In search of a curriculum for children with Asperger's syndrome: Two case studies

Few public programs provide comprehensive and integrated curricula for children with Asperger's syndrome. Rather, academic interventions have emerged, often piecemeal, in an attempt to address difficulties in social skills, life skills, emotional understanding, and pragmatic language. Although each of these topics is a necessary component of a comprehensive curriculum, few districts have considered how best to look at these challenges when developing curricula for these children. This researcher used the case study approach to see how the educators, administrators, and program designers of two California programs helped children with Asperger's syndrome learn. The goal of this study was to provide general guidelines for educators and public school administrators to consider when developing or improving curricula for children on the high end of the spectrum. This study answered the following questions: (1) What pedagogical factors and considerations emerge from the review of the two programs? (2) What insights do evaluations of the selected programs provide public school districts and educators on how to develop programs to teach children with Asperger's syndrome? (3) What procedures are put in place by the selected programs to determine whether children with Asperger's syndrome are being successful in learning? The insights and conclusions reached in this study established that children on the high end of the spectrum demonstrate significant perspective taking difficulties. For most children, the development of social skills and understanding of social conventions are areas of significant challenge. A curriculum developed for children on the high end of the spectrum must address these areas and use strategies that are developmentally suitable. Appropriate supports and interventions should provide most of these children with the skills to complete normal studies and improve their mind-reading skills (i.e., anticipation). Although there are a number of resources that address mind-reading difficulties, most are still in the early stages of development. Educators and districts must find, develop, and modify curricula that teach these children how to address these cognitive challenges. This study also discussed some of the interventions being used today and some of the next steps that need to be addressed in the education of these children.