15. References Bennett, Terry, Szatmari, Peter, Bryson, Susan, Volden, Joanne, Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie, Vaccarella, Liezanne, Duku, Eric and Boyle, Michael. “Differentiating Autism and Asperger Syndrome on the Basis of Language Delay or Impairment.” (2007): 1-9. Springer Science+Business Media. Wilson Web. 18 Feb. 2010. Abramson, Larry. “Removal of Asperger’s To Change Special Ed. Access.” (2010): 1-3. National Public Radio. 12 Feb. 2010.
Editor's Notes
Hi my name is Casandra and I’m going to be speaking to you about Asperger’s Syndrome today.
The American Psychiatric Association are attempting to get rid of Asperger’s Syndrome under the categorization of cognitive impairments. Regardless of what the final outcome is of this proposal, I do believe that this will be a controversial topic in education for many years. Parents, teachers and school districts have many concerns when it comes to looking at the future of their child/student (Abramson 10).
There are many concerns when it comes to this proposal. Many are worried that the special education services they receive will be affected due to the decision. Some families worry that they won’t get the Special Education services that they want. Furthermore, the main concern is that will these students who have Asperger’s really be getting the education and quality time that they deserve, or will they be forgotten about and put into other Cognitive Impairment categories that they think are similar? Many fear that doing this will make the learning process more confusing and harder for these students (Bennett 10).
This topic is extremely important because if Asperger’s is eliminated from the cognitive impairments category, not only will it ignore the specific needs that the student with Aspergers has, but it will also make things more complicated for them.
Someone with Asperger’s Syndrome has trouble socializing with others. Asperger’s is included in the Autism Spectrum Disorder, but there is a difference. Asperger’s is very mild, while Autism is multi-facated. Typically students will Asperger’s have an average IQ (Bennett 10).
A person can be low to high functioning on the Autism Spectrum. The difference in Autism compared to Asperger’s is that they may have some type of cognitive delay, but they don’t have a language delay like someone with AS does (Bennett 10).
A huge impact could be that by eliminating this category in the disorders, many students will not receive the attention that they really need. I think certain needs for these students will be forgotten because they are put into a category that has some similarities. Therefore, the other important parts will be ignored. This could really impact the education on these students because it could seriously confuse them, possibly even more than they already were. In the next slide I will thoroughly explain the effects this decision could possibly have.
The impact this decision would have on schools would be that they would almost have to re-vamp these schools. These Schools that now cater to different needs would have to start catering to other needs. It’s almost as if they would be shifting responsibilities that were already taken care of before. The impact it would have on the students I feel is a huge emotional impact. These students with Asperger’s are already used to the learning environment that there in. They mainly just have social problems, and putting them in classes and classifying them with students who have cognitive impairments would almost be disrespectful to them, as if they were being re-labeled to something that there really not. The impact this would have on classrooms is that I think it would be hard to put all these students together as one and get them to learn because there on so many different levels.
As of now this issue is just being discussed by parents, teachers, school districts etc. They are discussing ways to work things out and looking at all the options available. Most of the discussions just consist of concerns that many people have (Abramson 10).
If the decision is passed I think it will be horrible for students with Asperger’s. I find it disrespectful to these students who will be categorized into something that they simply are not. There is a fine line between these differences and I think the decision should not be passed for the well being of students, teachers and parents.
Ask any teacher, one of the most valuable things that we can teach students is a part of the hidden curriculum. Communication skills are essential for people to succeed in everyday life. Students who have Asperger’s Syndrome are characterized by social and communication differences. To remove Asperger’s Syndrome from the Autism Spectrum Disorder, therein disqualifying students from receiving special education services, is deplorable. The elimination of Asperger’s Syndrome from Special Education services is to leave these students ill-equipped to become high functioning productive members of society.
