concerning his discovery of the PDD nature of his student, Fred. All I could think was “it’s about time.” Both my husband and my 21-year-old son have high-functioning autism. As time has progressed and their maturity has increased, I would probably categorize them both with Asberger’s. My son has struggled incredibly from first grade to 11th grade, at which time the continued conflict with teachers and allegedly informed counsellors at school proved both fruitless and frustrating, both for me and for my son. All the concepts noted in this article and succinctly summarized in the post-article insert are quite accurate. Unfortunately, all this insight came too late for my family. My husband struggled through college, even with assistance, but was able to graduate with an AA in Culinary Arts. My son, who is a mechanic savant, is rebuilding his 93 Camaro and working full-time at AutoZone = he has done this for one year (hooray). He will probably live with us for some time, as the change in residence is too hard for him to accommodate into his schema. To be honest, he would forget to pay his bills or to clean his apartment in favor of working on his car or going to work. He has compartmentalized his life and, in my professional and personal opinion, done quite well. He has no more aggressive outbursts and a kinder, gentler person you will never meet. Unfortunately, society doesn’t recognize these attributes. If a person doesn’t fit the mold, they are quickly shuttled away. I work as a charge nurse in an pediatric inpatient psychiatric unit and teach resiliency. It breaks my heart to see some of these PDD kids trying to fit into the milieu. I tell them that it is if they were born on Mars and zapped to Earth to live among “others.” This always makes my patients laugh because I know, as they know, that it is true. Well, thanks for reading this. Keep up the good work — I know that I will, too.
Margaret McKinney, RN, BSN, MS at University Neuropsychiatric Institute, at 1:55 pm EDT on July 30, 2008
Teaching high school science to ASD students
I have similar experiences teaching students in my general ed high school science classes. Since my son was diagnosed as being on the Spectrum, I have a new empathy/understanding of students with these traits.
My experience has been that general ed teachers do not see the need to tweak their way of teaching to help these students succeed, no matter how well-intentioned these teachers may otherwise be.
I have hope and confidence that with my help and advocacy, my son may one day be successful both in high school and in college. The road will be easier, however, if more general ed teachers and college professors learn how to slightly modify their approach so that all students may learn and be successful.
Sincerely, Joanna Condon
Joanna Condon, High School Biology Teacher at California High School, San Ramon, CA, at 4:05 pm EDT on July 30, 2008
wow
I enjoyed reading the article so much, cause it reminds me of my own daughter and her struggles in school, she has a diagnose of asperger`s and she is about to start her last year of high school, this inspires me to keep helping her to achieve her goals, thank you for your interst in our wonderful kids with low gpa`s and difficulty taking tests. sincerely , Maria Lara
Maria Lara, mom at n/a, at 5:05 am EDT on July 31, 2008
My Semester With an Asperger Syndrome Student’
After reading many of the comments, I felt the need to comment myself. Although I disagree with the professor trying to diagnose “Fred” and then work around his hypothesis, I applaude him for trying to pick up on WHAT Fred needed to succeed in his challenge to successfully pass this course (patiently spending time with his student who needed more time, answering a barage of e-mails...). Although I appreciate his interest and his patience with Fred, I truly love the way that the prof took pride in what Fred was able to accomlish by the end of the semester (eager to see his test results) and did his best to “root him on” in a subtle but respectful mannner.He did not judge Fred but he tried to understand him and his needs. As professionals, we should work on adapting our lesson plans to suit the needs of the many learning styles that are present in our classrooms.Successful education is very much based on the attitude of the teacher towards the student and their individual needs.If we believe in their potential to succeed, then it is our obligation to do our best so that it can happen.Irena
Irena, integration consultant, at 9:50 am EDT on July 31, 2008
teacher who taught student with aspergers
I am a parent of child with autism who may very well be asperger’s. I am impressed by your patience and understanding with Fred. Without teachers like you, our children would be put off by learning and feel incapable of attending college. I believe most teachers wouldn’t take the time to see what made Fred tick because society has shown our family such little understanding and patience, so my hat goes off to you for doing what you do and being who you are. Thank you.
