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What Parents Should Know about Asperger’s Syndrome
Asperger's Syndrome or Asperger’s Disorder is named after, Hans Asperger, who was a Viennese physician in the 1940s. In 1944, Hans Asperger, documented a pattern of specific behaviors in a group of boys. Publishing his documentation describing their behaviors, although the boys were all of normal intelligence and their language, developmental skills were on par for age, displayed behaviors similar to autism, the group of boys appeared to be deficient in social and communication development. Despite documenting this phenomenon and the publication of his findings Asperger disorder was not accepted by the medical community, and officially listed in the DSM until 1994.
Asperger's Disorder ranges from mild to severe with individuals exhibiting a variety of different characteristics. Difficulty in transitioning, social skills deficiencies or other environmental changes are all signs of individuals suffering from Asperger's Disorder. Often, sufferers are unable to queue in on nonverbal, body language, and they often do not understand the concept of individual space. Asperger's disorder patients are extremely sensitive to certain smells, tastes, sounds, and sites. Often times, they will prefer certain foods, soft clothing, and often are irritated by sounds or lighting that other individuals in the immediate area neither hear nor see. In understanding individuals affected by AS, you must understand that how they perceive their world is extremely different from the way you perceive yours. It is often the case that parents are accused of improperly raising their child however, projected behaviors such as rudeness or impoliteness are the result of neurological differences and should not be attributed to poor parenting.
It is often the case with AS sufferers that they have exceptional skills and talents in specific areas, this is a direct result of the fact that AS sufferers have normal or above average IQs. They are oftentimes, the subjects of bullying and teasing, this results from their naivety coupled with on or eccentric like behavioral patterns. Their communication skills, on the surface often seem normal however, deficits prosody and pragmatics exist. While many children as vocabulary may classify them as little professors, they often times are unable to communicate in everyday social interaction.
The debate rages on just where AS actually fits in. Currently, autism spectrum disorder is how it is described. In the world of medical science it is often related to or considered to be high functioning autism. Yet other professors would like to classify it as nonverbal learning disability. However, as it shares many traits and characteristics of a wide variety of developmental disorders. Because of this individuals over the years have received a whole host of diagnosis or no diagnosis at all, which demonstrates the medical community's inability to properly understand AS.
Many individuals today, when seeking a diagnosis for their children, need to do due diligence in informing their selves of possible syndromes or disorders. As a result of the medical community's ignorance in AS many children who have been diagnosed with such things as ADD or HFA are now being re-diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. As treatments vary for different disorders and syndromes it is imperative for parents to take the initiative in helping to understand their child's diagnosis. |
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