Teaching Social Savvy to Students with Asperger Syndrome

Author(s): Carol L. Wilkerson and James M. Wilkerson

Source: Middle School Journal, Vol. 36, No. 1 (September 2004), pp. 18-24
Published by: Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE)
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23024455
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Teaching

Challenging

Populations

Social

Teaching
with

Asperger

to

Savvy

Students

Syndrome

By Carol L. Wilkerson & james

M. Wilkerson

eighth grade girl stands in the middle of

the basketball court. Around her, 10 or 12
An
members of her PE class swirl up and down
the court in an intense, competitive game. Some of
the students are athletic and talented. Others are
enthusiastic, but klutzy. Despite their ability level,
all are focused intently on the outcome of the game.
All except this one girl. She stands on the court as if

waiting for a bus. Often, she is not even facing in

the direction of the ball, but staring off in deep, pri
vate thought. Her classmates accept this as normal,
and treat her as an agreed upon obstacle in the field
of play. They dodge around her, pass balls over her

head, and never, ever attempt to interact with her.

At one point, however, this isolation is breached:
the errant basketball strikes the girl's head. "Hey, that
hurt!" the girl yells, then awkwardly retrieves the
ball. "Whoever is responsible better watch out!" The
PE teacher intervenes and suggests the girl throw the

backward, a fairly glaring error since it is a button-up

shirt. "Turn your shirt around," she tells her son.
will laugh
"You can't go to school that waypeople
at you."
The boy grumbles and complains, resisting his
mother's direction. "Mom, no one will notice. Kids
at school don't care about clothes!" Picturing the
students of the middle school, in their carefully

faded jeans, Abercrombie and Fitch T-shirts, and the

latest Nikes, his mother has to fight the urge to
laugh as she helps him put the shirt on correctly. At
least this time she caught the error before he left the
house. On one memorable day, he actually made it
to school wearing his jeans backwards.
The sixth grader is late to class. When asked why,
he bursts out, "Because

of my damn

locker!"

ball in from the sideline to restart the game.

She clutches the ball to her chest while both
teams maneuver in front of her. "Here! Throw it
here!" several of them yell.
The girl smiles, shakes her head, and holds the
ball away from the court. "Come on!" one boy says
"You're supposed to throw it to
in exasperation.
I'm
on your team!"
own
team!
your
and
it!"
she
yells at him, twisting to hold
"Try
get
the ball even farther away. She appears not to notice
that no one is amused. Her classmates are all angry
at this disruption and delay of their game. Finally,
the teacher demands she hand him the ball, and
play resumes immediately. Once more, the girl is
isolated at mid-court.
A seventh grade boy enters his kitchen, dressed
for school. His mother notices that his shirt is on

Carol

PHOTO
Not all students are as adept at negotiating the social environment in a
middle school as these boys appear to be.

Community
formerly employed
by the Edwardsville
E-mail:
the
Hazlewood
School
District, St. Louis, Missouri.
for

L. Wilkerson,

teacher
james
18

LOUNSBURY
JOHN
BY

Middle

M.

Wilkerson

School

is a professor

Journal

in the School

September

of Business

at Southern

Unit School

District

#7, is an eighth grade

clwilkerson@charter.net
Illinois

University,

Edwardsville.

2004

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language

arts

Speechless for a moment, his teacher then gives him

The student is out
a rapid behavioral consequence.
raged and uses further inappropriate language. The
source of his anger? "Other kids talk like that in the
hall all the time and they don't get in trouble!" In
front of the entire class, the boy starts to cry hysteri
cally and has to be removed from the room.
Three different students, but all behaving inap

propriately. What is wrong with them? What could

cause intelligent young people to be so socially mal
adjusted? Are they so desperate for attention they

will go to any lengths to obtain it? Are they the

products of bad homes, where parents spoil or abuse
them? Are they intentional misfits, determined to
differentiate themselves from other students? All of
the above, according to many teachers. Educators
and administrators usually attribute this type of
behavior to willful and deliberate action on the part
of the students. The standard adult response is to
impose a punishment,
privileges, or in-school

Asperger

such as detention,

loss of

suspension.

to a casual observer. Classically autistic individuals

are frequently nonverbal or have poorly developed

verbal abilities and are often intellectually impaired.

