Asperger's Characteristics
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Asperger's Disorder is a milder form of autism. It is characterized by social isolation and eccentric behavior in children. They display problems in two-sided social interaction and non-verbal communication. Some of the characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome are:
- Impairment of nonverbal behaviors such as eye contact, body postures, and gestures used for social functioning
- Inflexible adherence to routine, rituals
- Superior rote memory
- Difficulty in establishing age-appropriate peer relationships
- Difficulty understanding others' feelings
- Trouble judging personal space and physical boundaries
- Motor clumsiness
- Socially and emotionally inappropriate responses
- Extensive vocabulary and early reading skills
- Socially inept
Tony Attwood and Asperger's
Tony Attwood is a practicing Clinical Psychologist who specializes in the field of Asperger's Syndrome. For the last twenty-five years he has met and worked with several hundred individuals with this syndrome, ranging widely in age, ability, and background. Mr. Attwood wrote the book called Asperger's Syndrome, and is otherwise widely published in this field. For more information, visit the website www.TonyAttwood.com .
Tony Attwood, in the preface to his book on Asperger's, says that those with Asperger's Disorder have a “lack of empathy, little ability to form relationships, one-sided conversations, intense absorption in a special interest, and clumsy movements.” Sometimes the speech of a person with Asperger's has a lack of pitch, stress, and rhythm. The person may speak in a high-pitched monotone, and others may perceive their speech as boring or odd.
The child with Asperger's Syndrome may talk too much or too little. Often they babble on about their area of expertise, unaware that no one is listening to them. In terms of their “special interests,” an essential component is the accumulation of information or objects, or both. These pursuits are often solitary, eccentric, and dominate the person's time and conversation. The Asperger's sufferer usually has a penchant for unwavering routine. There will always need to be some reassuring stability maintained in the person's daily life. This need seems to increase in adolescence, a time of inevitable personal, physical, and environmental change. Parents and others should tolerate such rigid routines to a certain extent, as this routine is the person's way of coping with anxiety.
The person with Asperger's Syndrome is very susceptible to anxiety, especially in regard to social contact. The Asperger's sufferer may cope with anxiety by retreating into their area of special interest; the more anxious the person, the more intense the preoccupation. There are various ways to help the person deal with their levels of anxiety. Listening to soothing music, providing a sanctuary without social interruption, using a relaxation program such as massage, deep breathing and thinking positive thoughts are all ways to alleviate anxiety.
There are six pathways to diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome:
- Diagnosis of autism in early childhood
- Recognition of the features when first enrolled in school
- An atypical expression of another syndrome (such as ADD)
- Diagnosis of a relative with autism or Asperger's Syndrome
- A secondary psychiatric disorder (such as depression)
- Residual Asperger's Syndrome characteristics in an adults
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