Asperger syndrome

Restricted interests or repetitive behaviors, such as this child is in interest in playing with a magnetic building toy, may be features of Asperger syndrome.

Asperger syndrome (often Asperger's syndrome) is a mild form of autism. In the past, Asperger syndrome was a label used to diagnose people. Nowadays, Asperger syndrome is no longer given as a diagnosis; instead, it is considered to be part of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The condition is named after Hans Asperger.

Asperger syndrome affects the way in which a person understands, talks, and acts with other people. A person who has Asperger syndrome may not fit in well with other people and may be unable to act like everyone else in different social situations. Asperger syndrome is called a developmental disorder, and is not considered a mental illness. Most adults with Asperger syndrome can learn how to make friends, do useful work, and live successful lives. People with it sometimes call themselves “Aspies”.

People with Asperger syndrome (and other forms of ASD) will have the condition for the rest of their lives. However, there are many different types of treatment and support to help people with Asperger syndrome. Sometimes medication can help to treat different symptoms like aggression or anxiety. People affected by Asperger syndrome often find it hard to understand emotions or how other people think. Therapists can try to help the person with that, for example, by acting out an emotion and letting the person guess what it is.

Causes and management

Asperger syndrome may be observed and diagnosed in early childhood. No one knows exactly what causes it, but it is thought to have a genetic cause. The part of the brain that controls a person's "social behavior" (understanding and communicating with other people) may grow or function differently in a person with Asperger syndrome. Another part of the brain that may be different is the part that controls some body movement such as balance. A person with this condition may walk or act in a clumsy way and have trouble doing body actions such as sports. They may also do physical actions repetitively, such as rocking, flapping their hands, or tapping their feet. The condition seems to run in families. Parents who have Asperger syndrome often have children who have it or another kind of autism.

Asperger syndrome cannot be found by testing blood or looking at someone's body. A medical doctor needs to talk with the person and other people who know him or her well, to watch how the person moves and behaves, and to learn about the person's past. Sometimes a doctor believes by mistake that the person has schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, ADHD, or intellectual troubles instead. Tourette syndrome with "tics" (repetitive, uncontrolled actions like twitching, blinking, and coughing) sometimes comes with Asperger syndrome. Many people with Asperger syndrome also have ADHD and/or OCD. It has been estimated that beyond half of the people with the syndrome, also carry some other type of syndrome, disorder, disability, disease, or illness. The MSD Manual says "strong evidence supports a genetic component".

People who have Asperger syndrome have normal to high intelligence. As children, they may need special help at home and school to learn social behavior. The syndrome cannot be made better by taking medicine. People who have this condition are sometimes given medicine to help them with depression, which is often experienced by people with the syndrome.

People with Asperger syndrome can have a hard time fitting in with other people. They may want to make friends and actively approach others, but do it in a way that seems weird or awkward to other people. This social awkwardness has been called "active but odd". Adults who have it usually learn enough "coping skills" to act in a way that seems normal, but often with a few differences. Most people with the syndrome can communicate clearly with friends and family. They may have more difficulty in communicating with new people. People who carry the syndrome can sometimes seem rude or uninterested during conversations, without meaning anything wrong. They may also get stressed or unsettled when things do not go their way.

Characteristics

Asperger syndrome syndrome characteristics include:

Asperger syndrome is noticeable when the person acts differently in social situations. Their social disabilities can have different levels. Not all people with Asperger syndrome have the same level of it. This characteristic is not the only one. Someone who dislikes people in general does not necessarily have Asperger syndrome. Other characteristics that can be identified is that people with Asperger syndrome hate any changes in their routine. They also dislike having eye contact. Most of the time they will try to avoid it and look away. Usually, people with Asperger syndrome have less facial expression than anybody else. There are many characteristics, and if someone only has some of them then they likely don't have Asperger syndrome. Commonly, people with the syndrome tend to hum or pronounce different sounds to themselves, which they have heard in their surroundings, such as a reporter's voice, a man on the radio, lyrics from songs, words, things they have read, or what people around them usually say. They may repeatedly mention these words or phrases again and again.