These characteristics communicate
to others the fact
that a disability exists, so that they can adjust their
own behavior and expectations accordingly.
AS presents a much different picture, as Church,
Alisanski, and Ammanullah
Because
their

individuals
odd

behaviors
them.

often

with

of language

AS look
and

note:

perfectly
typical,
social

atypical

are rarely understood

around
by those
with this disorder
are often seen

Children

"behavior
which

use

(2000)

problems,"
are inaccurate

struggle

descriptions
to fit in. (p. 19)

as

or "cold,"

"inappropriate,"

of children

who

AS can be described as an "invisible" disability

since a fair amount of specific knowledge is required
before it can be readily identified by behavioral
observation. This has made it difficult for the
average educator to recognize manifestations of
the disorder.

Syndrome

The trouble is these students are not willfully misbe

having. In fact, the opposite is truethey suffer
from a serious disability and have to struggle every
day to exist within the framework of society's social
demands. The disability is Asperger Syndrome (AS), a
neurological condition marked by a significant
impairment in social interaction (Myles & Simpson,

2001b). These individuals have brains that are literal

ly wired differently from those of neurologically
"typical" people (Schultz, Romanski, & Tsatsanis,
2000). This difference in the brain affects sensory
processing, motor skills, attention issues, emotional
control, and most importantly, social ability.
Individuals with AS appear to be "socially stiff,
socially awkward, emotionally blunted, self-centered,
and inflexible, and to have difficulty in understand
ing nonverbal social cues" (Myles & Simpson, 2001a,
p. 2). Estimates of AS's prevalence have increased in
recent years. The estimates vary, with some being as
high as 48 per 10,000 children (Kadesjo, Gillberg, &
Nagberg, 1999). The male rate of AS is four times
that of females (Ehlers & Gillberg, 1993).
The best starting point for understanding
AS is to
differentiate it from autism, a closely related disability
which is much more widely known. Both disorders
are considered to be on the same spectrum of dis
abilities and feature many similarities. However,
with autism, the disability is much more apparent

people

in the classroom
Asperger
Syndrome
The social characteristics of a student with AS are
not a matter of conscious choice, lack of experience,
or personality type; they are a neurological burden
that negatively impacts every aspect of the student's
life. So why has the standard response of our educa

tional system been to inflict further punishment?

The problem lies in the lack of awareness and under
standing about AS among teachers and administra
tors. In their ignorance, they have created a situation
akin to punishing a blind child for clumsiness when
the child trips on an unseen obstacle. The AS child

encounters a social situation, makes a predictable

blunder, and is then punished, creating anger and
distress, which lead to further social blunders. But
this situation does not have to continue. Our
schools can become places of support for students
with AS, places where they are not punished for
their disability, but instead taught to manage it,
for it, and to the greatest extent possi
compensate
ble, overcome it. All that is required is for educators
to set aside their preconceived
notions, be willing to
learn more about how AS manifests itself in the

Middle

School

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September

2004

19

classroom, and learn how they can help students

with this puzzling disorder.
Unlike classic autism, a diagnosis of AS implies at
least normal cognitive development
and average IQ
2000,
(American Psychiatric Association,
Diagnostic
and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th ed., text
revision; Myles & Simpson, 2001a). Students with

AS tend to do well in at least some academic sub

jects, and many function in the gifted range. They
almost always possess impressive vocabularies.
Ironically, this aspect of AS causes many difficulties
at school.

Faced with an obviously bright, possibly

student, it is hard for teachers to
high-achieving
the
fact
that
the child has serious limitations.
accept
For example, most individuals with AS have prob
lems with both receptive and expressive language
use. They tend to be extremely literal in speech and

the layered mean

thought, failing to comprehend
and
figurative speech.
ings behind sarcasm, idioms,
This causes endless conversational
trouble and can
sometimes wreak havoc in the classroom (Adreon &
Stella, 2001).

