Can teachers who have AS teach children on the ASD?

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I guess the question is pretty self-explanatory.

I haven't got a formal diagnosis; I have a lot of AS traits, but because I am a 20 year old female, I feel like I have learnt to deal with a lot of symptoms that I used to have and therefore wouldn't have enough symptoms to be diagnosed. I also think that I want to be a teacher, but I really like working with children with Special Needs, and if I got a diagnosis, I'm not sure if I'd be able to.

Then dont bother with diagnosis.

Personally, i rather think the opposite but I wont be the person to give you the job.

I regard aspergers like depression, varying degree's of severity, a tendency to recur, some degree of genetic basis but possible to address. My view is not common though and as such once you get labelled its your work records.

I'd skip it. I cant see your gain here.

Both diagnosis and the definition are not very good in my opinion.

Thank you for replying.

I may have learnt to cope with some things that I struggled with in the past, however I still have some problems, which might be helped by getting a diagnosis. Despite mentioning it, this isn't however the main point of my post.

I simply wondered if teachers that have AS were allowed to work with children that are on the Autistic Spectrum.

I asked 1 person and their reply was "Would someone who has anger management issues be able to teach adults with anger problems? I don't think that will work." On the other hand, another person said "Maybe if you have AS, you might be able to relate to children with AS because of it. This might make you a better teacher. Maybe you'd be a better teacher of children on the AS than mainstream."

I would actually be very happy if my son could have a teacher with AS. I do not know that NT people can ever truly get him. I mean, his team is really great and I value how hard they work with him and I think they do their best to "get" him. But I don't think they do.

There are psychologists and social workers with AS who have AS patients. I think anyone who would equate this to someone with anger management issues teaching anger management is probably pretty wholly uninformed about autism to begin with. Not to mention the fact that many AS parents are awesome with their ASD kids, and parenting involves a lot of teaching.

If things like noisy environments and people not following the rules are not things that you have difficulty with, if you love to work with children, and if you get your degree, then why wouldn't/shouldn't you be able to teach?

One thing to remember: you are under no obligation to disclose any diagnosis whatsoever before you are hired. You don't even need to disclose anything afterward. The only time you need to disclose is if you require some kind of accommodation. So there would be no reason to tell any SD that you have AS. If you are the most qualified candidate for the position, then you get hired. And if you are most qualified and they don't hire you because you have AS, it's legally called discrimination. I don't know if teacher applications ask if you have any mental health issues, but if they do, I would be able to answer the question comfortably with a no. Aspergers is not a mental health issue. It is a neurological one.

What kind of help do you think you could get with an official diagnosis?

EDIT to add: I just noted you were in the UK. I don't know what your disability laws are like, so I am not certain my "one thing to remember" paragraph applies.

That person who told you that is not a great thinker.

Addiction experts are often former addicts and I myself wrote a book on Aspergers for people with Aspergers. It takes one to know one and insider knowledge is helpful.

I agree with your logic. I'm, sure there are hundreds of aspie teachers with no diag.

I think it would be great to have someone with AS be a special education teacher, especially since you have experience with AS. You have also learned coping skills and life skills that are essential to teach. Someone on the spectrum as a teacher is the ultimate gift you can give anyone on the spectrum. The understanding, patience, and appreciation for social skills that aspies have are far different from an NT and that is very advantageous for you. I definitely would not mind having you as my teacher.

Remember, nothing is preventing you from being a special ed teacher. By law, everyone is created equally and should be treated equally. If you are dismissed or considered under qualified because you have AS, this is by law, illegal.

On the other hand, can you handle the sensory integration as a teacher. There will be loud noises, strong odours, etc. If you can, then nothing is holding you back.

Thank you very much for a detailed reply!

Interesting! I am glad to hear that you'd feel happy if your son with AS was taught by a teacher with AS.

I know that work places aren't allowed to discriminate, but surely if they knew that I had AS (provided I was diagnosed), they could covertly (rather than overty) discriminate against me and make up another reason for me not getting the job? Once they hve given me a reason, I won't know whether it's truthful or not; I'm not telepathic unfortunately.

I'm fine in general with loud noises, but I can't stand repetitive noises like ringing phones, car indicators, ticking clocks etc. (I have other sensory issues). I can't stand the feeling of very soft things, like chalk (in Art I would have to wrap it up in tissue), jelly babies, mugs that are often made from frosted glass and freshly printed paper. I also don't like human contact, except for my boyfriend and my gran. I don't like the feel of some materials - it doesn't matter how nice it looks, if it feels 'wrong' then I cannot wear it - I cut out ll of my labels in my clothes. I remember as a child I'd often have to wrap my pillow in a silk dressing gown because the pillow case felt horrible. Likewise, if the bedsheet had too many 'bobbles' I had to change it. As you know from another post, somethings don't taste the way that they are meant to.

I don't in general feel that the above sensory difficulties will affect my ability to teach properly.

If I had an official diagnosis, I think that I could have help with consoling children/showing emotion. I have learnt to read most facial expressions - I score well on the tests that show a pair of eyes and you have to choose from multiple answers what emotion the person is feeling, however without the answers, I can only limit the emotions to positive (happy etc), negative (sad, angry etc) and romantic. I don't feel that this is too important though as you see more than a person's eyes (a smile helps), an I've observed so many people that I've leanrt quite a lot. Anyway, back to the point that I was making... When I have volunteered in a school, a child has started crying and I have absolutely no idea what to do! I just go to the nearest teacher and say that a child is crying, can you help them please? They go over to them and help them, however they also tell me that when I am a teacher, I will have to.

Also, if my face appears expressionless, people might find me unapproachable, which isn't very good for a teacher, so maybe they'll be able to help?

Moreover, I'm not very good at multi-tasking, and teachers need to do a lot of that.

