Asperger's Syndrome

What is Asperger's Syndrome?
Asperger's Disorder is a developmental disorder, present from birth, although not typically identified until the school-age years. Individuals with Asperger's demonstrate normal early language development and have average to above average intelligence, but have impairment in social interaction and nonverbal communication. While they may have a desire for relationships, individuals with Asperger's Disorder have several characteristics that make this a challenge for them. They may also have an increased risk of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression as compared to those without the disorder.

Characteristic Symptoms
The essential features of Asperger's Disorder are severe impairment in social interaction and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. The symptoms can vary from person to person and may range from mild to severe.

Social and Emotional Behavior

• Difficulty interacting with peers despite the desire for successful interpersonal relationships
• Difficulty reading nonverbal cues such as body language and difficulty determining appropriate body space
• Poor understanding of codes of conduct
• Problems making eye contact with others
• Limited or inappropriate facial expressions
• Difficulty understanding and expressing emotions appropriately
• Disinterest in trends in clothing, music, etc

Speech and Language

• Tendency to take a very literal understanding of what has been said
• Difficulty understanding subtleties of language, such as irony and humor
• Unusual tone of voice, lacking inflection or having a rhythm
• Speech may be too formal and too loud or high pitch
• Difficulty with the "give and take" of conversation
• Inappropriate vocalization of thought

Interests and Routines

• Intense areas of interests that may border on obsessive. For example, a person with Asperger's may learn everything there is to know about trains or baseball statistics.
• Strong need to follow routine
• Difficulty with transitions

Motor Coordination

• Motor clumsiness
• Problems with handwriting
• Awkward movement while running or walking

Cognition

• Problems with organizational or time management skills
• Attention/concentration problems
• Exceptional long-term memory
• Rigid and inflexible thinking
• Difficulty with sequencing of tasks
• Difficulty recognizing emotions in others

Sensory Sensitivity

• Overly sensitive to sound, touch, taste, texture, light, smell, temperature, pain
• Lack of sensitivity to low levels of pain

What causes Asperger's Disorder?
At this time, there are no specific causes known. There may be genetic factors, difficulties during pregnancy, and/or early infections that affect the brain. There is limited information on the prevalence but it appears to be more common in males.

Diagnosing Asperger's Disorder:
There are no medical tests to diagnose Asperger's Disorder. An accurate diagnosis is obtained through an evaluation by a professional and includes developmental history, parental input, and assessment of an individual's social interaction, communication, and specific aspects of behavior.

Treatment Options
Once an individual has been identified with this disorder, there are different types of treatment options to help improve functioning and quality of life. Treatment options may vary from person to person, depending on the Treatment options may include:

• Individual or family counseling to help treat specific problem areas and encourage skills development. Psychotherapy may also help to reduce depression or anxiety that may also be present and related to the person's social difficulties. Additionally, group therapy and parent support groups can be helpful.
• Special education support services, social skills training, occupational therapy, sensory integration therapy, and speech therapy.
• Medication may also be helpful to treat co-existing anxiety, depression, or attention problems.
• Coordination and communication of parents and treatment providers, which may include teachers, psychotherapists, social workers, physicians, occupational therapists and others involved, to ensure growth for the individual.

Information provided by Kimberlee Prose, PsyD, Psychologist with Pine Rest Psychological Consultation Center.