By: Peggy J. Schaefer Whitby and G. Richmond Mancil
Abstract: High functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger syndrome (AS) are foremost social disorders (Church, Alisanski, & Amanullah, 2000; Myles & Simpson, 2001) yet many students with HFA/AS experience difficulties with academic functioning. Educators report difficulties in teaching and identifying appropriate educational interventions for children with HFA/AS. Research in the area of academic achievement of children with HFA/AS is in the stage of infancy and more research is needed (Prior, 2003). To address the need for development of appropriate academic interventions, several research studies have been conducted to determine the academic achievement profile of children with AS/ HFA (Barnhill, Hagiwara, Smith Myles, & Simpson, 2000; Dickerson Mayes & Calhoun, 2003a, 2003b, 2008; Goldstein, Minshew, & Siegel, 1994; Griswold, Barnhill, Smith Myles, Hagiwara, & Simpson, 2002; Minshew, Goldstein, Taylor, & Siegel, 1994). This article provides a synthesis of the literature on the academic achievement of students with HFA/AS from 1981 to the present to help determine if an academic profile for students with HFA/AS emerges.