A Glasgow teacher was told to watch the television sitcom The Big Bang Theory as a guide for learning about students with Asperger's syndrome, a Scottish educator recently told members of Scotland's Parliament.
Sylvia Haughney, a teachers' union representative, cited the incident as an example of poor instruction in Glasgow schools, Scotland's Courier reported. Haughney said she had asked a staff member, who was working with a child with Asperger's, about her level of training.
"Oh, I was told to watch The Big Bang Theory," replied the teacher, Haughney said.
Whether the sitcom's characters -- particularly the lanky Sheldon Cooper, a theoretical physicist who boasts an IQ of 187 -- have Asperger's has been a matter of some debate.
Writers of the show said they are reluctant to give Sheldon an official diagnosis, worrying about a potential conflict between the sitcom premise and an accurate portrayal of Asperger's syndrome.
But that has not kept some members of the autism community from embracing Sheldon.
Kerry Magro, an autism advocate writing in a blog post at Autism Speaks, noted Sheldon's "attention to detail, repetitive actions and a lack of social skills" as characteristics that may be common to those with Asperger's.
Magro said that in his work as an advocate, he commonly fields questions about whether Sheldon has Asperger's syndrome, and says the character, played by Jim Parsons, is a positive representation of someone with autismlike traits.
Haughney, a 34-year veteran instructor and representative of Glasgow's Unison union, was disappointed that The Big Bang Theory was used in lieu of more traditional training.
Haughney told the Education and Skills Committee that specialized instruction in the past included "direct training from a psychologist, from a speech language therapist, to give us a knowledge and an understanding" to prepare teachers to work with students who have additional needs.
"That is just gone," Haughney said, according to the BBC.
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