I've improved a lot with spontenaity, however sometimes a teacher might just ask me at really short notice to cover for a class - I think that I'd find that hard to deal with at first. Maybe if they knew I had AS (providing I do), they'd be more understanding?

The reason that I want to work with children with special needs is that I feel a connection with them. I can't explain why, but I seem to be able to understand them more than mainstream children, and can almost form a bond with them. (I don't know if that's normal). For example, when I was 6, there was a 2 year old low functioning Autistic boy at my church who wouldn't listen to/communicate with anyone; even his parents. They were trying to get him to move out from under some chairs (I can't remember why), but he wouldn't listen. I went over to him, asked him to come with me and he did. From that day onwards, I used to go round to his house and help babysit him while mu mum talked to his mum. I was his only friend. I was also told by his mum that I wished that all children were like him, which apparently made her cry.

Thank you for your positive replies!

I am thinking that it might actually be advantageous being a special needs teacher, whether I am diagnosed or not; I still have the traits, and have learned to cope. Likewise, I might be more likely to understand a child on the ASD more than a NT teacher might.

Thanks again .

I am a teacher and I have AS. I teach in a regular ed high school classroom in a private school. I have found that the kids are really willing to accept my quirks (not putting faces and names together until halfway through the semester, being a little spacey), as long as you are fair and supportive towards them. I have a few students on the spectrum as well and several others who struggle for various reasons, and I have received glowing letters from parents stating how wonderful it is to have a teacher who "gets it". I always feel warmly toward the kids who other adults in the buoilding might not care to develop a relationship with. I do, however, struggle with sensory issues (schools are sensory hell, as I'm sure you remember from when you were there). I also struggle with classroom management, as the kids tend to take advantage of my trusting nature and my inability to notice other things while I am lecturing. With that said, Aspies make excellent special ed teachers. SPED teachers only have to teach a few kids at a time, not a full classroom of them, and tend to team teach with a regular ed teacher a lot of the time, who can help fill in some of the social gaps while you concentrate on working with the student in their class you are assigned to.

I'm in the same sort of situation as you...going to be graduating with a teaching degree next year. Like you, I have no official diagnosis.

The way I see it, it can work both ways - I think there may be some things that are so difficult for us, that we won't be able to help them with. But, like what was already mentioned, we may be able to relate with them and help them with certain other things as a result. For one of my early placements in a school a year and a half ago, I spent some time working with a young child who has autism (side note: this was going on at the same time I was just starting to learn about Asperger's myself...this placement started, literally, the week after I first began to wonder if I might have it). While I was there, even though I was just learning about it, and was far from being as sure of it myself as I am now, I was able to connect and interact with him in a way that other adults that worked with him didn't seem to. The teacher I spent most of the time working with even remarked that I worked quite well with him, saying that me and him "seemed to be on kind of the same wavelength."

I'm still facing the same questions with myself that you're facing, so I can't really give you a definitive answer. I've spent time practice teaching, and the multi-tasking thing is most definitely an issue - it's been one of my biggest struggles, especially with all the little things you have to remember and keep track of and do. And there are times where you don't know how to respond to a situation (although, to be honest, I don't know any starting teacher who is prepared to handle every situation they face). However, I think these are all the kinds of things that can improve with time. I know I'm far better at keeping track of things, and responding to all kinds of situations then I was when I first started out.

For me, choosing not to get a diagnosis hasn't entirely been a choice - I simply haven't worked up the nerve to tell anybody yet, never mind going through the diagnosis process.

@ paris: Nice to know there are people out there that are doing this successfully. The things you mention match a lot of what I've seen - classroom management's been an issue for me in the time I've spent out in the field so far, for exactly the reasons you've mentioned. Also good to see I'm not the only one that can teach kids for a couple months and still not know all of their names.

I am a teacher with Asperger's, and I don't keep my diagnosis a secret from anyone. For me, more doors have opened up for me since I was officially diagnosed with Asperger's than before. Everyone has their own take on Asperger's in their life, but for me I am happy to be autistic. I work with a lot of children with needs, and I do quite well with them. My principal is most happy with me, and my last teacher evaluations have been excellent (with all yeses). Most of my fellow teachers know I have Asperger's. They call on me a lot to help them with computer issues and other things. I am respected in my district and I respect them. My point is---a person with Asperger's can be a successful teacher with not only mainstream students, but also students with special needs.

I'm a tutor at a school for high functioning kids on the spectrum. Most of the adults at the school know about my diagnosis, either because of being told or because of observing me and asking if I wanted accomodations.

The question here isn't, "Can you teach kids with AS?" but simply, "Can you teach?" If you are qualified to be a teacher, then go for it. Having a disability does not automatically disqualify you for anything. The only question is whether you can do the job. And you don't have to be perfect at it, especially at first; that's what internships and teaching assistant positions are for.

We dont really do internships in the UK, though i thing there are assistant positions around.

Just curious...how do they do teacher training in the UK? We have to do about 30 hours of course work (beyond our content area Bachelor's) , plus about 20 hours of classroom observations per semester, and then one semester of student teaching/internship where you basically take over full time all the duties of the classroom teacher (who isn't supposed to be in the room most of the time, except on scheduled observation days). Even after that ordeal, it's still expected that you are going to make some major goofs and not be really good at your job for a couple of years. At least that's what my department chair said. Maybe that was just to make me feel better.

@canaspie: I forgot about the organization! I have a hard time with that, too. It looks like a post-it note factory exploded on my desk.

I think so. I'm pretty sure a teacher of mine has Asperger's (http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp5092226 ... t=#5092226 and http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp5079077 ... t=#5079077) and he is the best teacher I've ever had, because he is so focused on his subject and what he teaches. I want to be a teacher, too!