My presentation...

[Guest guest]

Aspergers Syndrome is not something that can be seen. People

with Aspergers (AS as it’s often called) look just like you or me. But you

might notice things about them that are a bit different.

Aspergers, like other types of Autism, is a neurological

disorder – which is just a big fancy way of saying that their brains work

differently than yours or mine do. Not wrong, just different! Two cars might be

wired differently, but they both work!

AS isn’t an illness, it cannot be caught like a cold –

because those who have it were born with it. It also won’t ever go away… but

over time, people with Aspergers can learn most of what comes naturally to the

rest of us.

Some things you might notice about someone with Aspergers

Syndrome:

·

They might not look you in the eye when they

speak to you. This isn’t because they’re trying to be rude, but rather because

there’s so much information in your face that they don’t understand, that if

they get stressed out trying to make sense of that, they won’t hear anything

you say.

·

They don’t understand how to tell the difference

between friendly teasing, and bullying teasing. To them, it all seems like

bullying teasing. This makes them feel stressed and upset, which can lead to

some difficult behaviours. It might be hard for you to understand why they yell

at you, or say bad words to you, or sometimes even HIT you, when you were just

kidding and trying to be funny. Please tell a teacher if this happens, so they

can help. And remember that they don’t mean to upset you when they get angry,

and they don’t mean to hurt you when they get mad. They just don’t know what

else to do.

·

When they get upset, or stressed, they might say

or do things that hurt your feelings. They really aren’t trying to be mean or

hurtful. You can help by calmly and quietly telling them when they’ve said or

done something that upset you, so they can start to learn how friends talk to

and treat each other!

·

When you’re playing with them, they might seem

bossy or selfish, and always want things their way. When it comes to sharing,

taking turns and playing games, people with Aspergers Syndrome get easily

confused about what other people are doing, and what they themselves are

supposed to be doing. So if they are “in chargeâ€, they feel much safer, and

less stressed. You can help by reminding them in a friendly way when they need

to take turns, and taking the time to explain the rules of a game before you

start.

·

They like things to be the same ALL the time.

When things are the same, when there are routines, they know what to expect and

don’t have to worry about what they are supposed to be doing. They might want

to sit in the same spot, or the same chair, or eat the same thing every day. If

they aren’t prepared for changes… even something as simple as having a

substitute teacher for a day, for them it is like visiting a foreign country

with no map and no knowledge of their language!. Very scary and confusing!

·

You might notice that they’re very interested in

one or more things, and want to be doing those things a lot, or talking about

them all the time – even too much sometimes! Maybe they love dinosaurs, and

like to draw them, read books about them, learn about them, talk about them,

and play with dinosaur toys. They don’t realize that not everyone may love

dinosaurs as much as they do, and won’t realize if you’re getting bored, or

tired of listening about it. They might need help knowing when it’s time to

talk about something else.

·

Even though they are very smart, they might miss

obvious pieces of information – and even though they’re confused, they might

not ask for help. They might try to hide their confusion, or act like they

don’t care, or don’t want to do something – when really they just need help

understanding.

·

They get VERY overwhelmed with input of all

types – sights, sounds, touch and smell. When someone has Aspergers Syndrome,

they aren’t able to shield certain types of information the way you or I can.

Take this library for example… when you or I come into the library we know that

this is a place where we can read, look at and borrow books. There are tables

and chairs we can use. There’s a coloured mat we can sit on to listen to stories.

We know we should be quiet while we’re here, we should walk not run, and we

should watch what we’re doing so to not mess up any of the books. For us, these

thoughts come and go from our heads without us really having to think about it.

But for someone with Aspergers, this library is very overwhelming. They see

books… and those books are everywhere. They are different sizes, different

colours, different heights and widths. They are about different subjects. They

hear people flipping pages in books. People talking quietly. People tapping

their fingers. Chairs shuffling on the floor. Someone walking in the hallway

outside. They smell the different types of shampoo that people have used, they

smell the different laundry detergents on people’s clothes. They see the mat on

the floor and know that it will feel different to walk on that. They have to

think about how to walk through the room without bumping into anyone, without

knocking over a chair. How to be careful when taking out a book so to not mess

up the others. And ALL the while, all that other information is still clogging

their brain. Add to that, that they can also feel the shirt they’re wearing,

the tag might be itchy, their jeans might be too tight. Their socks might have

a funny seam that bothers their toes. And every single bit of this information

is hitting their brain ALL at the same time, and they have NO idea how to tell

which is the most important information to pay attention to!! You can see how

this would be very upsetting and confusing, and how they could need to go to a

quiet place to take a break, and sort some of the information out in their

head.

·

When they are upset, or stressed, or

overwhelmed, you might see them doing some pretty strange things… hiding under

a desk, yelling, crying, rocking back and forth, hitting, saying bad words…

this isn’t them trying to be weird, or mean, or rude… even though it might look

that way to you! This is just their way of trying to feel less stressed, or

less angry, or less scared.

Having Aspergers Syndrome isn’t ALL bad. There are positive

things too !!!

·

People with Aspergers usually have an EXCELLENT

memory, and will remember things that most other people have long forgotten

about.

·

They can become EXPERTS in their areas of interest!

They might even use that to get a job doing their favourite things when they

grow up!

·

They notice details about things that most of us

would miss.

·

They are usually VERY smart, and happy to help

others with things they are very good at! Even Albert Einstein is believed to

have had Aspergers!

If you know someone with Aspergers or another type of

Autism, and can find a way to understand a bit more, and look past the

different, sometimes weird and sometimes difficult behaviours, you will find

that people with AS are like you and me in so many ways.

·

They really want friends, even if they don’t

always know how to make and keep them.

·

They HATE being teased (I don’t think any of us

like it!)

·

They feel all kinds of different feelings, and

don’t always know the best way to deal with them (I think we’re all guilty of

this one!)

·

They want to be accepted and liked in their

classroom.

·

They want to feel safe at school!

You can help by asking your teacher or another trusted grown

up if you aren’t sure what to do, by making sure you have their attention

before you start talking. By using small sentences, and being patient. By using

friendly words. By NOT doing things that you know will upset them. By ignoring

the difficult behaviours, and letting them know instead when you really like

something nice they’ve done. By watching out for them, and sticking up for them

against bullying. And most importantly, by acknowledging the ways they are like

you and also by accepting the ways they are different, the same way all of us

are different, and knowing that differences are just what makes us all unique.

Thank you.

=)