Editor’s Note:  It is important to note that children who are not diagnosed with HFA, but who have been diagnosed with severe ADD/ADHD may have very similar skills and deficits as the described below for the child with HFA.
[Source:  My Aspergers Child]

“I am an elementary school teacher. I have a student diagnosed with high functioning autism this year (5th grade). What are some of the positive attributes associated with this disorder that I can capitalize on? And what are some of the autism-related challenges that I will need to be aware of? Thank you in advance!”
Children with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) definitely have certain skills, for example:

• Many have exceptional musical ability
• They tend to have excellent rote memories
• They often become “experts” in one or two subjects (e.g., prehistoric monsters, history of steam trains, geology, genealogy of royalty, characters in a television serial, bus time-tables, astronomy, etc.)
• They often excel at board games needing a good rote memory (e.g., chess)
• They usually absorb every available fact concerning their chosen interest and can talk about it at length

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