What are the affects of PDD-NOS (high functioning autism) in the classroom ?

I want to hear others experience with these types of children in a mainstream / inclusive classroom. What types of problenms did your run across ? Also did you find that the "normal" kids think it is unfair when special ed accomodations allow for less classroom work, calculator usage etc...What are the affects of PDD-NOS (high functioning autism) in the classroom ?
I am a special education Resource Room teacher, and had a high-functioning autistic I was supporting as he transitioned to the regular education environment.



My experience with most of the "normal" kids, for ANY of my students, are very understanding about how and why kids with special needs are treated differently, especially when the reasons are explained to them. It is the adults that are the royal pain in the tush.



Anyway...the biggest difficulty I saw was that many regular ed activities are group-based/interactive, which is very challenging and even overwhelming for an autistic, including those high-functioning and socially trained. There are so many shifting changes in such activities and discussions that it can be very confusing for them. There are also individual issues that vary from kid to kid... mine in this case also tended to believe his own thoughts were exact reality, and we had it all wrong when we disagreed with him. He would go off on tangents and insist that we come along, and would just look at us with a ****** eyebrow as we tried to steer him back. I eventually found the right language for steering purposes, but it took a bit of trial-and-error, and often it was to circuitous for the regular ed class to take the time away from their activities to do it.What are the affects of PDD-NOS (high functioning autism) in the classroom ?
Perhaps you should approach your son's case manager about creating a brief explanation about WHY your son acts the way he does to the other kids. It should be simple and to the point, and most kids will understand.

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What are the affects of PDD-NOS (high functioning autism) in the classroom ?
It's always essential to have sources cited for readers to refer to!

:-D

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I am having the same thing with my 13 year old daughter. Her old school just thought she was psycho because she broke down in the middle of class. The new school, they just think she is odd/weird. She definately picks up on the bad habits of the kids in the class.

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