Kim, at 10:20 am EDT on August 4, 2008
As a parent of a college student with an Asperger diagnosis, my wish is for ALL colleges to establish a committee to see that these students don’t ‘fall through the cracks.’ These students are in ‘Cognitive Wheelchairs’ and we as parents and educators MUST find the ‘cognitive ramps’ to help them be successful in college in order to become contributing members of society! REMEMBER, if these students do not become contributing members of society, we all (as taxpayers) will be supporting them for the rest of their lives!
My suggestion is to use a simple computer program to find these students by sorting by low grade or failure/repetition of courses. Any student who has been accepted to the college had to have had the ability to learn the material or they would not have been accepted at that college. It is their learning differences/disabilities that may be holding them back. Whether the student has a diagnosis, doesn’t want to share their diagnosis or has NO diagnosis should not be the point.
I understand the ‘privacy’ concerns, however, the team of teachers that the student has each semester, along with the student’s counselor and a disability specialist from the Students With Disabilities Department at the college, could meet and discuss strategies to help these students be successful (one professor may have found something that works, that the others could use with this student, the SSD representative could provide strategies to try). This intervention could be done without notifying the student and the information shared by the professors could help these students be successful. (This was a strategy that was successfully employed during high school with my son). If there is a legal issue in doing this, then a clause could be added to the forms signed by the student upon admission to the college, advising them of this possible intervention should they fail a class or have a low GPA. This would in no way single out a student. No parent or student should object to such a clause! I see it as a win-win situation.
Also, this committee could meet to discuss any students that appear to be having more than the usual problems in a course, whether or not they are failing. Most students with Aspergers are very bright, and like my son, are able to mask a great deal of their issues and get a low grade without failing the course. Lack of organizational and social skills are hallmarks of Aspergers and these students need your help with these issues as well.
All professors should become familiar with the characteristics of Aspergers/severe ADD/ADHD. A great source of information has been put into a 12 minute video by the Organization for Autism Research along with graduate students and professors from Pace University in NYC. The link to this video is: http://www.researchautism.org/resources/AspergerDVDSeries.asp
I recently provided this link to the disability department at the college my son attends and their comment was that it is an excellent video. They are in the process of adding it to the information available to their faculty on the SSD website at that college.
Thank you for anything you can do to help these students.
Laurel, Parent of a college student diagnosed with Aspergers, at 5:30 pm EDT on August 8, 2008
Compassion is not lack of ethics
As the parent of an Aspie who has not been able to make it even so far as the AA degree despite an IQ of (waaaaay up there), I applaud any professor who goes to one half the effort Prof. Yoder did. Had the professors of my son done that half, he would now be the nanotechnology researcher he wants to be, helping discover how to conquer diseases and disabilities through nanotechnology. Instead, he has been made to feel defective, deficient and defeated and he sits at home playing computer games and hiding from the world. Say what you want about “he needs discipline.” When he was growing up, he got it. His disability has affected him in many, many ways, none of which needed to be made worse by people who judged first and never sought to understand or help.
Yoder did not breach confidence. He used A first name, perhaps not even “Fred’s” real name. He did his research to allow him to understand the student and then how to help him. Anyone who finds fault with that is focused on the wrong issues. I have a master’s degree in higher education administration, and I wish we had ways to get all our professors so interested in helping students learn. I wish all professors were as interested in actually conveying the information to students and that none of them were delighted that so many of their students fail as a result of their making the class “so hard.”
Give me Yoder for a professor any day and I will cherish him! He opens doors for students, with or without disabilities, and you should be so lucky if you have had professors like him. They are not that common and our drop out rates are the proof!
Michele Williams, at 5:20 pm EDT on August 23, 2008
Asperger Syndrome
Being a mother of a 19 year old Asperger Syndrome son, I thank you for taking the time to understand Fred. As a math instructor of 20 years, we have to bring more awareness to other instructors about student with special needs and have to help them to successful in our classes. Again, thank you.
Marlena, at 7:20 am EST on November 8, 2008
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© Copyright 2008 Inside Higher Ed
Hath not an Aspie eyes? Hath not an Aspie hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Neurotypical is? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?
Do not some of us even have PhD’s and read Inside Higher Ed every day?
;-)
RJO, at 4:50 am EDT on July 7, 2008