Asperser Syndrome - Essay Example

? Asperser Syndrome (AS) Aspergers Syndrome (AS) It is without doubt that most education sectors face numerouschallenges posed by diverse students and pupils who enter the learning institutions with divergent problems and capabilities. A professional teacher with much interest in the successful execution of total quality services and responsibilities to students needs to analyze and learn his/her learners. Understanding each learner provides a clear field for total and equal delivery of services to all learners. Understanding of students and pupils by particular teachers is equally significant in repairing relation and socialization of different learners. Aspergers Syndrome is one such disorder that calls for teacher’s attention in determining the appropriate methods of ensuring perfect service delivery to all students in a school set up. In the views of Donaldson (2006, 6), Asperger Syndrome (AS) is a serious disorder that interferes with the individuals’ socialization, communication and flexibility in behavioural and thinking that makes the victims process information in an awkward manner. Studying Asperger Syndrome in students enables the education officials to monitor and handle particular victims in a sensible manner with sole intents of motivating students to excel in studies. Studying Asperger Syndrome in students also enables teachers to encourage replenishment of communication skills of particular victims of AS. In order to achieve designed goals set by various education sectors in ensuring that every youth obtain education in life, there are a number of policies, which every operation should roll when handling the Asperger Syndrome students. According to Madriaga et al (7), one of the policies set by the government extends to the higher education institutions given the responsibilities of enforcing the disability equality in various institutions. Creation of Disability Equality Duty (2006) has developed legal paths that can be followed by the higher education institutions protecting culture and encouraging diversity within various learning institutions. Teaching personnel have the chance to achieve desirable practice in teaching, learning and assessing all students. Teachers need provision of particular resources to develop their professional well being and acquire knowledge on other techniques that help in handling the AS students. It is important for teachers to get the necessary tools and equipments they need to enable them achieve exemplary practice in learning, teaching and carrying out assessment. This policy will ensure that teachers obtain deep and clear understanding of students with AS disorder and arrange for inclusion plan by allocating distinct time for teaching the AS students. Certain policies advocate for compulsory training of teachers on matters concerning AS since the formation of the Disability Discrimination Act. The policy further requires teachers to get trained on the other courses that relate to the safety measures of the AS students and environment in general. Coupled massive increase in population of the AS students joining higher education institutions, particular policy requires specific schools dealing with AS students to take responsibilities of transforming their specific environments into positive social arena. It is vital that governments allocate particular allowances for AS students who may intend to further their education into colleges and universities (Madriaga et al 7). The policy outlined also proposes that before AS students get admission into their respective higher education centres, they should get information on the contemporary allowance to assure them of their speciality in the society. These allowances will also encourage and motivate AS students who show exceptional determination and efforts to learn more. The policy further recommends that AS students should be accorded high attention in order to keep in line with the recurrent needs and supporting their creative thinking capabilities (Madriaga et al 8). The policies also outlines that any success of the individuals with AS in any field should be celebrated and publicised to encourage fellow colleagues under the similar conditions work hard and focus on achieving positive goals. Teachers and lecturers need to make great use of psychological knowledge when dealing with AS students since most of them will never wish to admit that they have certain disorders thus in need of special attention. The policies also advocate for the formation of social movements standing to support and mobilize the respect and concern of the individual AS students in the societies. Special support teams in learning institutions need to ensure maximum respect and humane consideration of specific individuals with AS disorders to protect them from open discrimination from the fellow students (Lowden et al 2009, 1). The disability movement should always fight for the rights of its members and present complaints to the government and appropriate agencies. It is advisable that lecturers employ the use of electronic handouts during the teaching process. The lecturers have to encourage the use of visual aids and sound aid to assess the information they convey during learning sessions (Madriaga et al 9). Reflected from communication impairment of the victims of AS disorder, schools need to form special support team of disabled students to help in advising and motivating students to socialize with other. Such moves may assist in replenishing the participation of students with AS disorders in group works. Education policies set for accommodating student with special needs requires that special support teams of a set of disabled students keep informing the specific students on issues surrounding the allowance and update them whenever there is a delay. The support teams have to intensify consultation with respective parents and guardians to help gather particular information of students and which can be essential in improving their performance (Madriaga et al 7). The policies also require support teams to institute students’ unions responsible for initiating group studies. Students with AS disorders need chances to attend calm fairs with few or small crowd. Policies also require that friendly activities be instituted in particular areas with AS students and individual victims. It is also recommended that the support teams of the disabled populace in the education sectors especially in the higher learning institutions ensure that teaching staff maintain confidentiality of information regarding the AS disorder victims. Such undertake will ensure protection of victims with AS disorder from frustrations of the fellow students in the same education institution. The policy will also allow the lecturers to be aware of such students in class and try to keep the line that may vex off discrimination (Madriaga et al 8). Education policies also provide that education practitioners maintain reinforce particular