CHILD AND ADOLESCENTS DEVELOPMENT

ASPERGER’S SYNDROME
April 28, 2018

Discussion:
Asperger’s Syndrome Definition – also known as Asperger's, is a developmental
disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal
communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests. As a
milder autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it differs from other ASDs by relatively
normal language and intelligence. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and
unusual use of language are common. Signs usually begin before two years old and typically last
for a person's entire life.
History – Named after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger (1906–1980), Asperger
syndrome is a relatively new diagnosis in the field of autism, though a syndrome like it was
described as early as 1925 by Grunya Sukhareva (1891–1981). As a child, Asperger appears to
have exhibited some features of the very condition named after him, such as remoteness and
talent in language. In 1944, Asperger described four children in his practice who had difficulty in
integrating themselves socially. The children lacked nonverbal communication skills, failed to
demonstrate empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy. Asperger called the condition
"autistic psychopathy" and described it as primarily marked by social isolation. Fifty years later,
several standardizations of AS as a medical diagnosis were tentatively proposed, many of which
diverge significantly from Asperger's original work. Lorna Wing popularized the term Asperger
syndrome in the English-speaking medical community in her 1981 publication of a series of case
studies of children showing similar symptoms, and Uta Frith translated Asperger's paper to
English in 1991. Sets of diagnostic criteria were outlined by Gillberg and Gillberg in 1989 and
by Szatmari et al. in the same year. AS became a standard diagnosis in 1992, when it was
included in the tenth edition of the World Health Organization's diagnostic manual, International
Classification of Diseases (ICD-10); in 1994, it was added to the fourth edition of the American
Psychiatric Association's diagnostic reference, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-IV).
Common Traits & Characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome:
1. socially awkward and clumsy 10. very accurate memory for
2. naive and gullible details
3. unaware of others' feelings 11. trouble understanding things
4. unable to carry on they have heard or read
conversation 12. inappropriate body language
5. easily upset by changes & expression
6. literal in speech and 13. repetitive and irrelevant
understanding comments
7. sensitive to loud sounds, 14. unusually loud, high or
lights, odors monotonous voice
8. fixated on one subject or 15. rock, fidget or pace while
object concentrating
9. physically awkward in sports
Possible Treatment of Asperger’s Syndrome:
“The earlier the better!”
• Psychosocial interventions
– Social training skills
– Cognitive behavior therapy
– Any activity to help individual learn to adjust to social situations and act
appropriately
E.g. Camp, teen tours, group communication
• Psychopharmalogical interventions
• NO CURE!
Causes of Asperger’s Syndrome:
• Genetics (still a lot of research in Progress)
– Family inheritance on father’s side
• Studies of brain
– Right lobe studies using MRI’s
-Research done in 1994 and 1995
-Disability with right hemisphere
-Right front lobe especially deals with “social rules”
– Other Findings:
-Birth problems, lack of oxygen
-central nervous system dysfunction
Symptoms:
1. Impairments in socialization, Communication and Imagination
2. Narrow interests
3. Insistence on repetitive routines
4. Speech and language peculiarities
5. Non-verbal communication problems and motor clumsiness

Common Signs of Asperger’s Syndrome:

 Peculiar mannerisms such as odd speech patterns (they may sound like “little professors”)
 Few facial expressions and difficulty reading others’ body language
 Unusual sensitivity to light, sound, smell, taste and touch
 Obsessions with a single topic such as music, dinosaurs, cars or the mechanics of a
toaster
 A need for routines, rituals and consistency (such as a familiar morning routine)
 Lack of “common sense” and an inability to identify social cues
Treatment Options:

Although there is no one particular treatment for AS, the most effective approaches are
therapies that focus on:
 Improving poor  physical clumsiness
communication skills  Other treatment
 obsessive or repetitive options may include:
routines
  Education and  Language therapy
training for parents  Specialized help in
 Social skills training school for the child

Five (5) Domains on How to Address Students with Asperger’s Syndrome:

1. Communication Skills
How do I help?
 Break complex directions down into “smaller pieces”
 Repeat instructions, being careful not to rephrase because the student may be
processing your first request
 Make clear, precise statements
 Explain sarcasm, metaphors, idioms and words with a double meaning
 Help the student find a phrase or signal for when he or she does not understand
directions
2. Social Interactions Skills
How do I help?
 Protect the student from bullying and teasing
 Pair the student with a buddy who can act as a “social mentor”
 Know the difference when he is isolated by choice and when he is isolated
because peers won’t include him
 Explain Asperger’s Syndrome to classmates
 Help the student understand the use of humor
3. Sensory Skills
How do I help?
 Predict sensory/environmental changes and make the student aware of them
before they occur, giving him or her a chance to prepare and adjust
 Provide a personal, quiet space for the student to relax and collect his or her
thoughts
 Allow the student to have a calming item to use when experiencing sensory issues
(i.e. a stress ball, worry rock, etc)
4. Behaviour Skills
How do I help?
 Model acceptance of the student for her peers
 Don’t take the student’s comments personally
 Use the student’s special interest to engage her in conversation or class discussion
 Be consistent and clear in your expectations
 Teach the student replacement behaviors for when she is frustrated, angry or
anxious
5. Academic Skills
How do I help?
 Be calm, matter-of-fact and predictable when teaching
 Give materials/directions orally and visually
 Use concrete examples when teaching
 Use predictable classroom routines, rules and expectations
 Provide frequent, positive feedback