Asperger's Syndrome in the Classroom

Those with Asperger's Syndrome often have trouble in the classroom. Their extreme focus is a strength as well as a weakness. For example, they could know everything there is to know about physical sciences, but is struggling in math, and often times they are unwilling to "broaden their horizons." Another one of their strengths, and also a weakness, is their excellent capacity for memorization. This could possibly make a topic such as Language Arts difficult for students with Asperger's. Even though they know exactly what is going on in the book, they are often unable to explain why making higher level reading books, such as Les Miserables, difficult. Those with Asperger's Syndrome desire a constant routine, which could make impromptu schedule changes such as a fire drill, field trip, or pop quiz difficult for them. Without warning the student, these changes could result in a panic attack. They also do not like participating in team sports because there are just too many things going on at the same time making it hard for them to process what is going on. Being strict rule followers, they also sometimes feel the need to cite every infraction made, especially during gym class when playing a game or other classroom situations.