“People with Asperger Syndrome have a brain that’s wired differently, not defectively.” Psychologist Tony Attwood
“It seems that for success in science or art, a dash of autism is essential.” Hans Asperger
In the early 1940s, around the same time that Dr. Leo Kanner first identified autism, Viennese pediatrician Hans Aspberger took notice of male children who displayed significant social impairment but who demonstrated normal levels of intelligence and language ability. The disorder was later named Asperger’s syndrome or Asperger’s disorder. Psychologists define Asperger’s syndrome as, a pervasive developmental disorder in which individuals display profound social impairment with normal cognitive functioning.
Asperger’s syndrome is similar to autism in that children display the same kinds of social difficulties. However, unlike autism, children with Asperger’s have normal or “near normal” cognitive and language abilities. Asperger’s is more common than autism and affects males much more than females. It is estimated that approximately 400,000 American families are affected by Asperger’s syndrome.
The exact cause of Asperger’s is unknown but it appears to have a genetic basis and is suspected to originate on the paternal side of the family. Contrary to many popular beliefs Asperger’s is not caused by “poor parenting’, “emotional deprivation”, or in any way by how a child has been raised.
Each child with Asperger’s is incredibly unique. Although there are certain common symptoms that affect all children with AS there are tremendous differences in the particular behaviors which vary from child to child.
Signs and Symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome include:
- Monotonous, rigid or unusually fast speech.
- Conversations revolve around self.
- Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing the listener's reactions.
- Unusual nonverbal communication, including lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, awkward body postures, odd gestures or tics.
- Poor coordination or clumsiness.
- Odd posture or rigid gait.
- Obsessing on one or two specific, narrow subjects, like sports statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes.
- I.Q.'s fall along the full spectrum, but many are in the above normal range in verbal ability and in the below average range in performance abilities.
- Many have dyslexia, writing problems, and difficulty with mathematics.
- Lack common sense.
- Concrete thinking (versus abstract).
- Socially aware but displays inappropriate reciprocal interaction.
- Appearing not to understand, empathize with, or be sensitive to others' feelings.
- An inability to "read" other people or understand humor.
The Most Prominent Symptoms
Poor social skills.This is the most prominent symptom of AS. Children with Asperger’s have incredible difficulty interacting with others. It’s not that they don’t want to; it’s that it is nearly impossible for them. As a result children with AS will often play alone as opposed to playing with others. Social skills and graces which most people take for granted are foreign to children with AS. They are not able to pick up on things like body language, facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, the emotions of others, and other non-verbal communication. As a result they are often seen as awkward when attempting to interact with others
Sensory issues. Children with Asperger’s generally have sensory issues. These may involve vision, smell, sound, taste, or touch. For example a child with AS may complain about a particular sound being “too loud”, or a fabric such as clothing or a blanket being “too rough”. Sometimes they are hypersensitive to smells and find certain odors to be overwhelming. As a result of their sensory issues children with AS can often experience what is known as a sensory overload.
Obsessive Issues. Children with AS generally have very specific narrow and obsessive interest in things. A child with AS may have an intense interest in train schedules, baseball, WWII, dinosaurs, volcanoes, or just about anything. They are capable of accumulating a tremendous amount of information on a particular topic and have a desire to talk about it all the time.
Fixated on routine.Children with AS are creatures of habit and routine. They do not like to be surprised and do not take well to even subtle changes in their routine. Even a minor change to an AS child’s routine, such as a new breakfast cereal, can cause a temper tantrum or an emotional meltdown.
Because there is no cure for Asperger’s syndrome, children with Asperger’s become adults with Asperger’s. However these children can go on to lead full and happy lives. Most are able to complete high school and even go on to college or vocational school. The earlier that a child is diagnosed and receives specialized education and therapy the greater the chances that he will go on to live a full and independent life.
For additional information on Asperger's Syndrome please visit the Asperger's Syndrome Online Support Site.
Source material: worthpublishing, kidshealth.org, NIH.gov, aspergers.com
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