The first time Eric’s tutor met him on the adult basic numeracy course, he was very impressed with his skill in calculation and wondered why he was enrolled on the course. As the week’s went by, he recognised that Eric was a bit of a loner and his behaviour didn’t encourage others to interact with him. Eric later disclosed to the tutor that he has Asperger’s Syndrome but didn’t want the others in his class to know.

Fortunately, since his nephew had the condition, the tutor was alert to other signs of autism displayed by Eric and knew how best to support him in class. At the end of the first term, the tutor was due to move to a different part of the country to take up a new job, but he was keen to leave good notes for his successor to help them meet Eric’s needs. These are the notes he left:

Eric has Asperger's syndrome and has particular difficulties with social interaction and with abstract concepts. He finds it difficult to understand the social and cultural 'rules' that most people take for granted, and sometimes misinterprets other people’s intentions, behaviour and conversations. He finds it very difficult to make appropriate small talk and can never seem to judge when to pause in a conversation to allow the other person to speak. Eric also finds it impossible to ‘read’ unspoken messages given through body language, facial expression, or tone of voice that other people pick up subconsciously.  Because of this, he sometimes makes remarks which are inappropriate to the context of the conversation, though it makes perfect sense to him. 

Eric uses language literally. He finds it difficult to understand metaphors, jokes or abstract concepts. He finds comfort in fixed routines and finds even small changes to routine disruptive and distressing.  He needs to sit in the same seat for each session and gets very upset if someone else sits in ‘his’ seat.

Recommendations:

• Ensure you let Eric know that he should report to you if he has any concerns.
• Do have a chat with Eric about trains, you will be amazed at the extent of his knowledge and you can capitalise on this when devising learning activities for him.
• Agree with the whole group that Eric is able to have the same seat for every session. If necessary, arrange with Eric to turn up five minutes early to ensure that he get ‘his’ seat.
• Use carefully worded questions and be very precise about what you mean as Eric finds abstract language and metaphors difficult.
• Be careful with banter in the class, especially sarcasm; Eric is confused by these as he takes things literally.
• Provide extra time after group sessions to check that Eric has understood the content and any homework that has been set.
• Eric finds group work difficult; do not force him to participate; give him some alternative activities.
• Establish and write down a routine for Eric.
• Let Eric know in advance of any change to routine such as a room change.
• Do let Eric know, in clear and simple terms,  if his behaviour is not acceptable; give him explicit directions about what he should be doing.
• Don’t be afraid of trying things out that don’t work; this is all right as long as you and Eric work through the issues and decide on what works best for him.

Two people with the same disability can experience different effects. Furthermore, the effects of one disability can be similar to the effects of another (for example, deaf learners and learners who have autistic spectrum disorders may both experience difficulties in using abstract language).