The lack of awareness

has

created

Even when a teacher is aware of the fact that a

child has AS, it is difficult to appreciate the incredi
bly wide range of social deficits this diagnosis
One of the easiest to overlook is the
encompasses.
lack of ability to use and decode nonverbal commu
nication. This is a serious liability, given the fact that
"when verbal and nonverbal language convey con
flicting messages, people almost always tend to

believe

the nonverbal message" (Duke, Nowicki, &

of non
Martin, 1996, p. 7). Lack of understanding
verbal communication
is compounded
by poor eye
contact (Attwood, 1998), a feature also common in
autism. Failure to meet another person's gaze greatly
richness and may con
diminishes communication
to
a conversational
implications
partner.
vey negative
Teachers, in particular, tend to view lack of eye
contact as either inattention, disrespect, or a sign

of guilt.
Those with AS encounter huge obstacles to the
creation and maintenance of relationships with others,
including teachers and classmates. Individuals with
the per
this disorder have difficulty understanding

School

journal

September

frequently an extremely narrow or bizarre area that

the individual has mastered and wants to talk about
endlessly. An unwary teacher who mistakenly enters
this conversational
area will find it impossible to get

a word in edgewise. However, attempts to stop the

conversation might also be difficult.
As with autism, AS usually creates problems with
such as the ter
flexibility. Everyday disappointments
mination of an enjoyable conversation can cause an
emotional or behavioral reaction. The same is true
for unexpected events or changes in expectations,
routine, or environment. Individuals with AS experi

ence high levels of emotional stress and anxiety

under these circumstances, which can lead to behav

ioral outbursts, then to depression and lowered self

esteem (Adreon & Stella, 2001). This poor emotional
control leads teachers to view AS students as ticking
time bombs that might explode at any moment.

situation akin to punishing a blind

child for clumsiness.

Middle

spective of other people and frequently do not know

how to engage in the "give and take" of either con
versations or relationships. They tend either to
rebuff social contacts through inattention or domi
nate them by adherence to a topic of particular
interest (Adreon & Stella, 2001). This "topic" is

Implications

for the Middle

School

Years

Whereas

social, emotional, and behavioral problems

usually begin to manifest as soon as an AS child is
enrolled in school, these issues become truly critical
at the middle and high school level. During the teen
years, there is a drastic increase in social demands
and requirements for conformity from both teachers
and peers. Peer effects on adolescent adjustment (a
broad psychosocial
construct reflecting sociability,
anxiety, hostility, depression, and self-esteem;
Buhrmester, 1990) peak during the middle school

years (Buhrmester, 1990; Steinberg, 1996). Other

students, who recognize but fail to understand the
glaring social differences displayed by an AS individ
ual, are likely to exclude, tease, and bully AS teens.
There is also a high likelihood that teachers will mis
understand the AS student. Problems related to the

disability are frequently attributed to stubbornness,

(Adreon
opposition, defiance, or willful disobedience
& Stella, 2001). This leads to the mistaken imple
mentation of a punishment approach, which merely
causes problems to repeat and accelerate.
Because of this negative cycle, providing AS stu

dents with appropriate social support is crucial,

particularly during the teen years. These individuals
are at significant risk for serious behavioral outbursts
or emotional breakdowns. The cost of failing to

2004

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support them is quite high, including disrupted

classrooms, stressed-out teachers, and AS students
who are suspended from school or even subjected
But how can adequate
psychiatric hospitalization.
support
outstrip
average
address
number

to

be provided? The needs of these students far

the social resources currently available in
schools. The most common method used to
their social needs is to provide a certain
of minutes per week with either a speech

therapist, a guidance counselor, or a social worker.

These sessions typically occur only once or twice per
week, for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, individually or
with one or two other students. This method dis
rupts students' schedules, requiring them to leave
other classes to receive services.

Furthermore, the amount of services being deliv

ered is not adequate to address the severity of the
disability. AS is "first and foremost a social disorder"
(Myles & Simpson, 2001a, p. 2). Social skills affect

every class, environment, and interaction of the

student (Wentzel & Watkins, 2002). To mitigate a
disorder this pervasive, schools need to provide
services that are extensive, comprehensive,
and
consistent. The serious deficits of AS require a new
model for delivering social support in educational
settings. This model must be flexible enough to pro
vide significantly greater levels of support to those
students facing the increased social demands of
middle and high school (Adreon & Stella, 2001).

