Power Cards

This guide describes an instructional technique, Power Card Strategy, that provides a visual aid to assist students with Asperger syndrome and autism in making sense of social situations, routines, the meaning of language, and the hidden curriculum of the classroom. Power Card Strategy makes use of the intense special interests characteristic of these children to help them make sense of common situations. In the Power Card Strategy, a brief scenario is used to explain how the hero or special interest has encountered or solved a problem. Then a small Power Card is created that summarizes the strategy and contains a picture of the special interest. The child carries this card with him/her as a reminder when similar situations come up. The book begins with a discussion of the specific characteristics of Asperger syndrome and autism that support the use of the Power Card Strategy. Chapter 2 describes the strategy and its uses and provides directions for creating Power Cards. Chapter 3 suggests some novel ways to integrate special interests in a school setting using variations of the Power Card Strategy. Chapter 4 provides samples of how the Power Card Strategy has been used at home, at school in both special education settings and general education classes, and in the community. Finally, Chapter 5 reports the results of two classroom studies implementing the Power Card Strategy. (Contains 52 references.)