Students With High Functioning Autism And Asperger s...

The process of students learning chemistry in incredibly well investigated, from how they learn and perform in the laboratory, to how they teach general chemistry as a whole, but there is something missing. There is no current research investigating how students with high-functioning autism and Asperger s syndrome learn chemistry. This is relevant due to the significant increase in students with HFA/AS that are enrolling and attending college9. A more in-depth understanding of how these students learn chemistry will benefit professors who have students with these disabilities. Autism is classified as a complex disorder which is characterized by difficulties in social interactions, verbal and nonverbal communications, as well as being associated with intellectual disabilities10. Previously, there were many subtypes of autism, ranging from childhood disintegrative disorder to pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified, but is now lumped under the umbrella term of Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD. This paper will primarily focus on two portions of the autism spectrum, high functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger’s syndrome, and their relation to learning general chemistry. There are distinct differences between HFA/Asperger s syndrome and classical autism. One of the key differences is that those with HFA/AS have IQs that fall within the normal to superior range, whereas those with classical autism belong to the IQ range of below average to average5. Those with