History

In the 1940s, a doctor named Hans Asperger studied some children who were different from most other children that he knew but were like each other. He called them "little professors" because he thought that they were interesting and wrote a book about them. Dr. Asperger thought his "little professors" had a different sort of personality.

In the 1980s, Dr. Lorna Wing made up the name "Asperger syndrome" for people with high-functioning autism after research into Hans Asperger's work.

In 1990, Asperger syndrome was added to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).

In 1994, Asperger syndrome was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).

In 2013, Asperger syndrome was removed from the DSM.

In 2019, Asperger syndrome was removed from the ICD. The diagnosis is now autism spectrum disorder.

Statistics

Asperger syndrome is much more common in males than females. Statistics say that three males are affected for every one female.

It is widely discussed how common the syndrome is, as there are figures that show very different numbers. But, it probably lies between 1 in every 250, all the way up to 1 in every 10,000. A 2003 review of epidemiological studies of children found autism rates ranging from 0.03 to 4.84 per 1,000, with the ratio of autism to Asperger syndrome ranging from 1.5:1 to 16:1.

References

  1. ↑ Skuse, David (2018-05-09). "Few people mourn Asperger syndrome's loss from diagnostic manuals". Spectrum | Autism Research News. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  2. ↑ The Nemours Foundation. "An Autism Spectrum Disorder" Archived 2013-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, A Children's Health System.
  3. ↑ "What Is Asperger Syndrome?". Autism Speaks. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  4. ↑ Mayo Clinic. "Alternative medicine", Asperger's syndrome, London, 27 October 2005. Retrieved on 27 October 2005.
  5. 1 2 McPartland, J.; Klin, A. (2006). "Asperger's syndrome". Adolescent Medicine Clinics. 17 (3): 771–88, abstract xiii. doi:10.1016/j.admecli.2006.06.010 (inactive 26 July 2026). PMID 17030291.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2026 (link)
  6. ↑ Foster, B.; King, B. H. (2003). "Asperger syndrome: To be or not to be?". Current Opinion in Pediatrics. 15 (5): 491–494. doi:10.1097/00008480-200310000-00008. PMID 14508298.
  7. ↑ "Autism Spectrum Disorders – Pediatrics" in Merck Manuals Professional Edition. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  8. ↑ Towbin KE (January 2003). "Strategies for pharmacologic treatment of high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome". Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 12 (1): 23–45. doi:10.1016/S1056-4993(02)00049-4. ISSN 1056-4993. PMID 12512397.
  9. ↑ "Mayo Clinic staff".
  10. ↑ "What Is Asperger Syndrome?" -. The National Autistic Society, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Tsai, Luke Y.; Ghaziuddin, Mohammad (1 February 2014). "DSM-5 ASD Moves Forward into the Past". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 44 (2): 321–330. doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1870-3. PMID 23807202. S2CID 3515088.
  12. ↑ "ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics". icd.who.int. Retrieved 2023-01-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ↑ MedicineNet, Inc. "Definition of Asperger syndrome" Archived 2013-03-21 at the Wayback Machine, Health News of the Week.
  14. ↑ Galanopoulos A, Robertson D, Woodhouse E (4 January 2016). "The assessment of autism spectrum disorders in adults". Advances in Autism. 2 (1): 31–40. doi:10.1108/AIA-09-2015-0017.
  15. ↑ Fombonne E, Tidmarsh L (January 2003). "Epidemiologic data on Asperger disorder". Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 12 (1): 15–21, v–vi. doi:10.1016/S1056-4993(02)00050-0. PMID 12512396.
  16. ↑ Fombonne E (2007). "Epidemiological surveys of pervasive developmental disorders". In Volkmar FR (ed.). Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 33–68. ISBN 978-0-521-54957-8.

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