A View of the Gifted Child with Asperger Syndrome Through the Lens of Positive Psychology

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A View of the Gifted Child with Asperger Syndrome
Through the Lens of Positive Psychology

• The University of Iowa
• Belin-Blank Center
• Advanced Leadership Institute on the
• Twice-Exceptional Child
• June 26, 2003
• Iowa City

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Goals

• Describe Asperger Syndrome
• Relative to Learning Disorders
• Relative to Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Relative to Giftedness
• Define Positive Psychology
• Discuss The Belin-Blank Study of
  Twice-exceptional Students
• Portray Two Case Studies
• Sandy
• Koby
• Propose a Role for a positive psychology
  perspective in
• Understanding the unique academic needs of gifted
  children with Asperger syndrome
• Formulating recommendations for educators and
  parents

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Asperger Syndrome

• 1943 1944 1993 1994
• Researcher/Clinician/Educator/Family
• High-functioning Autism
• High-functioning PDD
• Service void for more able children with social
  disabilities

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Learning Disabilities

• Basic Phonological Processing Disorder
• Strengths reading comprehension, math, science
• Social emotional/ adaptation
• Academic Deficits decoding, spelling,
  calculation, memory, writing

• Nonverbal Learning Disabilities
• (Right hemisphere dysfunction)
• Strengths spelling, decoding, verbatim memory
• Academic Deficits Reading Comprehension,
  Mathematics, Science
• Social emotional adaptation to novelty, social
  competence, emotional stability, activity level

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Are Nonverbal Learning Disabilities the same as
Asperger Syndrome?

• Nonverbal Learning Disabilities
• (Right hemisphere dysfunction)
• Strengths spelling, decoding, verbatim memory
• Academic Deficits Reading Comprehension,
  Mathematics, Science
• Social emotional deficits adaptation to
  novelty, social competence, emotional stability,
  activity level

• Asperger
• Strength early and easy language acquisition,
  verbose, excellent rote memory
• Deficits
• Visual-spatial abilities
• Social interactions
• Language development
• _____________________
• Theory of Mind -- empathy
• Quantity vs. Quality
• (The jury is still out)

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What is the relationship between Asperger
Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and PDD-NOS

• DSM-IV
• PDD-NOS 8 lines
• AS 2 pages
• ASD 5 ½ pages

• Is it helpful to continue to regard the
  impairments represented by these disorders as a
  continuum?
• Socialization
• Communication
• Play
• Cognitive ability
• Consider different developmental pathways, e.g.,
  speech, interests, socialization

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Positive Psychology

• What would happen if we studied what is right
  with people?
• Donald Clifton
• What are the complementary characteristics of
  the gifted child who is diagnosed with Asperger
  Syndrome

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The Current B-BC Study

• Long-term goal
• To improve the understanding of gifted students
  who are also diagnosed with one (or more) of the
  following
• Learning Disorders
• ADHD
• Psychiatric

• Immediate Activities of the Study
• Registry
• Interview/Survey (discern patterns among the
  interactions between families and institutions)
• Future
• Recommendations
• Intervention

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The purpose of the registry

• Network for educators and families of
  twice-exceptional children
• Contribute to current data regarding prevalence
• Provide resources/ support for educators and
  parents

• Clearinghouse for university-based research
  studies
• Clearinghouse for dissemination of information
• Clearinghouse for dissemination of
  program-development

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The purpose of the survey

• Discern patterns among the interactions between
  families and systems, e.g., education, medical
• Family background and demographics
• Developmental history of student
• Student characteristics
• Educational experiences
• Non-educational experiences, e.g., medical,
  psychological, community-based

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Phase I of the Study

• Anecdotal information indicated interest and
  demand for contact concerning students with a
  diagnosis of
• High-functioning Autism
• Asperger Syndrome
• PDD-NOS
• Non-verbal learning disorder
• Hyperlexia

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What have we learned about students with these
diagnoses?

