Psychology: Autism Disorgers

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

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

Over the past twenty years, researchers on Autism have made notable findings in comprehending prevalence rates and creating accurate assessments to gather current diagnostic criterion. A significant increase in the prevalence rate of ASD has led researchers to make further inquiries about the precision of the tests used to assist in the diagnosis of autism.

To understand this, we must first understand what the recognized perception of autism is. For most of the public and many within the research community, autism is seen as a very masculine disease. Not only do males make up most of the population diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, but autism is also seen as an exaggeration of the stereotypical male brain. As a matter of fact, Simon Baron-Cohen, the scientist who discovered the “extreme male brain” (EMB) theory of autism, found that females on the autism spectrum displayed more masculinized personality traits. Baron-Cohen acknowledged that there was a slight difference in the severity of

Current research attempts to find neurobiological or genetic evidence as possible sources for ASD. Within the research and medical communities, there are disagreements as to which characteristics define an individual as having a condition within ASD. For example, the changes within the 4th and 5th editions of the American Psychiatric Association DSM, removes Asperger’s Syndrome as a condition, causing much controversy. It is this controversy about Asperger’s Syndrome significance that this review hopes to elucidate.

Asperger’s disorder is also known as Asperger’s syndrome has been at the end of the autism spectrum and its own category for many years. Now over the last few years in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-5 (DSM-V) it has combined two core deficit areas. They are impairments in social interaction and impairments in communication into a single domain of social/communication deficits. It subsumes Asperger’s disorder into a single diagnostic category of autism spectrum disorder. (TEXTBOOKp.237). It is estimated one percentage of the world’s population and over three million Americas are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. ( ).

There is still uncertainty in diagnosing someone with Asperger because of the similarities in high functioning autism and Asperger. According to Attwood (1998) there can be two stages to identifying Asperger. The first stage is to use a rating scale that involves both parents and teachers. There are two new rating scales one developed in Sweden and the other was developed in Australia (Attwood 1998). The second stage is to have a diagnostic assessment done by an experienced clinician in the behaviors and abilities of children with developmental disorders, using established criteria that gives a clear

Autism and Asperger Syndrome are two similar disorders and are too often confused. The average person knows little about either, (often thinking the two are the same), and this ignorance leads people to make hasty rationalizations. The difference between the two can often be great, which is why they are separate disorders. While people fail to see the difference, distinguishing between the two can be as easy as recognizing the severity of one’s problem. While they share similar characteristics and signs there is a difference between these two disorders.

Asperger syndrome is a disorder of brain development. The differences in brain development that occur in Asperger syndrome appear to affect areas of the brain involved in thought, behavior, and emotions, such as prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, and the fusiform face area.

Asperger’s Syndrome is described as an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), once known as Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD), and is characterized as a milder version of autism. Children with Asperger’s seem to adapt easier to social interactions as they get older, contrary to autism. Autism is a syndrome of extreme withdrawal and obsessive behavior. Asperger’s syndrome is similar to autism in a way that children experience difficulties with social interaction and communication. Also, children will have issues with concentration or coordination. Asperger’s and autism do have a lot of differences as well. One difference being the onset for autism is in infancy whereas in Asperger’s it is, at least, recognized later. Children with Asperger’s tend to have average or above average intelligence and seem

Asperger’s Syndrome is a milder diagnosis on the autism spectrum. The main difference between autism and Asperger’s is that many individuals with Asperger’s show little to no delay in speech. They are often extremely intelligent, usually in one particular field. Despite this, individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome typically struggle socially and have other sensory issues liken to autism. To the untrained eye Asperger’s is less obvious than autism, but a professional can easily decipher the symptoms. Because it is less obvious, many children with Asperger’s syndrome are not diagnosed until age eight or nine as opposed to children with autism who are usually diagnosed by age three or four. Like autism, the label placed on an individual may change over the years because of improvements, but, like autism, it is also a life-long, biomedical condition (Grandin, 2011, p. 8).

In the 1940’s, Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician, observed children with autistic-like behaviors and social and communication challenges. These kids had normal intelligence as well as normal language development. Asperger syndrome is a type of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). PDDs involve delays in the development of skills, mostly around social, communication, imagination, and abstract thinking skills. Many experts argue that Asperger syndrome is a milder form of autism, referred to today as high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). Asperger’s work consisted of a historical review of specific Autism case studies that were not representative of the entire spectrum even though they were a great basis for the upcoming research in the field (Draaisma, 2009).

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by communication difficulties, social impairments, and repetitive, restricted, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. (NIH)

Asperger’s Syndrome is categorized as an autism spectrum disorder. It is a developmental disorder found at the higher functioning end of the autism spectrum. (Calero,Mata, Bonete, Molinero, Mar Gómez-Pérez, 2015).

Asperger syndrome was originally described by Hans Asperger, who was Australian pediatrician and medical professor. Hans is best known for his studies on mental disorders. Asperger is a developmental disorder that come with many difficulties such as social interaction and usual patterns of interest and behaviors. Autism are recognized the most when comes to pervasive developmental disorder, it's caused by specific brain activity(Frith, 1990) Genetic fault, brain insult and brain disease, are the general causes of autism. Brain symptoms vary with age and ability. Asperger's syndrome is a mild form of autism (Frith, 1990)