Working with Asperger Syndrome in the Classroom: An Insider's Guide

by Gill D. Ansell

Overview

Having an array of effective strategies at your fingertips and understanding exactly why they work makes supporting children with Asperger Syndrome in the classroom a whole lot easier. This accessible, short and snappy guide to the basics will provide busy teachers and teaching assistants with everything they need to know to make their job easier, and to make a real difference to any student with AS in their care.

The book begins by exploring how children with AS operate and the implications this has for mainstream school settings. It goes on to give practical advice for one-on-one working, DIY resources for visual learners, tools for effective assessment, and much more. Information on how personal wellbeing can be maintained in potentially stressful situations is also included, and the concise chapters are ideal for dipping into as and when inspiration is needed.

This book will be an essential resource for any teacher or teaching assistant supporting children with Asperger Syndrome.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857003539
Publisher:	Kingsley, Jessica Publishers
Publication date:	04/15/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Gill D. Ansell has over 14 years' experience of ASDs, and previously worked as a teaching assistant, both at schools for children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome, and in a mainstream primary school. She has experience of running support groups for mainstream teachers and teaching assistants supervised by an Educational Psychologist, and possesses an in-depth knowledge of the difficulties that can arise with a child on the autistic spectrum at school and at home, and how these can be alleviated.

Table of Contents

Preface. Part 1: What Is Asperger Syndrome? Introduction: Working with Asperger minds. 1. Autistic Spectrum Disorders. 2. Understanding Asperger Syndrome. 3. Literal Thinking. Part 2: Working With An Individual With Asperger Syndrome. 4. The Beginning. 5. Individual Work Stations/Bays. 6. Behaviour Management Sessions. 7. Small Group Work - Working One to One. 8. Breaktimes/Lunchtimes. 9. Restraints. 10. Role Play and Puppets. 11. Worksheets and Word Searches. 13. Acronyms. Part 3: Dealing With Feelings. 14. Anxieties. 15. Exercise. 16. Emotions – The Feelings Book. Ideas for Visual Learners. 17. Visual Learners. 18. Oops! Cards. 19. Strategy Book. 20. Cards and Rewards. 21. Sand and Egg Timers. 22. The Home/School Diary. 23. The Good Book. 24. Visual Conversations. Assessing Children With Asperger Syndrome. 25. Record Keeping. 26. Graphs. Everything Else You Need To Know. 27. Choices and Standing Your Ground. 28. Bullying. 29. The Translator. 30. Finding Solutions. 31. Keeping Sane - Seeing the Glass Half Full. 32. Jake. 33. Snippets for Learning.

Editorial Reviews

If a child's needs are not being met at school it can be really difficult for parents to get across in meetings exactly how they would like the school to help their child. This book with its practical advice and its accessible explanations will offer lots of ideas to all parties taking part in discussions about how a school might best meet the special educational needs of children with AS. With strategies that can be applied to both secondary and primary schools, this book will be useful to both educational professionals and parents alike.

Ellen Power

It is a down-to-earth, highly readable, jargon-free guide, easily digested and an ideal book for anyone working with an Aspergers pupil.

Red Reading Hub - Jillrbennett's Reviews of Children's Books

This is an excellent book for all practitioners within the educational, health and independent sectors who come into contact with children with Asperger Syndrome. It is essential for Special Educational Needs Coordinators and teaching assistants, and also suitable for early years practitioners. Easy to read with a very comprehensive index, it is a good insight into inclusion, and is full of tried and tested advice for whole class, small group and 1:1 teaching. User friendly chapters on individual practical strategies include Oops cards and visual conversations, which were new to me. I tried them out successfully and have added them to my strategy bank... This book makes sense of a very complex and varied disorder. It is written by an author with firsthand experience, and lots of common sense, who obviously knows what she is talking about.

Speech & Language Therapy in Practice

This book goes on to give practical advice for one-to-one teaching, DIY resources for visual learners and tools for effective assessment. Information about how personal wellbeing can be safeguarded in stressful situations is also focal point. The short concise chapters make it easy to dip in and out of using simple language that is easy to digest.

Adveriser & Times

Ansell concentrates on providing readers with a wealth of recommendations for overcoming the many challenges that the teaching assistant working with autistic individuals faces... Many of the strategies presented - the use of social stories, cards the pupil can display to indicate frame of mind etc. will be familiar to the experienced teacher or teaching assistant operating within this field. However, there is such a vast amount of advice presented that even the experienced practitioner will discover useful suggestions to enhance a repertoire of strategies... Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this book is Ansell's seemingly limitless enthusiasm for her work. Repeatedly she demonstrates a resilient ability to develop strategies in the face of challenging situations... For the new entrant to the world of autistic spectrum disorders, whether teaching assistant or teacher, this book will prove a valuable resource both for the vast amount of practical advice it contains and the passion with which it is presented.

Bulletin

Chapters offer practical advice for teaching strategies, DIY resources for visual learners, tools for assessment, and more. Highly recommended as a top pick for any education collection!

The Midwest Book Review