Scottish teacher assigned ‘Big Bang Theory’

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 exam- ple 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 characters in the sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" have Asperger's — particularly the lanky Sheldon Cooper, a theoretical physicist who boasts an IQ of 187 — has been a matter of some debate.

Writers of the "Big Bang Theory" said that 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. Show co-creator Bill Prady "would feel uncomfortable labeling Sheldon as such," then-Star Ledger TV critic Alan Sepinwall wrote in 2009.

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.