negative notion within students on the AS students. The support offered to the AS students should always be flexible and consistent in addressing students’ varied interests and desires. The policies provide that disability professional should occasionally conduct meetings with the students and the supports teams to prepare appropriate frame work to be followed by the students and the support teams (Madriaga et al 9). The policies also call for initiatives arrangement of counselling programs for the students to discourage them from isolation. The disability professionals should always ensure that the support teams of particular victims of AS disorder are present at the lecture rooms at the appropriate time to take notes for their clients (Madriaga et al 9). This policy tends to eliminate any sense of anxiety and stress among the AS students. Policies governing the education sectors require the particular colleges and learning institutions formulate special programmes when necessary in order to satisfy the needs of learners and ensure that appropriate efforts apply in the delivery of the special program education. The policies also require colleges to ensure that programme design and learning approaches are correlative with the ultimate needs of discouraged and demoralized learners (Madriaga et al 9). It is also imperative for colleges to structure viable means through which lectures and support teams of the AS students coordinate and work together in achieving the goals of comforting the learners. According to Chirnside & Thomson (12), Asperger Syndrome students faces the challenges related to the literal interpretation of communication. The incapability to interpret communications properly has always resulted to meaningless expressions by the AS students. Chirnside and Thomson (12) further speculates that most researches carried on the individuals with AS disorders show that such individuals are not responsive to body language and do not know apply certain signs in relevance to particulars situation. In addition, victim of AS disorder do not recognize or interpret certain facial expression. However, Chirnside and Thomson (12) reveal that some of the individuals trained to interpret the expressions whereby upon cheer then the mouth of an individual assumes the upturn while when mourning then the mouth assumes a downturn shape. Research results as reported by Chirnside and Thomson (14) show that students with AS disorders do not recognize the variation of stress as applies to each word in a sentence. Furthermore, approved research findings indicate that most of the students with AS disorders takes longer time to interpret, process and understand information presented orally. The problem of slow learning make students with AS disorder remain behind in class work thereby creating the necessity of selective inclusion plan by the teacher to accommodate every student during learning sessions. Chirnside and Thomson (14) report that students with AS disorders posses good grammar and vocabulary but do have poor communication skills. According to Chirnside and Thomson (14), students with AS disorders exhibits symptoms of unworthiness to social with other people and those who had not been trained during childhood end up in great isolation. Some also behave in a state of great confusion and stress that may provoke misunderstanding among other members of the society towards the AS victims. Moreover, researches have revealed that most victims of AS disorder find it problematic to make eye contact with their peers and teachers. It is worth considering that making direct eye contact with teachers sometimes distracts concentration of the AS student. At times students with AS disorders appears insensitive with regard to the way they respond to issues of societal interest. Drawn from their socialization problems, students with AS do not imagine the conditions that other people are facing thereby interpreted as lacking sympathy. Chirnside and Thomson (17) mention that decision making among students with AS disorders tends to be abnormally slow due to their incapability to imagine the effects of the other options. It is undeniable that students with AS disorders tend to be resistant to changes that occur the in the environment. The impaired imagination attributed to students with AS disorders acts as stumbling block that cause illegitimate fears among the students and victims if AS when faced with changes. Victims of AS disorders are full of anxieties due to their incapability to figure out and imagine the consequences of an event in their lives. The sole responsibilities of nurturing the change among the students with AS disorders lie upon parents and schools officials. Parents need to take critical part in the process of rehabilitating their children as they grow to adulthood. Parents and teachers have appropriate chances of teaching transformation in their children with autism spectrum. Parents and teachers as well as school officials all share invitation in the process of teaching social values and relations to the growing students. Social values of significance to the growing students include conversation skills and techniques of identifying when someone is aggrieved and hostile. Parents and teacher are called upon to identify numerous activities within the societies in which they should expose the students with AS disorder to construct their confidence. Students with AS disorders should be taught sex education in a decent manner that respects and disclose the real perspectives of managing sex related cases. As part of the whole move to comfort and provide ample learning environment for AS students, many education authorities have embarked ion training teachers and staff concerning appropriate ways of handling the AS students. Donaldson (2006, 26) confirms that education authorities have offered sponsorships to the teachers to pursue post graduate studies qualifications on inclusion plan particularly covering AS education. In addition, Donaldson (2006, 27) speculates that most education authorities have special staff who are responsible for guiding teaching staff on how to teach AS students. Asperger Syndrome has attracted many professionals in a steep argument of how to consider and classify the AS. Medical doctors in the views of (Madriaga et al 12), refers to AS a certain kind disorder that leads to the disability. Medical professionals consider AS to be a destructive development disorders that equates to neurological abnormality. Medical doctors examine that the abnormality in the neurological make up results to evident problems of social interaction, communication and impaired imagination and thinking capabilities. Medical doctors strongly hold view due to the clinical assertion regarding the lack of sympathy among the victims, poor relation skills and deterred communication capabilities. HMI (2004, 17) ascertains that most colleges in response to the great needs of AS students decided to employ additional