Applying

an Alternative

Model

One small school district in Illinois appears to have

of
developed such a model, rejecting the inadequacy
the traditional "weekly consult" approach and pio
neering a different method of providing social skills

support. Administrators at Edwardsville Community

Unit School District #7 recognized the significant
social deficits of their AS population
and decided to
with
a
new
handle
to
the situation.
experiment
way
a
radical
at
Edwardsville
They implemented
change
Middle School: Social skills were given equal dignity
with other academic subjects, and were made a part
of the regular school day. The AS students at the
school were no longer required to attend PE, a class
that had been one of the most stressful and prob
lematic of the day (Adreon & Stella, 2001). Instead,
PE was replaced with a class devoted to social skills.
This class met five days a week, for a full class peri
od, and lasted the entire academic year.
The class was team-taught by two speech thera
pists and a school social worker, and consisted of

10 students, all male. The students had diagnoses of

AS or demonstrated similar social skills deficits. As
was the case in a study of AS middle school stu
dents, the class members could be described as
"silly," "rude," or "very inappropriate":
Laughing

too

hard

at jokes,

comments,
inappropriate
hurtful things,
or behaving
than expected
were some

out

blurting

socially

saying
unintentionally
in ways far less mature

of the examples
of social
and teachers.
A recur
given
by parents
was the children's
to under
ring theme
inability
stand
the depth
and meaning
of the emotional
difficulties

of others.

The

expression
emotions

in a formalized

behaviors

described.

children

could

identify
could
not react
setting
to these expressed
in spontaneous,
emotions
real life
situations.
This was felt to precipitate
of the
many

The serious

(Church

but

et al.,

2000,

p. 16)

deficits of AS require

a new

and

flexible model for delivering social support.

All of the students in the class had experienced
serious difficulties with teachers and peers as a result
of their poor social skills. Each of them exhibited, to

varying degrees, the social deficits of AS, and all of

them had experienced the traditional approach of
punishment with disastrous results.
The teachers of the class responded to these stu
dents' needs by developing a wide-ranging curriculum,
drawn from many well respected sources and
For example, they frequently used
techniques.

cartooning of one form or another. In this approach,

students and teachers develop cartoons or comic
strips about social interactions. Speech and thought
bubbles can be used to display the discrepancy
between what characters are saying versus what
they are thinking. Different colors can also be used
in preparing the drawings, to illustrate various
emotional states of the characters. This technique
has been shown to allow students to visualize and
dissect relevant social situations and aid them
in taking the perspective of others (Myles &
Simpson, 2001a).
The teachers also used the SOCCSS

(Situation,

Choices, Strategies,
Options, Consequences,
Simulation) strategy. This technique is a variant of
traditional decision-making
Here, the
approaches.
teacher helps the student identify the specifics of
a problem social situation, generate options for

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September

2004

of
handling the situation, analyze the consequences
each option, and select the option that provides the
best solution. The teacher and student then develop
the option. The teacher
a strategy for implementing
assists the student in some form of role play, allow

ing for practice of the chosen technique (Myles &

Simpson, 2001a). The first author's direct observa
tions, as well as teachers' observations reported to
the first author, suggest this strategy was particularly

effective in helping students from the class handle

teasing or other negative attention from peers.
Specifically, some students displayed improved
coping when teased, as well as increased tendency to
access available adult assistance in an appropriate

manner (e.g., relatively calmly seeking out the adult

rather than crying or becoming aggressive on the
school playground).

The hidden curriculum

One area of significant focus for the social skills class
was the hidden curriculum. This phrase refers to the
dos and don'ts of everyday life that are not taught
directly, but instead absorbed indirectly from our
culture and environment (Myles & Simpson, 2001b,
p. 280). The hidden curriculum changes with each

setting and governs such things as dress code, modes

of address, language, and behavior in a given situa
tion (Myles & Simpson, 2001b). Most people never
have to think about the hidden curriculum, for
absorbing and conforming to it are almost as
instinctive for them as breathing. Anyone who does

not automatically conform is viewed as strange, lack

ing in common sense, or even dangerous. But for
those with AS, the hidden curriculum is anything
but instinctiveit represents a field of potential
landmines for them to trip over. Why is it acceptable

