Should I say something...

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Everyone, I need a little advice here.

I am a instructor at a technical school. I have a student who I suspect may have Asperger's and not know it. My reason for suspecting this? For one thing, he prefers to wear sunglasses all the time because he says the light bothers him. He has very poor reading skills, but learns quickly hands on. He also told me he was diagnosed with a reading disability in grade school, and had a IEP throughout the rest of school. He is also very uncoordinated. He has no close friends, and from my conversations with him, he prefers to spend most of his time at home, and dislikes party's and crowds. He also loves puzzles and games, and organizing things. I spilled all the tools out of a tool box one day and he practically begged to clean it up because he told me organizing things relaxes him.

I also give him extra time on exams because he says he had difficulty fully understanding the questions, but he does fine if I give him extra time. He also seems to always have a similar expression on his face, and very little body language.

The more time I'm around him, the more I suspect he might be an aspie, but I'm afraid to say something. Do I say something, or should I just leave it alone?

Well it depends on the age of the person, by the sounds of it, he sounds rather young so perhaps talk to his parents/guardians about him possibly having Asperger's? I'm not sure what else to say here sorry.

Yes, i agree with robbo, assuming he is a minor, you should let his parents know of the possibility of aspergers

He sounds a bit like me. The thought never occurred to me that my reading disability had any connection to my social issues until I heard about Asperger's and started researching it. The same goes for my sensitivity to light and other issues.

If I was him, I would want you to say something. It would of possibly saved me years of feeling like a social failure and feeling guilty about it.

Maybe just mentioning Asperger's and it's symptoms would be enough to get him on a path to self discovery. You don't necessarily have to tell him that you think he may be an Aspie.

Josh

If I were him, I would want you to talk to me about it. If he or his parents (if he is a minor) are unaware of AS, then getting a proper diagnosis could possibly do wonders in assisting in his academic future.

I think it's wonderful that you notice and honor his differences, such as allowing him extra time on his tests, etc. Thank you for being a supportive teacher, I wish there were more of you out there!

He's 19 years old, so he's not a minor. I was actually thinking of giving him a book I own, Asperger's from the Inside Out, by Michael John Carley and telling him I think he should read it.