Some Scintillating Scenarios

The internet has afforded people on the spectrum an avenue of communication that is absent the restraints of face to face conversations.  Without the concerns of having to maintain eye contact and read nonverbal cues, and given enough time to formulate thought, individuals with ASD are using this medium to effectively develop their voice.  The result is a growing global ASD community with a culture of its own.

In an attempt to give you more insight into the personal struggles of the college student with ASD, I signed up on the WrongPlanet website, and posted this request on the discussion board:

I am a Learning Disability Specialist at a community college.  I am creating an online presentation designed to educate the faculty about ASD.  It will include a section of best practices for working with students with ASD in the classroom.  Since I am not ASD, I am soliciting advice from you, the experts.  Please answer any of the questions following, or one of your own:

What do you think I should include under this section?  What do you wish your instructors knew about ASD?  What ways could they accommodate you in the classroom that would be helpful to you? What tips do you have that would make them more effective teachers for you or anyone else in the class?

The resulting thread of seventeen responses was a highly illuminating anthropological peek at the thought processes and intercommunications of people on the spectrum.  If you’d like to see the entire discussion, it’s here:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt245437.html

In the next exercise, I have used some of the more relevant posts to give you practice in determining how you would accommodate a student with ASD in the classroom.