Asperger’s syndrome is on the increase in South Africa, adding another challenge to teachers’ daily tasks.
This was highlighted at an international conference on autism, held in Cape Town in October, which also focused on Asperger’s syndrome as the more verbal and high-functioning form of autism.
‘Asperger’s children interact poorly with their peers, they are viewed as oppositional by teachers who experience them as rude, and they have the inability to empathise,†says head of psychological services at Crossroads School in Johannesburg, Lesley Rosenthal.
Rosenthal, who’s been teaching at Crossroads for 17 years, is witnessing a marked increase in children with Asperger’s at her school. Most Asperger’s children are able to cope in mainstream schools, but in severe cases they have to be referred to her school.
‘These children were once considered enigmas and seen as eccentric or odd because they couldn’t express themselves well and made poor connections with peers and adults.†For years, she says, these children had poor ability to read social situations and teachers and parents didn’t know what it was. The children often have great academic ability and have an eye for detail, but cannot put the whole picture together.
She gives two examples of children with Asperger’s, who show a lack of empathy. Mom: ‘How do you think mom is feeling?†Girl: ‘How should I know?†Mom and girl walk around Zoo Lake. Mom says: ‘Oh look, that dog is lost.†Girl: ‘How can that dog be lost when I can see it?â€
Children with Asperger’s also tend to play alongside others, and have to be taught how to properly integrate in a group. They tend to find eye contact too emotionally intense and then tend not to make proper emotional connections with people. The staff of Crossroads, alongside teaching their academic curriculum, are aware at every turn of these issues and deal with them appropriately on a daily basis. ‘At mainstream schools, there will be children with aspects of Asperger’s and teachers often just experience them as rude and oppositional and get irritable,†Rosenthal says.
She gives an example of how such behaviour is dealt with at her school. A grade one teacher was having a trying time with a child with Asperger’s, ordinarily called an obstreperous child. The teacher could not get the boy to do his work. He kept saying: ‘Why should I?†When Rosenthal was brought in, she resolved the problem by simply saying, ‘You must do it because the teacher says so and this teacher is the boss of this classroom.†The pupil said, ‘Oh,†and complied. He needed the boundaries explained and a logical answer, and he got one.
Crossroads teaches social skills, even basics, like smiling and saying ‘how are you?†after someone greets you. It offers psychological, occupational, speech and play therapies, among others.