asperger’s and groupwork skills

Published November 1, 2009 by Nancy

Is it just me, or is the phrase “good groupwork skills required” simply code for “no Asperger or ADHD kids welcome”?

I’ve seen too many special programs targeted at high IQ kids that have this written into the description.

Why is it there?

Some possible reasons:

1. The instructor plans to foist all the work onto the kids, so those kids need “good groupwork skills” to do the teacher tasks.
2. The instructor doesn’t want to deal with discipline problems. Kids with “good groupwork skills” are usually nice, well behaved kids from middle class families — ah, sit back and sip on that coffee while the li’l darlings work!
3. The instructors want a uniform demographic in the classroom so that there are no outliers, no fringes.
4. All of the above.

Am I being too unkind here? I honestly couldn’t think of anything else. What else good are “good groupwork skills”?

“Good groupwork skills” is also code for “there will be screening, and you might not get in”.

No secret here, Asperger kids don’t exactly ace screening.

Screening eliminates “undesirables.” Nobody in their right mind would pick Asperger kids. Teaching Aspies is hard. They don’t get the whole hierarchy thing. They don’t have nice manners. They talk too loud.

Screen ‘em, baby, screen ‘em.

If “good groupwork skills” means anything beyond the code, then what?

The word “good” is already subjective. It means “groupwork skills that teachers like.” It means “groupwork skills that make classrooms easy and comfortable.”

Pablum. Beige.

It also sort of means “groupthink” because the idea of conformity is right there, a creepy shadow behind the words.

But, sigh, wouldn’t it be great if “good groupwork skills” also meant “edgy, innovative, bizarre originality”? Or “thorough precision, shared among many”? Or “happily playing in the sandbox of our minds together”?

“Good groupwork skills” never includes “weird.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting down “nice.”  Nice is good. Nice is useful. Heck, custard is nice, and I like custard. But custard never brings down the house. Custard never takes the ribbon, raises the bar, dreams the impossible dream.

Besides, groupwork skills can be learned.

Yeah, and they can be taught too. Problem is, nobody ever teaches them.

Why screen out kids for something that could just be taught to them?

I wonder the same thing myself.

Here are some suggestions for making specialized programs inclusive for Asperger and ADHD kids.

1. Define who the program is for — by identifying what kids’ needs it fulfills (for example, the program provides stimulation and enrichment to high IQ kids). Don’t define it in terms of the program’s needs (for example, the program is intended for kids with good groupwork skills). Remember: programs don’t have needs, kids do. You can always change the program.

2. Devise an application/selection process that finds the kids that fit the definition. That’s all it has to do — find those kids.

3. Beware of screening processes that masquerade as application processes. Look for code. Look for subtle exclusions. Look for requirements that are more about raising the profile of the program, or creating a showcase item for the board members to brag about, than about providing specialized programming to kids who need it.

4. Put it in perspective. Teaching high achievers — the kids who get straight As — is a pleasant way to pass the day. [Think custard.] But quirky gifted and creative kids — who don’t care if they get As because they’re thinking about different things — will blow your mind. They move in planes you haven’t even imagined yet. Easy to teach, no. Ride of a lifetime, yes. Wear a seatbelt and hang on!

5. Teach groupwork skills at the beginning of the program. Teach it like a course. Give the theory, practice, essay, and exam. After that, they’ll have it.

6. Give yourself a mission. Reach out to misunderstood, lonely, anxious, bullied, and over-active kids who have no place to go. Help them feel for the first time in their lives: I belong here.

7. Remind yourself that any kids’ program instructor who has to rely on “good groupwork skills” is admitting to being a rank amateur. Or just a lazy bum.

My opinion.