to curse around your peers outside the classroom,

but not in the presence of a teacher? Why should
you not tell your teacher that her breath smells bad
if it is true? Why should you avoid the table in the
cafeteria where the really tough, older boys sit? Why
is it inappropriate to yell at a teacher if she is yelling
at you? With so many potential mistakes to make, it
is no wonder those with AS spend most of their time
at school

in a highly stressed state (Myles &

Simpson, 2001b).
The hidden curriculum is so comprehensive
and
variable that it can never be completely explained to
a student with AS. However, it is possible to teach
important rules relating to school, teachers, and
peers, thereby helping the student survive and even
prosper. Specifically, AS students need to know

Middle

School

Journal

September

things such as "(a) teacher expectations, (b) teacher

pleasing behaviors, (c) students to interact with and
those to stay away from, and (d) behaviors that
attract both positive and negative attention" (Myles
& Simpson, 2001b, p. 280). These hidden curriculum

items must be systematically presented to individuals

with AS, using a process of direct teaching combined
with interpretive assistance. The recommended
sequence of instruction includes explaining the

rationale for the concept, presenting information

about it, modeling the concept, verifying that the
student understands, evaluating the student's mastery,
and then attempting to generalize the concept
(Myles & Simpson, 2001b). But this instruction is
not enough. Even after a skill is acquired, social situ
ations will occur where the student will need assis
tance interpreting events. This is where techniques
such as cartooning and SOCCSS can be effective
(Myles & Simpson, 2001b). The Edwardsville social
skills class provided both the direct instruction and
the interpretive assistance students needed to become

more competent at handling the hidden curriculum.

During one session of the class, for example, the
students discussed the upcoming school "Fling," an
evening of games, sports, and dancing. This highly
social event was very attractive to the students, but
their teachers understood it was also replete with

hidden curriculum dangers. The class, therefore,

examined the differences between fast and slow
dances and how and when you might do either one.
They also minutely dissected the art of asking a girl
to dance, never an easy subject for teenage boys, and
discussed appropriate behavior towards a dance part
ner. Requirements of polite attention during the
sporting events, patience while waiting in line for

refreshments, and graceful turn-taking and competi

tion when playing games were all carefully reviewed.
This extensive preparation of AS students for a social
situation helped to ensure the evening was fun and
enjoyable, instead of yet another in a string of disas
trous social events. The first author directly observed
some of these AS students at this school event. They

behaved

appropriately, expressed that they enjoyed

themselves, and required no adult intervention from
teachers or chaperones.
During another class session, the topic was under
The
standing teachers' nonverbal communication.
students practiced decoding certain looks and ges

to the classroom but frequently

to those with AS. For example,
incomprehensible
they discussed how teachers sometimes stop talking
in mid sentence and stare at a particular student in
tures common

2004

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here is that the

silence. The message communicated
student in question should immediately stop some
activity, as the teacher apparently finds it disruptive,
It is not, as some of the
distracting, or inappropriate.
AS students thought, a time when the student
should start talking about the lesson or ask the
teacher why she has stopped. The students were
taught that handling this scenario successfully
with the teacher's
requires silent compliance
nonverbal message and that any other response
might escalate

the situation.

Implications for Effectiveness

and Administration
Can a program like the one in Edwardsville cure all
of the social skills deficits of its AS students? That
goal is beyond the reach of any school services,
unfortunately. However, significant gains can be
made. Based on direct observations by the first
author and these students' teachers, it appears the

students in the class became more aware of their

social environment. They began to demonstrate
increased self-monitoring and sensitivity to social

demands. They also developed increased ability to

understand the perspective of other people and to
consider this perspective during social interaction.
These gains in social functioning are expected to
provide benefits with respect to these students'

academic performance generally, as classes through

out the curriculum present demands on students'
social interaction skills, self-regulation, and so forth.
For instance, to the extent improved social function
ing facilitates these students' peer interactions in

