Asperger's in Special Ed.

Spy_on_the_Inside said:

Maybe instead of hitting or throwing, she does claw at people in an attempt to get people's attention. If she had problems coping with anxiety, and there's no quiet room available, she does retreat to the corner and start rocking and moaning, sometimes screaming.

Click to expand...

Clawing and regressive behavior like rocking and moaning strikes me as more autistic than anything else.

When I have anxiety attacks, I'm more likely to hit or throw, but my larger underlying compulsion which I'm resisting is to bang my head against the wall. As a child, I would have seen being sent to a quiet room as a punishment and felt like it was unfair because it was somebody else who did this to me. No, it's not logical or reasonable, but that's how it worked for me.

True story: one time I had an episode like this and a teacher sent me into the hallway. I was carrying an umbrella and I decided to swing it at a bank of lockers. Little did I know that the teacher had followed me out and I almost caught him in the head. He tried to have me expelled.

Spy_on_the_Inside said:

That's something good to consider. This might get me in trouble for making the comparisons, but Cesar Milan always says that people often have trouble telling the difference between true aggression and play or nervousness that simply hurts.

Maybe instead of hitting or throwing, she does claw at people in an attempt to get people's attention. If she had problems coping with anxiety, and there's no quiet room available, she does retreat to the corner and start rocking and moaning, sometimes screaming.

Click to expand...

Exactly. There's also the problem Aspies have with being touched - if she's in a state like that, someone putting their arm around her to reassure her, or grabbing her arm to get her attention or pull her away from something, might cause her to strike out at someone - again, not in anger so much as in frustration and panic, but it can be interpreted as temper.

Locke said:

Clawing and regressive behavior like rocking and moaning strikes me as more autistic than anything else.

Click to expand...

It's very common in Aspie girls because of how fearful we tend to be. I had a lot of problems at school because nobody knew how to deal with me and thought I just had discipline problems. Teachers would ignore me when I would start to feel panicked and try to get their attention, or would grab me and force me back in my seat when I would jump up and try to run out of the room. Clawing at them was the only way I could get them to listen to me and see that I was genuinely fearful. I clawed at my poor parents a lot as a kid, too, for the same reasons. As I got older, I internalized it and started clawing at myself when I was anxious. I have loads of scars from that.

Rocking, spinning, banging my head against a wall... did all of that. In an effort to look less weird, I got addicted to swing sets as a kid. I could spend HOURS on a swing, which gave me the same mind-numbing benefits as rocking but also good exercise and fresh air. Of course, once I hit my teens that started to look weird, too.

Faye-M said:

I got addicted to swing sets as a kid. I could spend HOURS on a swing, which gave me the same mind-numbing benefits as rocking but also good exercise and fresh air. Of course, once I hit my teens that started to look weird, too.

Click to expand...

I totally did that, as far away from other kids as possible.

Hi Spy,

As in the other thread post you put up today, I'm going to suggest you talk to some of the folks working in this field as well - since you are basing your story in Minnesota, perhaps talk to the Innovative Special Education Services group? www.isesmn.org

They work with about 80 or so schools around the state, providing special ed director services to schools (including online high schools, related to your other question). They might also have some suggested reading for you.

Good luck.

Aspergers kids also often have trouble with executive functions - organizational skills and the like. Lack of these skills impacts academics because the child loses needed papers, never notes homework, can't keep notes in order, etc. (My own daughter is PDD-Nos, but I have friends with Aspergers kids.)

They can be very high functioning from an academic perspective once these skills are learned. Some have good enough memories to do well without the organizational skills, but not as well as they would. They are often low functioning socially.

Those who do not have behavioral issues may see the resource room teacher to help with organization and related issues. Usually this is one or two periods (high school days around here don't run in hours) a day. Many schools focus only on what is needed to have the student be successful academically. Others will add a social skills group or counseling along with academic skills.

Kids who need more support may attend classes in an integrated or inclusive model. They may have notes given to them. The modifications allowed by your state should be listed on the state education website somewhere. Class models are state specific. Sometimes they even vary by district in a region. You'll have to look at the local schools to see what supports are offered.