| Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) vastly affects all areas of life of those afflicted with it. The autism spectrum ranges from high-functioning to an inability to communicate with words. Children with high-functioning autism (having IQs above 75) are described as being on the autism spectrum in the DSM-5 and were previously labeled as having Asperger's Syndrome in the DSM-IV-TR. Individuals with ASD have difficulty interpreting social cues, difficulty understanding figurative language, poor executive functioning, and a lack of cognitive processing skills. Because of these difficulties, students with ASD often struggle in the school environment. Understanding the learning styles of students with high-functioning autism provides insight into the most effective strategies to be used by their teachers. This paper aims to display teachers' impressions of strategies that have the highest impact on learning in students with high-functioning autism. Regular education and special education teachers were surveyed using multiple choice questions, Likert-type statements, and an open-ended response. Teachers were asked to identify characteristics displayed by their students with high-functioning autism, and they were asked to identify strategies they found to be most effective in teaching students with high-functioning autism. Following the surveys, several interviews were conducted with elementary and secondary teachers on a voluntary basis. The interviews provided further depth in understanding of teachers' perceptions of strategies that were most effective in teaching students with autism. The goal of this study was to provide teachers with a bank of effective strategies to use when teaching students with high-functioning ASD, which can then be used to help teachers prepare their students for post-secondary schooling, employment, and independent living. |
