Boosting Students' Communication through Physical Presence

Michelle Garcia Winner

Caleb is a 23-year-old "bright" young man with Asperger's Syndrome who is particularly gifted in math. He recently participated in a social thinking assessment at our clinic. Caleb recognized and acknowledged he has never been able to figure out how to be perceived as "friendly" when around others, but he sincerely desires to have friends to hang out with and learn what he can do to bring this about.

As part of the assessment I asked Caleb to get up from the table and move with his father and me to the other side of the room, where we were to stand in a group. He quickly stood to join us, but positioned himself two arms' length away from me. His father was standing the more typical one arm's length away. I pointed out to Caleb that this simple body positioning sent unspoken messages to those around him about how interested he was in them. We discussed that a significant part of face-to-face social interactions involve moving our bodies into the "communication zone" of others and then maintaining a physical presence that demonstrates a desire to communicate with the other people. Caleb looked puzzled and somewhat amazed. Despite his intelligence in other areas, he had never thought about communication and friendship being anything more than sharing ideas through language.

Following along from our last column, in which we discussed the different aspects of physical presence and the nonverbal messages our bodies and faces send to others, in this column we will explore strategies to help our students increase their awareness of the part physical presence plays within human interaction.

Before we offer the how-to, take a moment and hear this:

Avoid assumptions that are all-too-easy to make: 

1) about what our students should "already know" about physical presence

2) that intelligence equates with social understanding in this area 

3) that these strategies are only for younger students. 

Temple Grandin Reveals Her Advice for Educating Autistic Kids

Dr. Temple Grandin has unique insight into the minds of autistic children. Her approach—stay positive.
Dr. Temple Grandin offers tips for special educators and parents with autistic children.
(Photo: Rosalie Winard)

The following essay was written by Dr. Temple Grandin exclusively for TakePart. Special educators need to look at what a child can do instead of what he/she cannot do.

“Kids with autism often get fixated on one thing, and it is important to expand their fixations.”

There needs to be more emphasis on building up and expanding the skills a child is good at. Too often people get locked into a label such as dyslexia, ADHD, or autism, and they cannot see beyond the label. Kids that get a label often have uneven skills. They may be talented in one area and have a real deficiency in another.

“I was appalled to learn that some schools are very rigid about forcing a child to only study materials that are designed for his/her grade level.”

In my case, I was really good at art, but doing algebra made no sense. It is important to work on areas where a child is weak, but an emphasis on deficits should not get to the point where building the area of strength gets neglected. READ MORE >>

• Methods to Expand Abilities
• Never Hold a Gifted Child Back
• Use Abilities to Do Assignments

 

Participate in a Walk for Charity This Year

Dr. Temple Grandin’s achievements are remarkable because she was an autistic child. She was motivated to pursue a career as a scientist and livestock equipment designer. Temple lectures to parents and teachers throughout the U.S. on her experiences with autism. She was honored in Time magazine’s 2010 “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.”

 

SECURE DONATION via PayPal

SSC exam results: Autism not barrier enough

Full story: The Times of India

By Shreya Bhandary

MUMBAI: Preparing for their first board examination is a major task for thousands of students. For some, any form of examination is tough. Yet, 10 autistic students managed to defy their personal handicaps to clear the SSC exams.

All that parents of 18-year-old Aditya Paradkar wanted was to ensure that their son passed the SSC exams, but a score of 72% was beyond their expectations. "We admitted him to a regular school two years late, but didn't enrol him in a special school. As a kid, his classmates made fun of him, but he braved everything to achieve this feat," said Aditya's father, Sudhir.

Aditya, a student of Utkarsh Vidyalaya in Virar was an average student till Class VIII. However, he struggled to grasp the Class IX syllabus. "His grades fell in Class IX and we were worried about how he would fare in Class X. He proved our fears wrong," beamed his father.

At Yashodham High School in Goregaon (E), the principal and teachers went the extra mile to ensure that 16-year-old Riya Vora faced no problems. "Students who seek benefits under the special category for SSC exams have a different syllabus. So our teachers made sure that they taught Riya even after class," said a senior school official. The efforts of the teachers and the student herself paid off as Riya scored 68.9%. "Students like Riya make this achievement even more rewarding," added the official.

From last year, the state board extended special benefits to autistic students like extra time to answer the paper and a less difficult syllabus.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Autistic students get support in EMU program

Ypsilanti— Tony Saylor arrives at his class at Eastern Michigan University, slips into a chair and waits for the professor to arrive.

Callie Boik plops down next to Saylor and starts taking notes for him. She's doing this because it's Saylor's turn to type up a summary of the class activities and post it for his classmates — within 24 hours.

Although Saylor gets A's in his classes, creates comic strips for EMU's student newspaper and recently published an e-book, he needs some support since he struggles with issues related to autism. [ READ MORE ]

From The Detroit News  |  Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net