My Experience With Asperger's Syndrome

Asperger’s syndrome is becoming more and more common as time goes by. Each year, more children are being diagnosed. This paper focuses on Asperger’s Syndrome and developing social skills in various social settings. By looking at the etiology, diagnostic procedures, how the condition effects development, daily challenges, current social/cultural views, and relevant social interventions, a better understanding on how to develop social skills for children with Asperger’s Syndrome can ensue. The world revolves around social situations. This is how people are hired for jobs, ask for things, make new friends, meet their future spouse, etc. At the moment, social skills training and social support is minimal compared to where it potentially

Approximately 947,570 Americans have Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), however, it is not an easy disorder to explain (Bashe 19). With multiple conditions and characteristics in each case, AS is not an easy disorder to diagnose. Asperger’s Syndrome was named after Hans Asperger, an Austrian physician, who first described the disorder in 1944 after studying a group of children with similar, unusual characteristics. However, AS was not made an official disease until 1994. Consequently, Asperger disease is just now becoming published and popular so there is still research and questions being answered. Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, is noted by above-average

Asperger’s syndrome, which is also referred to as Asperger's disorder, is a type of Persuasive Developmental Disorder. Persuasive Developmental Disorder or PDD are a group of conditions that involve delays in the development of basic skills, the most recognizable of these skills is the ability to communicate and socialize with others as well as use their own imagination. Although Asperger's syndrome is similar in some ways to autism, there are important differences between the two. Children with Asperger's syndrome typically function higher than those children with autism. In addition to them being higher functioning; children with Asperger's syndrome generally have normal intelligence and slightly less than normal language development.

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.

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 relationship between Asperger syndrome and autism has been a controversial topic in psychology. There is not a definite correlation which has been decided upon between the two and chiefly due to the fact that they are both overly similar. Concisely, psychologists seek to identify the main difference between them. In a simpler way, it is not yet clear whether autism and Asperger syndrome should be defined as independent (distinct) terms, or whether Asperger syndrome should be categorized under the wider realm of autism. In their researche, multiple scholars have come upon differing opinions and theories in support of their own perceptions of the two disorders which either agree or disagree at some point. Asperger syndrome is derived from Hans Asperger who is highly recognized for his efforts in defining the disease which many scholars had described as not diagnosable (Mayes, Calhoun & Crites, 2001).

The comprehensive examination should also assess the level of language, intellect, medical, genetic mental and behavioral conditions. The genetic counselor can help with a three generation family history since ASD has a strong genetic component. The objective of the comprehensive evaluation is to make a definitive diagnosis of ASD, rule out other diagnoses in the differential and identify co-occurring conditions that can be treated and to determine the level of functioning of the child in order to establish a treatment plan.

Although there is no cure for Asperger's syndrome, masking the symptoms and overcoming the challenges is possible by learning proper social skills, staying within a comfort area, and having a good support structure. A person with Asperger's syndrome faces many daily challenges, such as carrying on a conversation or looking someone in the eyes while speaking. Jacob, the main character in House Rules, by Jodi Picoult, learns to live with these challenges and function as normally as he can. "Asperger's syndrome, also called Asperger's disorder, is a type of pervasive development disorder (PDD). PDDs are a group of conditions that involve delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize with others, to

In the book, Inside Asperger’s Looking Out, the author, Kathy Hoopmann, shares senses and feelings with such detail that you feel like you are in the book. She takes the readers through thoughts, feelings and scenarios that help the reader better understand what people with Asperger’s, or Aspies as they are fondly known as these days (p.2), go through in everyday life. She pairs her educational words with appropriate pictures. In fact, the pictures actually help to convey the point Hoopmann is trying to portray. The pictures are cute, silly and can be confusing but they make complete sense with every example of feelings or thoughts that are being explained. For example, she uses a beautiful under water picture of fish and sea creatures swimming

Colleges are seeing a larger population of students annually who are on the Autism Spectrum. There is a great need for faculty, college advisors, and student affairs staff to develop better strategies to work with these students. Faculty can play a significant role in helping these students succeed both inside and outside the classroom. A clear understanding of what Asperger’s syndrome is and ways to connect with students with Asperger’s syndrome is extremely important to the ultimate success of these students. These students will be less likely to have a successful transition from high school to college without the proper support system in place to address their specific needs.

For the ASD trait of Aspergers Syndrome, they tend to have a hard time socially interacting with others. They display inappropriate behaviors and have hard times reading gestures or facial expressions of other people. Sometimes their gestures and facial expressions do not communicate with what they are thinking and feeling. Along with this trait, “Aspies are more likely to have a hard time reading people, because of the sensory problem since their senses are most of the time heightened” (The National Center for Learning Disabilities). Aspies feel increase irritation from the sounds/ tones in people's voices, and the texture of foods or certain fabric on clothing can be very overwhelming for people with Aspergers Syndrome. According to Dr. Tim

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.

Lorna Wing brought attention to Asperger’s work in the 1980’s with her research in London (Stoddart, 2005, p. 14). Her research agreed with Hans Asperger’s in many ways, however she also stated that signs of

Case History: T.C. is a 13 year old, 2 month old girl in the seventh grade. T.C. lives with her parents and she is the oldest of three children. T.C.’s prenatal and birth history was unremarkable. T.C. was normal developing until 18 months old. By 18 months old it was apparent that T.C. was delayed in speech. In addition, she walked on her toes, did not make eye contact with others, had a terrible fear of loud sounds, cried frequently, and was a poor sleeper. She was evaluated before her second birthday and was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome or related pervasion developmental disorders and has profound difficulty with social interaction. She has received speech therapy, with an emphasis on social skills training, intense therapeutic

Looks can be deceiving. Although this is a rather cliché expression, it can perfectly describe my family of five. On the outside, my family of looks normal, but we have a hidden blessing that many do not notice. I am the youngest of my siblings with two older brothers. One of them has Asperger’s syndrome. He is our hidden blessing. Externally, he looks normal, but internally he is coping a complicated developmental disorder. Despite all the difficulties he brings upon my family, I consider him a blessing because he brings awareness to the household that life isn’t as easy for some people as it is for others. He makes me appreciate the simple things in life that come natural to me but is very difficult for him to visualize or accomplish. One