• Total 46
• Number of interviews completed 17
• (14 boys 3 girls) Ages 3-18
• Number of participants scheduled 29
• Participants come from Illinois, Iowa (7/17),
  Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska,
  Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington

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What we have learned (continued)

• General Trends
• Frequently, the student has a sibling(s) in
  gifted education programs
• Birth order seems to be varied
• Talent areas for girls and boys all
  academics, science, math, reading
• Gifted Programming has not been a part of their
  education. If they are in gifted education, it
  is through parent or individual teacher advocacy.

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How do the characteristics of Giftedness and
Asperger Syndrome Compare

• Gifted Asperger Syndrome
• Memory Excellent memory and Excellent rote
  relatively comprehension poor comprehension
• Interest Highly focused may Highly focused but
• affect social interactions topic may not be
  academically
• If not challenged, may be off-task relevant
• Vocabulary Usually High Usually high, but may
  be specific to
• 
  
  
  interest area
• Organization Broad interests Processing
  deficits may affect organization may affect
  organization
• Social May have less need for lots of
  friends Social isolation due to lack of social
  skills
• Flexibility Perfectionism, social justice,
  fairness Routines and rules may interfere
• Coordination Normal range of variability Motor
  difficulties

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Giftedness and Asperger Syndrome

• Excellent rote memory AND advanced comprehension
• Social difficulties are confounded by lack of
  access to intellectual peers and poor social
  skills
• Rigidity and inflexibility due to comfort of
  routine and high personal expectations
• Intensity and volume of interest overwhelm poor
  organizational skills
• Lack of challenge intensifies problems associated
  with attention and organization
• Excellent vocabulary combined with social
  deficits creates a situation that is not
  appreciated by peers or teachers
• Motor coordination difficulties may be affected
  by age

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Sandys Story

• Sandys world
• Giftedness? Learning Disability? Both? Neither?
• Assessing Sandys Strengths and Weaknesses
• Parent Response to Twice-Exceptionality
• School Response to Twice-Exceptionality
• Sandys Success Story

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Koby (I wish I had known then, what I know now.)

• Timeline
• 1981
• 1986
• 1987
• 1990 (Spring, 1991)

• Diagnosis/Intervention
• Birth year nothing significant until end of
  Kindergarten
• Kindergarten nothing significant until end of
  school year
• Parent requests evaluation at beginning of grade
  2
• Additional testing Koby is now far enough
  below grade level that he qualifies for resource.

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Koby in Junior High

• Timeline
• 1993
• 1994
• Summer
• 1995
• 1999

• Diagnosis/Intervention
• Enters Junior High problem behaviors increase
  difficulties socially, depressed, medicated for
  ADD, admitted through ER to hospital for
  nonresponsiveness
• 540 on SAT-M (68th percentile and 94th
  percentile)
• In grade 8, school and family consider BD or SCI
  setting
• Mother contacts B-BC moved back from algebra to
  pre-algebra
• New diagnosis Aspergers syndrome
  (high-functioning autism with secondary LD)
• Graduates from high school attends community
  college sporadically continues to work on
  establishing independence

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What can we learn from Kobys experiences?

• Extensive Documentation of learning problems
• Many evaluations
• Educational settings focus on problems
• Early years of missed diagnosis

• Little to no acknowledgement of giftedness
• Communication between systems weak and not
  respected
• Medical
• Above-level testing
• Parents took responsibility for establishing
  learning environment that was positive, e.g.,
  individual tutoring
• High school was special-education focused

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Summary

• Relationship between
• severity of diagnosis and services related to the
  diagnosis,
• the age at which students disability is
  diagnosed, and
• the age and services for the dual diagnosis
  multiple diagnoses, i.e., secondary
• Programming must be tailored to the individual
  needs of the child

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Conclusions

• Positive Psychology can play a significant role
• Framing our attitude
• Capitalize strengths
• Manage weaknesses
• Structuring our recommendations

• Listen to the parent
• Systematic opportunities to discover and develop
  talent area
• Individualized programming based upon diagnostic
  testing
• Opportunity to work with a mentor
• Formal and informal opportunities to work with
  intellectual peers
• Recognition of cognitive potency as a mitigating
  factor in addressing the social disability and
  its impact on the students life
• Listen to the parent
• Communicate with parents