Asperger Syndrome

Asperger syndrome (AS), also referred to as Asperger's, is a developmental disorder characterized by deficiencies in social and communication skills. The exact cause of Asperger's is unknown and the prevalence is not firmly established, due partly to the use of differing sets of diagnostic criteria.What is important to see here is why they did not need this medical assistance. Why didn't they? Because their "special interest" generalized to an interest in which the general population is also interested. According to Dr. Iknowbest, though, people who achieve public success cannot possibly suffer from Asperger's. Due to lack of physical manifestations, and variability in presentation, Aspergers Syndrome is often not identified in early childhood; in fact many individuals are not diagnosed until they are adults!! Although children with Aspergers Syndrome tend to look exactly like other children, they behave differently. These results in the following:


Martin himself had frequently asked me this question as well, each time he spiraled into hopeless which in the first two years was often. And when he would ask me, I would do my best to find some shred of progress which might offer him hope. A light at the end of the tunnel which he could look forward to.That's all very well, but as a parent with the lingering concern that our child might have Aspergers syndrome, how do we move from a textbook explanation of the physiological and mental manifestations of the disorder to actually being able to identify Aspergers in our child through observation of their day to day behavior. In other words...what sort of things might our kids do that should be setting off alarm bells? What is the answer to the question how to tell if a child has aspergers? 

Often parents are simply able to sense that their child's development doesn't accord either with their past experience with child rearing, or their own children's peer group. When the cause for this derivation is unclear, it can be a source of ongoing concern. The concern is a valid one. Many children with aspergers are demonstrably active in early childhood, but as their difficulties with socialization and communication persist into adulthood, they can experience associated psychiatric conditions, and depression.Whilst Aspergers symptoms can be varied, they frequently include marked difficulties with nonverval behavior such as interpreting body language, eye contact, understanding or utilising appropriate facial expression, and other cues commonly associated with regulating social expression. Frequently this type of Aspergers symptom will impact upon a persons capacity to form relationships within their peer group, and can be accompanied by an apparent lack of social empathy or an inability to see the perspectives of others. In children, this extends beyond age appropriate egocentricity.

For parents, teachers, or those otherwise concerned with the care, welfare and development of a child who may be suffering from aspergers, the above behavioral considerations become integral in not simply classifying a child as a 'bad' child.For siblings without Aspergers syndrome, the differential and what at times no doubt appears to be preferential treatment recieved by an Aspergers sibling can give rise to feelings of confusion and frustration. Often they will fail to understand why their brother or sister apparently seems free to behave as they please without the normal constraints placed upon them.