collaborative learning activities, research suggests

they should show more engagement in classroom
tasks, improved problem-solving
skills, and better
of
academic
material
(Wentzel &
comprehension
assessment
of the
Watkins, 2002). Follow-up
Edwardsville AS students' academic performance
is needed to verify this effect.
Besides improving social skills and behavior, the
class also provided another important benefit. The
students started to form friendships among them
selves. For some of them, this marked the first real,

reciprocal friendships of their lives. Class members

discovered the joys of having someone to hang out
with in the lunchroom, invite to a birthday party, or
talk with about video games. This marked an
improvement in the students' quality of life, and
should help with the issues of depression and poor
self-esteem that commonly plague AS students who

struggle with adjustment. Having friends also bodes

well for these students' middle school socialization
and performance, as research has established that
reciprocal dyadic friendships, peer acceptance, social
group membership, and perceived social support in
middle school

are associated with better academic

and higher student motivation to

performance
achieve academic

goals (Wentzel, 1998; Wentzel &

Wentzel
& Watkins, 2002).
1997;
Caldwell,
this
social
skills
class would seem to be a
Starting
venture
for
such
a
small
school district. Many
risky
other districts would probably have rejected the idea

immediately, citing the ever-present financial woes

of all educational
systems. But on closer examina
this
new
tion,
way to deliver support services is

The students selected for the

actually economical.
class had Individual Education Plans (IEPs) requiring
between 80 and 120 contact minutes per week with
either the school social worker or a speech therapist.
Using the lower figure for illustration, this resulted
in a commitment of at least 800 minutes of staff
time per week for only 10 students. In contrast, the

social skills class involved a commitment of two staff

members, on average, for 50 minutes per day, or a
total of only 500 minutes per week. The district
saved money by freeing up at least 300 minutes of

weekly staff time, while simultaneously

increasing
student service to 250 minutes per week.

For those
represents

with AS, the hidden

a field of potential

curriculum
landmines.

Thus, the anecdotal evidence to date suggests the

Edwardsville model effectively, efficiently, and eco
nomically addressed the social deficits of students
with AS. It provides a vision of how schools can use
readily available resources to appropriately and com

of students at risk
prehensively support a population
for failure, depression, and despair. We note, however,
that the rapid way in which this program was imple
mented did not allow for establishing rigorous
numerical effectiveness measures, pre-testing and
post-testing, and so forth. We do not have on hand
quantified effectiveness data. Thus, our conclusions
should be tested in the future by applying quantified
performance metrics to the model to measure pre
cisely how much improvement occurs in classroom
behavior, academic performance, school attendance,
and other outcomes. We have reason to anticipate a

Middle

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September

2004

measurable link between these important outcomes

and any application of the Edwardsville approach,
and not solely as a result of the research previously
cited. Researchers have also recently reported salu
tary effects of a social skills intervention on the
skills and collaborative learning
problem-solving
task engagement of boys with ADHD (Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), a disability with
some features in common with AS (Wentzel &

Watkins, 2002).
Given a measurable benefit of the approach we
have described, the next logical step for Edwardsville
would be to expand the social skills class to the high
school level. The district's older AS students still
receive services under the "weekly consult" model,
and this is proving insufficient for the overwhelm
ing social demands these disabled teens face. Given

of the middle school program, this

may soon occur. But what about other
expansion
districts? Will they continue to provide inefficient
services out of habit or inertia? Will
and inadequate
they close their eyes to the serious social deficits
created by AS, taking refuge in traditional notions of
punishment for behavior that does not fit the
accepted norm? Perhaps not, when such a reason
able alternative is available to them. The Edwards
ville district has provided a clear example of "best
the success

practices" for supporting students with AS, and

other districts may follow. If significant numbers of
AS students are thereby given access to adequate
social support, there should be a related improve
ment in the outlook for their future. Sufficient
services provided in these early years can lead to
AS adults who are reasonably well-adjusted and
productive and who have access to rewarding social
relationships (Klin & Volkmar, 2000).
Of course, the middle school students did not
realize the importance of their involvement in the

Edwardsville program. To them, it was just another

class with homework and tests, but also with some
rather unusual activities. During one class session,
the students were enjoying a snack while practicing
both table manners and meal time conversational
skills. "I like this class," one of them confided, after
carefully swallowing a large bite. "I've got new
friends, and we get candy!"

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