[MistressStayc]

I am about to start my first year teaching. I will be teaching a mix of 7th and 8th graders (12-14 year olds) with High Functioning Autism and Asperger's. I am teaching Reading/Lang. Arts and Social Studies in a self contained environment.

My son has HFA but he is only 6 and I need suggestions of what works with this older age group. I know the usuals like structure, consistency, concrete langauge, visual supports, etc. What I am looking for are specific strategies that worked well for you at school at this age or for your children. Motivators, teaching techniques, calming factors, etc.

What are some general interests for students of this age for tangible positive reinforcers besides the usual computer/free time, homework passes and lunch with the teacher?

Thanks in advance for any help and insight you can give.

[Travelinglady]

I am glad you are asking. Maybe someone will speak up soon.

[brainhi]

Congratulations and Thank you!! I know you will have amazing experiences and the students will be fortunate to have you. I work with all types of individuals myself - it's the best thing I ever did - I love it.

It's great that you are asking here what motivates and what are postive reinforcers. With the students I deal with - it's varies as well - some like verbal praise, others do not. Music, art - and just to be left alone sometimes. We have some students that sit on a therapy ball while doing tasks.

Good luck to you... If I think of other things, I will let you know.

[Junerain]

I work in middle schools...they are very interested in video games!!!

[Lauliza]

I have a daughter with Aspergers entering middle school in the fall and I was going to ask this very question! I wonder what helps kids on the spectrum who not interested in academics. She is very bright, but as far as school is concerned, she could care less about performance, grades, etc. Teachers in the past have modified her homework which is good and are more understanding when she doesn't complete things. The problem is that I think they get too understanding and she ends up thinking she doesn't need to do the work, and that it doesn't matter. I find out about projects after the fact sometimes and when I ask her why she didn't do hers she'll answer "I didn't want to". When I ask her what her teacher said she said "nothing. she doesn't care". I've asked them to give her consequences, but I just know in the upper grades, individual attention is harder to get. I don't want to send her to a special school, because in many ways she's too high functioning. She went to a specialized camp for a few years and it wasn't a good experience. Though she definitely has Aspergers, she isn't a text book example and has many atypical behaviors, which makes her a bit of a mystery to a lot of teachers (especially inexperienced ones) who only know about AS from what they've read or from the most extreme examples. And she's a girl, so again she's different from most kids with AS who are boys (like she hates video games but loves instagram and other social media). This puts her in a bit of a gray area and I think that makes it in some ways much more difficult. It's too easy for her to go under the radar.