Want to develop an AS awareness course for pupils

[Stella63]

Hi,

 

I have got to finish my Postgrad course in Aspergers and it is a work based study. I have felt very strongly for some time now that many of the AS pupils I work with have little or no awareness of their AS (for whatever reason) and I think it is so important that they develop an understanding for when they leave the education system as there is very little support out there. Also they are teenagers with all the normal problems associated with 'growing up', but many are really struggling with their social interaction etc on top of this.

 

So, my plan is to firstly write to the parents of all dx'ed pupils in Yr8,9 and 10 to see how they feel about it and send a questionnaire to establish individual needs and issues and then plan 6 half hour sessions with the kids. I want to cover social interaction, social communication, social imagination, sensory perceptual issues in ways that they will understand - using books, internet, digital cameras/camcorders, posters, news articles, role play etc.

 

Hopefully I can encourage the parents to interact as well, maybe via feedback from each session and then I will have to evaluate the whole thing and put it together as a portfolio. I may need to look at statistics relating to prevalence of secondary mental health problems in young adults with AS and possibly employment opportunities/ Further Education etc.

 

Anyway thats the plan and I really do need ideas, suggestions, criticism etc from you guys!!!

 

The time scale is to try and get letters, questionnaires and lesson plans done by the end of the summer hols and start the course 3 weeks before half term!

 

Stella xx

[Kazzen161]

I want to cover social interaction, social communication, social imagination, sensory perceptual issues in ways that they will understand - using books, internet, digital cameras/camcorders, posters, news articles, role play etc.

 

From my experience, I think you will struggle to cover all these things in 3 hours. It might also be difficult to do it as a group, as different children will be at different stages of "acceptance". In order to be able to broach these issues with children, you will need to have a good relationship with them first (ie: that you know how they feel about having AS, and they will trust you). I have worked with two children with AS and one with ADHD on learning about their AS/ADHD and how it affects them and that it is OK to have it, they were all very different: one found it quite interesting, one accepts he has it but is not happy about it, and one refuses to accept it, so different approaches were needed for each.

 

How well do you think these children will work as a group? If they do not know each other, they may find it hard to be open in front of the others.

 

The children I work with are Juniors, so it might be different with older ones. They love playing with the facial expressions game on do2learn.

 

Let us know how it goes.

[Stella63]

Hi Kazzen,

 

Thanks for the insight - my online tutor has similar concerns and I am waiting to have a phone tutorial tomorrow. I know all the pupils really well but you're right, they are all different and I am wondering whether it might be more useful to do a 1-1. I do have another member of staff available who has years of experience and also knows some of the pupils really well and we would not have more than 4 or 5 in the group anyway.

 

I do think that the mutual trust is there with the kids and the point of the questionnaire to the parents is to establish exactly how much they and their children understand about AS - I wouldn't want to just jump in and possibly cause serious anxiety. I have spoken to one parent (whose child kind of started the whole thought process for me) and she hadn't discussed his dx with him because 'he was happy living in his bubble' - but she hadn't thought ahead to when he leaves school and has to find a job etc and was really positive at the thought of me working with him.

 

It is a really difficult and emotive issue (not sure whether I should choose something simpler!!!) but I know when OJ was dx'ed he needed to know what was making him different to others and he embraced his AS, researched on the internet as much as he needed to and although he still has huge problems at times he is an informed young person with AS. But I am also aware, through kids that I work with that awareness is not always the right option and it is getting the right mix. You're also right about trying to cover too much in 6 half hour sessions!!! I will rethink that one and maybe use what comes out of the questionnaire from the parents - having said that they are going to want some idea of the content before they agree to it!! Oh, where am I going with this?!!!!

 

A perplexed Stella xx

[Kazzen161]

I used a questionnaire with the children. It had statements, and they had to say for each: always, often, sometimes, never. They were very honest when they filled it in. I then spoke to each of them about their responses, 1:1.

 

It had things like "I have friends", "I like how I look", "I like school", and wasn't aimed at AS in particular, but it did prove to be very useful when talking to them. One child did not like the way he looked (which was a surprise, as he is a good looking boy), but on further questioning it was because of something that could be changed, so I suggested he should tell his parent how he felt, which he then did. Another child said he did not like English, but on further questioning it was only really writing stories that he didn't like, so we came up with some strategies to help.

 

I found it much more useful to talk to the children 1:1, as they all had different responses, and I needed to question them further to get to the real issues. I could also reassure them that some things are a normal part of life/growing up, and that some things they were doing very well at.

 

I showed them some of the bits from the Kenneth Hall book, and they seemed to like that, as it was funny and had cartoons in it, I then asked if they had ever done/felt that. I also showed them a list of famous people who probably had/have AS.