 |
Main Menu |
|
|
 Home Community Members options Forums Search Web
|
|
|
|
|
News › Student with Asperger's Syndrome succeeding at Marshall
|
Education: Student with Asperger's Syndrome succeeding at Marshall
|
|
|
Posted by Sylvia on Sunday, February 22, 2004 (02:26:24)
WV Gazette 21/02/2004
By Jennifer Bundy
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Andrew Reinhardt is a Marshall University freshman who aspires to study math and physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, yet his mother is afraid to let him cross a busy street by himself.
Her fear is justified.
Although Andrew is academically ready for college -- he scored a 27 on the ACT and had a combined SAT score of 1140 -- Asperger's Syndrome makes it difficult for him to cope with daily life.
He is able to attend college with the help of a program at Marshall's Autism Training Center designed for students with autism spectrum disorders like Asperger, a neurological condition characterized by normal intelligence and language development with deficiencies in social and communication skills.
The Marshall program was founded by the family of its first student, Lowell Austin, now a sophomore. It is intended to help people like Andrew, a bright young man with big ambition who otherwise might not have attempted college.
Andrew's goal in life is to develop an engine that operates faster than the speed of light.
"I want to be the next Albert Einstein,'' the 18-year-old says with an enthusiastic smile.
He has wanted to go to college since he was in elementary school. But, as he relaxes in the center's lounge, he says, "I probably wouldn't go to college at a place that didn't have a place like this.''
The center offers Andrew counseling, a space to take tests away from distractions and help navigating the bureaucracy and social world of college.
It's working for Andrew.
After his first semester, he ended up on the Dean's list with a 3.6 GPA. He has been hired as a math tutor this spring.
Andrew in many ways is like any other freshman. It's only if you look closely do you see telltale signs of an autism spectrum disorder.
He doesn't like crowded rooms or paths.
When he goes somewhere, he is single-minded, walking quickly with his head down, body leaning forward as if into a strong wind.
He sometimes pays no attention to what's going on around him, thus his mother's fear of him crossing streets.
He forgets things, like books and pencils -- he can go through three boxes in a semester.
He doesn't like working on projects with other students.
"I'm not very good with the social thing,'' he says in a tone that implies he is simply stating an interesting fact.
Sociology was his favorite class last semester because it made "everything social concrete instead of abstract. It's my way of learning about the social world.''
Math professor John Drost says Andrew was an above average student in his precalculus class last fall.
"I think he interacts well with the other students. I'm not sure the other students get him,'' Drost said. "I think they think there is something a little different about him, but they don't know exactly what.''
Andrew's goal is to live in a dorm next year. Until then, he commutes every weekday with his mother, who also is a Marshall student, from her father's home in Kitts Hill, Ohio. On weekends they return to their own home in Beckley.
Andrew's advice to other college students with Asperger Syndrome is to ask for support.
"They have a voice,'' he says, "and they need to use it.''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by Sylvia on Sunday, February 22, 2004 (02:26:24) (1559 reads)
|
|
|
| "Education: Student with Asperger's Syndrome succeeding at Marshall" | Login/Create an Account | 0 comments |
|
|
| The comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content. |
|
|
Latest: 
New Today: 0
New Yesterday: 2
Overall: 7321
Members: 0
Visitors: 5
Total: 5
1: