Asperger's Syndrome Case Studies

Diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome can be a challenge. An interview with a clinician must be conducted, including the family of the person being diagnosed. Also, an observation is conducted in two different social settings (i.e.: school and home) (Stoddart, 2009). The criterion to be diagnosed is straight forward. First, there must be a severe impairment in social interaction. For example, no eye to eye contact, posture, does not develop peer relationships, and not bringing up interests to other people (Stoddart, 2009). Second, there must be stereotyped behaviors. For example, not being able to adhere to a random routine or change of plans, hand flapping, and playing with parts of objects, not the object itself. Thirdly, the impairments cause strain on social, and other areas of functioning. Fourth, the child had no delay in speech. This is the difference between a child with autism and Asperger’s. Children with Asperger’s have no delay in speech and usually are advanced in this area. Lastly, the child has no cognitive delay. For example, self-help abilities, and adapting behaviors. Usually these children have very high IQs (Stoddart, 2009). The major criterion is the social impairment. Asperger’s Syndrome is very focused around social behaviors. These children do not socially interact,

Besides the poor communication skills and resulting in awkward social behavior of Asperger’s Syndrome, there are also the physical aspects. People with Asperger’s Syndrome have a heightened sensitivity to loud noises, lights, or even certain colors. For example, they may not be able to wear certain kinds of materials because the fabric will irritate the skin. Often, they have strong taste buds and are sensitive to different textures. Additionally, they may have a rigid walk or an odd posture. Likewise, motor coordination is usually lacking making simple tasks such as handwriting, opening a jar, or catching a ball a struggle. The lack of motor skills makes it difficult to play team

Problems with social skills include difficulty interacting with others, are often awkward in social situations, and have difficulty starting and maintaining a conversation. Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome may develop odd, repetitive movements, such as hand twitching or finger twisting. They might also develop unusual rituals, such as getting dressed in a specific order, and are resistant to change the ritual. Some communication difficulties people with Asperger's syndrome may exhibit are, not being able to make eye contact when speaking with someone, trouble using facial expressions and gestures, and understanding body language. They also have a tendency to misunderstand language in context and are very literal in their use of language. Individuals could express limited range of interests; they could develop an almost obsessive interest in a few areas, such as weather, topics in school, or sports. Many individuals with Asperger's syndrome are exceedingly gifted or skilled in a particular area, such as history or science. The coordination of individuals with Asperger's syndrome may seem clumsy or awkward.

Autism is a brain disorder that is characterized by slow and difficult comprehension of spoken and non-verbal communication and repetition of behaviors. Autism is normally noticed in the first two years of a child (Myers & Johnson, 2007). Asperger syndrome is an autistic disorder that has almost the same similarities with autism. People with Asperger syndrome have little comprehension of the world and its surroundings and poor communication with other people. People with Asperger syndrome are hard to recognize, as they do not show on their outward appearances. They are average or above average intellectually and have fewer problems in terms of speech and specific learning disabilities unlike in autism. These difficulties include dyslexia, epilepsy, and attention

Asperger’s syndrome is a developmental syndrome. It is said that every 2 out of 10,000 children are affected by this disorder. Asperger’s is mostly diagnosed in young children. Parents usually recognize symptoms of this disorder in their kids around the time they turn 3 years old. Asperger’s is sometimes considered a form of autism. I find this syndrome to be very intriguing. I’m going to enlighten you with more information about Asperger’s and a few real life cases of it.

To understand the standoff between autism and Asperger syndrome, it is important to understand the common basis of the two disorders as provided by Frith (1991). Autism, which is usually termed as the “parent” disorder that may give rise to Asperger syndrome, is a brain abnormality resulting from brain disease, brain insult, or faults arising from genetic factors. Additionally, it is developmental, meaning that it manifests itself differently depending on factors such as ability or age. Since the disorder affects the brain, it is termed as a

Many children today unknowingly face the disorder known as Aspergers. Their traits can affect their social, mental, and behavioral aspects of life. Because of this, peers might classify them as weird simply because they do not act the same way, causing a decline in self confidence. Diagnosis can tremendously help to jumpstart treatment in this area. Despite lack of knowledge about Aspergers, a disorder closely related to autism, it is very much its own; not only in the way it is diagnosed, but also in its characteristics.

The person who presents looks normal, normal intelligence capacity, often skilled in restricted areas, but has troubles relating to others and sometimes presents inappropriate behaviors. As well as other conditions recorded in the spectrum, it is believed that Asperger 's disorder is a developmental disorder with neurological basis, in most of the cases is unknown where comes from. There are deviations or abnormalities in three main aspects of development:

ASD is a pervasive developmental disorder that consists of abnormal development and functioning of the brain. ASD may involve deficits in social behaviors, abnormalities in communication, cognitive delays, and repetitive behaviors (UC San Diego Autism Center of Excellence, 2016). ASD is a broad spectrum neurological disorder with a variety of symptoms affecting each individual differently (Debbaudt & Rothman, 2001). ASD involves severe impairments of reciprocal social interactions, impaired

Autism is often described as a spectrum disorder because of the variety of ways in which it can present itself in different individuals. There is no single known cause and because of the complexity of the disease and the fact that no two children are alike, it is very probable that there are many causes. At this point researchers believe that these causes can include genetic errors, environmental factors, the role of the immune system and damage to the brain that may occur during birth.

The first resource (Appendix A) is an information page entitled ‘What is Asperger Syndrome’ and particularly focusses on the medical/deficit model of disability, a model which involves identifying symptoms, diagnosing a disease or a deficit and prescribing appropriate treatment (E214, Unit 2, p. 47). This resource is aimed at people who have been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, for parents whose

Asperger 's syndrome, or AS, is the mildest form of autism. AS is three times more likely to affect boys than girls. (Autism 2013). Children with AS generally find an object or topic and obsess over it, finding out everything they can about it and memorizing it. Often they 'll talk nonstop about this topic. Where AS is mild most children are able to communicate slightly but still have some trouble with eye contact and some speech. Aspergers is also called "high-functioning autism" because those with AS usually have normal to above average intelligence. Children with AS are at high risk for anxiety or depression as they enter adulthood.

Asperger’s disorder (AD) is a disruption in the formation of the child’s physical and or psychological development and recognizing these, the disorder was separated from Autism in 1944, to provide a basis for each child to get the proper care. All children with Asperger Disorder will show some traits in these three categories; impaired social skills, trouble communicating with others and a pattern of behavior, interest, and activities’ will be limited and recurring; they become obsessed with a single theme. Usually the child will have the normal communication skills in the beginning years. They will be using single words by age one. They just will not be using them in the normal way. When doctors are testing for this disorder, they are looking for specific behaviors or skills that are either present or absent. If the right services are available, Asperser’s children will show significant improvement in language

It is estimated that 1 in 500 people have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder. (www.aane.org) Other sites estimate as many as 1 in 88 children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It makes you wonder why? Why now? Has something changed to cause the rise in diagnosed cases of Asperger’s, or has it been like this always and we are just now diagnosing and tracking this disorder. I have a personal interest in this subject because my younger brother was diagnosed with Asperger’s seven years ago. When he was diagnosed my mother researched all that she could and became an advocate for him. Although the information has always been available to me, I found myself questioning so much about what I do and do not understand about Asperger’s. In this report I hope to outline what I have discovered and answer questions such as: What is Asperger’s Syndrome? Who is affected by Asperger’s Syndrome? How are their lives changed? As well as other questions.

Asperger’s can have an impact on a child physically, cognitively, socially and psychologically. Although, there are minor physiological impacts on the person with Asperger’s they are still present. They include lack of eye contact, facial expressions, body posture and a physical awkwardness or clumsiness (Calero 2015). They also may have difficulty with fine and or gross motor skills. In regards to the cognitive impact, there hasn’t been much research done, but according to Marcus L. Thomeer’s research study, he found “there is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood” (Thomeer, 2012). Most children with AS have average or above average intelligence.