I have the power to freak you out and I have the power to put you at ease. All of you posses the same power! I can make a face which causes you stress, I can offer a gesture to relax you and make you feel safe. My actions can speak louder than words. Children with Asperger's need to be taught this....otherwise, they are completely unaware!
To introduce this lesson today, I told a story about a student who years ago jumped up on desks and began to disrobe. My question to my group was, "what emotions do you think the other kids in that class were experiencing in that moment?" Responses included: laughter, shock, sadness, crying, freaked out and unsafe. I knew in the first 3 minutes of the lesson that they were getting it! I dove farther in and asked the group if they thought the other students may have had "weird thoughts" about the student on top of the desks...they all responded with a big YES!
I had each student in the group think of some behavior they had displayed this past week which might be viewed as "unexpected." They were each able to describe one with ease. When I pointed out that the kids sitting around them did raise an eyebrow over some of their behaviors....you could have heard a pin drop! They got it....they were just unaware!
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