Social Story for Children with Special Needs (Asperger's syndrome) Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.

1. WE’RE ALL WONDERS
JAGPREET KAUR
B.Ed. (Special Education: ID)
Department of Education
Lady Irwin College, Delhi University
jagpreetkaur.18@lic.du.ac.in

2. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there was an eight-year-old girl called Tamanna, who studied in MDS Public
School, New Delhi.
She was a diligent and polite student. She was
always neatly dressed and was never rude to anybody.
Yet, she didn't have any friends. She always kept to
herself. She always kept muttering something or the
other under her breath. She had a fixed place right by
the window where she'd always sit. She'd always look
at the sky and pretend that she's in an open space
without walls and a roof. It made her feel relaxed. That
was HER space.

3. One day she got a little late and found her seat occupied by one of her classmates, Aditi. Tamanna suddenly
started yelling and crying. Her teacher didn't know how to handle the situation, she had never seen her throw a temper
tantrum like that. She tried to settle her down to a different seat but Tamanna just wouldn't have it. She kept on crying.
Eventually, the teacher had to move Aditi to a different seat. This incident created huge misunderstandings
between Tamanna and the rest of her classmates. She became even more isolated than before. She tried hard to make
friends and wanted to fit in with other
children but, nobody wanted to be
her friend. They didn’t want to play
with her, teased her, and often bullied
her.

4. Tamanna has always loved sports class, she loved being under the big endless sky, she loved being outside of
the four walls of the classroom where there were no boundaries or limits. She would always look forward to this class
every week. That day the whole class decided to play basketball. The
students divided themselves into two teams but nobody wanted
Tamanna on their team. The teacher, Miss Neha placed Tamanna as a
backup in one of the teams. Tamanna didn't mind, she was happy just
being there. Everything was going well until Aditi fell and hurt herself
on the knee. Being the backup, Tamanna took her place.
As the game moved forward Tamanna started facing difficulties, simple instructions like “Tamanna pass the
ball”, "turn around", "give me the ball" became too difficult for her to follow. She couldn't understand the referee's or
her classmate’s gestures. She became flustered and couldn't pass the ball to her teammate on time and unfortunately
lost the match. Everyone got mad at Tamanna and decided to not play with her anymore. Tamanna was disheartened
and felt dejected.

5. After a few days, all the students had to sit for the mid-term
examinations. Tamanna was ill so she had to leave for home without
giving her Maths exam. One of her classmates, Rahul signed his exam
using Tamanna’s name. After a few days, when the teacher returned all
the exam sheets everyone was shocked. Tamanna had failed the exam.
Tamanna realized that she didn't even attempt her Maths exam and somebody must have pulled a prank on her. She
right away went to her teacher and revealed the same.
The teacher understood the situation and scolded Rahul for his act. None of her peers were happy to see the
teacher scold Rahul and take Tamanna's side. Everybody was
against her. Children started annoying her. They began
muttering things about her in order to irritate her. As a
result, she became even more agitated and started having
frequent outbursts in the middle of the class.

6. On the school's Annual Day celebration, a Special Guest visited the school to interact with the students. During
the visit, he observed Tamanna sitting alone and muttering to herself.
“Hey, kid! What is your name?”
"Tamanna" she replied.
"Why are you sitting alone? Where are your friends?"
"I don't have any friends." She told him what had happened. She
told him how other children ignore and bully her and don’t like
to play with her. The guest took an interest in Tamanna's story
and decided to talk to her class teacher. After talking to the class
teacher, the guest understood the whole situation.

7. When the time came for him to say something to the students, he narrated the story of a boy who was similar
to Tamanna. He described that despite being smart this boy faced many difficulties during his childhood, like not being
able to understand certain situations, inability to relate to others’ perspectives, getting fixated to
one thing or place. He always felt isolated in the class because of his differences and nobody
treated him well.
He told one day a new teacher was posted in that school and she observed
the boy and immediately realized that this boy needed early intervention and care.
She helped the boy modify his behavior and also educated the peers about the
issues that the boy was dealing with. She made the students and the other teachers
aware of the boy’s situation and motivated them to help and support him. She also
spoke to the boy's parents and got him the early intervention and care he needed.

8. Furthermore, the Guest told that the boy was diagnosed with Aspergers’ Syndrome due to which he faced so
many difficulties but with appropriate interventions, things eventually got better. He disclosed that this boy was none
other than the special guest himself and with a little help from his friends and teachers he transformed his life.
Tamanna's class teacher realized what the special guest wanted to say. She took the hint and decided to help
Tamanna. With help from the school counselor and a very elaborate meeting with her parents, she was able to get
Tamanna enrolled in an early intervention class. Getting the
much needed support and care changed Tamanna's life.
All children found that they had been rude to Tamanna
and apologized to her. Rahul too was filled with guilt and
tears dwelled up in his eyes. He ran up to Tamanna and
said, “I am sorry I tricked you. Please forgive me!”
Tamanna forgave Rahul and everyone else too.

9. Finally, she was surrounded by the teachers and students who understood her needs and knew how to help her.
Now, she didn't feel isolated anymore, she didn't feel sad. She made friends, her best friend Zoya loved solving puzzles,
infact, that's all she ever did. Tamanna was finally happy. Her dreams and possibilities were now limitless just like the
open sky that she still loves to gaze and dream about.