www.aspie-editorial.com

That’s the question Stephen Jerger, 11, asked 15-year-old Micah Wilger during an interview at KGNU radio studios last week as part of a three-week summer program, designed for adolescents with Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition which often includes high intelligence but challenges in communicating effectively.

The Perspectives program, a cooperative effort between the Temple Grandin School, formerly the Bridge School, and the University of Colorado’s Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences department, uses radio interviews as a way to teach better communication skills.

“Some students on the autism spectrum have challenges considering what other people are thinking,” says Amy Thrasher, a clinical assistant professor at CU. She supervises several graduate students who also were involved in the three-week program.

Learning to interview is a way to help students to understand another person’s perspective, Thrasher says.

Take that question on creative writing. Earlier in the program, students had learned how to use the microphones and editing software at KGNU. Additionally, News Producer Len Houle offered instruction in how to interview. He emphasized asking open-ended questions, so as to elicit a long, interesting answer rather than a simple “yes” or “no.”

Students observed Houle interview one of the graduate students and then broke into groups to work on their own interview questions. The students picked their interview subjects, with Stephen opting to question Micah about novels he has written.

As Micah explains: “I write a short novel once a year, some fantasy, some realistic fiction. I try to do something different each year.”

Micah’s mother, Jennifer Wilger, is the Temple Grandin School’s curriculum director and co-founder. The school, named after the Colorado State University animal scientist who is on the autism spectrum herself, is designed to focus on students’ strengths, while giving them support in social interactions and other challenges. The Perspectives program was funded in part by an arm of the Scottish Rite Foundation.

As the students broke into two groups, with three students each. Thrasher and two graduate students sat down to work on questions with Stephen, Micah and another student. Stephen’s first idea — and the first question later chosen — “What is creative writing?” drew lots of encouragement. But Stephen lost interest in that question quickly, wanting to change it to “What do you use (meaning what tools) for creative writing? He answered the question himself, “You need paper and pencil.”

Read in Full(Includes Video):

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_18315700?source=rss