subordinate staff and teachers who have helped in achieving appropriate goals with regard to AS students’ education. Disabled people, on the other hand have stood to refute medical perspectives and beliefs about the disability. People with the disability have since discarded the understanding of AS in the lines of failure and stigmatization and have believe that AS is solely a social phenomenon. According to Madriaga et al (11), disabled people insists that their conditions do not attribute to their physical impairment but instead links the condition to the prolonged societal attitudes towards the perception of AS. In precision, (Madriaga et al 12)), confirms that the victims of AS fail to consider the condition as disorder but rather as societal difference. Madriaga et al (12) argue report that particular group of individuals consider AS to an exclusive category in the society coining its value and position in the arena of special education. The theory of category as attributed to AS shows the capability of the education practitioners to communicate and discuss particular abnormal issues affecting specific students. The category assumption of the AS relies upon the elements of children behaviours, learning capabilities and needs. In the view of Madriga et al (13), the perception adopted by education practitioners has helped in the struggle to conduct research and come up with viable techniques of assisting the self isolated AS groups. Education professionals have also been able to identify modules of preparing policies targeted at improving the performance of the children and entire victims of AS. Viewing AS from a purely theoretical perspective has made education practitioners advocate for the formulation of policies to address the issues of equality. The practitioners have also skipped to challenge that government to include the victims of AS in the process of formulating policies to address the challenges faced by AS victims. According to Donaldson (2006, 19) most special independent school have achieved substantial goals in transforming young students with AS disorders. Donaldson (2006, 19) confirms that teachers and support teams in the independent special schools expresses deep concern of transforming the students to the state of acceptability in the society. Most of the students in the special independent schools benefited greatly with enhanced communication skills and socialization skills. In views of Geller (17), students with autism spectrum can be assisted to evade sad situations they couple with through unending encouragement to search for employment. Geller (17) reiterates that the victims of AS disorders should be encouraged to go even for recruitment in voluntary work and internships. According to Geller (17), getting employment before completing college studies assist in exposing victims of AS disorders to the bigger world where socialization is the basic means of survival. Geller (17) adds that part time employment opportunities helps the AS victims to prepare beforehand their carrier objectives and excel in that consistent direction with great determination. Geller (17) speculates that in the process of searching for employment, the victims of AS disorders gets appropriate opportunity of writing curriculum vitae and application letters, which improves their writing and communication skills. Geller (17) assures that whenever AS victims write job application letters, the level of their grammar improves substantially. In addition, Geller (17) reports that engaging in recruitment interviews provides appropriate station for the AS students exercise their communication skills. Young people who fall victims of AS disorder requires absolute care and properly decided practices that can help them grow and attain their dreams in life. Following the realization of category theory and the communication strains faced by most AS victims, the education practitioners have been able to come up with viable systems to help in heightening the quality of education offered to the students (Lowden et al 2009, 9). Learning practices for the victims of AS disorders should be structured in a way that it provides practical skill and experimental opportunities tom the learners. Good education practices in education sector involving the AS victims should have well trained and loving teachers who posses true passions of helping young students. In addition, good practices in the education of students with AS should meet national qualification standards to avail credible certification of young people (Lowden et al 2009, 9). Moreover, good institutional practices should place young with AS in the forefront of provisions and with capabilities to influence approaches and targets. Theory of category as employed by some philosophers in the sector of education has helped identifying selective ways of nurturing education of students with AS disorders. Adoption of proper communication skills by the practicing teachers have worked well towards mending the feelings of the AS students. It is worth commending that the efforts by teachers and other education authorities have been very remarkable and full of positive outcomes. The efforts to comfort AS victims in schools and in the outside world have transformed the perceived bright disabled students into reasonable members of the societies. It is also worth mentioning that the views of medical doctors on AS as a disorder and disability are socially intolerable. This because upon hearing the statements, the victims of AS gets upset and socially rejected. It is the role of each individual to show compassion and deep love to victims of AS with due consideration that they brilliant members who when shaped properly transforms into very productive components of the societies. Bibliography Chirnside, A., & Thomson, S., Asperger Syndrome; a guide for further education staff, Retrieved 2011-10-25 from http://www.academia-research.com/filecache/instr/a/s/585525_asperger-syndrome-a-guide-for-further-education-staff_4056.pdf Donaldson, G., 2006, Education for pupils with Autism Spectrum disorders, Retrieved October 24, 2011-10-25 from http://www.academia-research.com/filecache/instr/e/p/585525_epasd.pdf Geller, L., Managing the transition process from high school to college and beyond: challenges for individuals, families and society, Retrieved 2011-10-25 from http://www.academia-research.com/filecache/instr/t/r/585525_transition.pdf Lowden, K., et al, 2009, Production of case studies of flexible learning and support packages for young people who require more choices and more chances, Retrieved October 24, 2011-10-25 from http://www.academia-research.com/filecache/instr/s/u/585525_support_20young_20people_20case_20studies_20good_20practice.pdf Madriaga, M., et al, The higher education academy; enabling transition into higher education for students with Asperger Syndrome, Retrieved 2011-10-25 fromhttp://www.academia-research.com/filecache/instr/m/a/585525_manuel_madriaga_report.pdf Read More