Atendiendo las necesidades de estudiantes talentosos con trastornos del espectro autismo: Aproximaciones diagnósticas, terapéuticas y psicoeducativas

Abstract

Gifted and talented students who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have multifaceted needs. Their cognitive and academic profiles are typically very different from their social, communication, behavioral, and adaptive functioning profiles, which can be challenging to educators and professionals who work with this population of learners. The purpose of this article is to summarize the current diagnostic, therapeutic, and psychoeducational research-based approaches to working with gifted students with ASD. Data is presented from preliminary empirical studies that document gifted students with ASD’s cognitive, achievement, developmental, adaptive functioning, and psychosocial profiles. Therapeutic interventions that appear most promising for students with ASD include behavioral and cognitive behavioral interventions, yet research specifically examining effectiveness for high ability students with ASD is nonexistent. Effective psychoeducational interventions take a multi-teared approach where cognitive and academic strengths are programmed for while simultaneously addressing the students’ constellation of individual communication, social, and behavioral difficulties.