Asperger Syndrome (AS) is a neurological disorder that belongs to the spectrum called Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Individuals with AS have normal intelligence and language development but also exhibit autistic-like behaviors and have deficiencies in social and communication skills.
The diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome (AS) is usually assigned if the person has an IQ within the average range or above and never had a clinically significant language delay (single words used by age two and communicative phrases used by age three). If there ever was a clinically significant language delay the person is designated as high-functioning autism (HFA). High functioning autism is not a formal diagnosis but a term many doctors, teachers, and researchers use. There is still a lot of disagreement and confusion among professionals about the term of high-functioning autism.
A child with Asperger syndrome is typically precocious in language development. A boy may sound like a little professor or a girl may sound like a little philosopher. However, a careful evaluation often leads to the conclusion that many children with Asperger syndrome experience language difficulties in:
- Pragmatics: how language is used
- Semantics: the meaning of words
- Prosody: the pitch, rhythm, and stress placed on words
As with all other forms of autism people with AS have deficits in social interactions and non-verbal communications. They have difficulties, sometimes severe, in perceiving the world from the perspective of another person and in "picking up" on the social "cues" such as facial expressions, bodily gestures, tone of voice, etc. People with AS sometimes have very acute sensory sensitivities. They can react strongly to sounds or visual stimuli that are not even perceptible to most people such as the high-frequency sounds or the "flickering" of a fluorescent light. As a result of the unusual behaviors, reactions and also the intensity of their narrow interests, people with Asperger syndrome are often viewed as eccentrics. Many individuals with AS are often ridiculed, teased and bullied. Despite having great intellectual abilities or talents in certain areas, some people with Aspergers syndrome may not be able to live independently, never be able to hold down a job for any extended period of time, and perhaps never even enjoy an intimate relationship. Thus early diagnosis is very important as children with Asperger syndrome who are diagnosed and supported early in life have an increased chance of being successful in school and eventually living independently. Some of the individuals with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism even become renowned and very accomplished. Dr. Temple Grandin is a very good example. To read more about Dr. Temple, click here.
Every child or an adult with AS is different. However there are some behaviors and traits that are commonly observed. They include:
- very intense interests in highly specialized areas
- insistence on routines that means always doing things the same way
- great resistance to change
- repetitive bodily motions (such as touching hair or a nose, flapping of the hands or rocking back and forth)
- often "clumsiness" and difficulty with sports
- inappropriate facial expressions and poor eye contact
- unusual speech patterns
- atypical conversation that is more a lecture than a reciprocal conversation with another person
- literal understanding of spoken or written language (which can make them very susceptible to being fooled or tricked)
- lack of awareness of their social environment or of the feelings of others
- remarkable memory for facts or details
- very strong attachment to specific toys, objects or items
- over-sensitivity to certain fragrances, the tastes of foods, fluorescent light, and the textures of clothing
Asperger syndrome was first described in 1944 by the Austrian pediatrician Dr. Hans Asperger but because his paper was written in German and published during World War II, it was not widely read. Dr. Lorna Wing, an eminent British researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry in London brought Asperger's work to the attention of the English- speaking world at the beginning of 1980s. Until Dr. Wing's paper was published in 1981, the condition that Dr. Asperger described in 1940s remained virtually unknown in non-German speaking countries.
Asperger (1906–1980) and Kanner (1894–1981), the two pioneers of autism (read more…)
The first official diagnostic criteria of Asperger syndrome (Gillberg diagnostic criteria) were published in 1989 and revised in 1991. For the first time AS was added to DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition) in 1994 which is the main diagnostic reference of mental health professionals in the U.S.
Symptoms of AS may start to develop as early as age two; however it is most often recognized after the child starts school where his unusual manner of talking, playing and interacting with peers begins to surface.
Andrew's Story
From the book:
Baron-Cohen, S. (2008). Autism and Asperger Syndrome: The Facts. New York: Oxford University Press.
Andrew is also 19 years old. He has always had remarkable advanced language. He was speaking his first words at 9 months and by 18 months he had a precocious vocabulary. His very first word was in fact a two-word phrase: 'articulated lorry'. His parents were very proud and told visitors about their extraordinary, advanced child...
Click here to purchase the book and read more of Andrew's Story.