Monday, December 24, 2007

I HAVE ASPHERGERS...i know it shouldnt matter but this explaines what it is and some effects it might have along with my meds that cause me to act the way i do in sever changes i hope this helps you understand and make things easier


Asperger Syndrome or (Asperger's Disorder) is a neurobiological disorder named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication skills. In spite of the publication of his paper in the 1940's, it wasn't until 1994 that Asperger Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and only in the past few years has AS been recognized by professionals and parents.

Individuals with AS can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It's important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently. Therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behavior, and most certainly not the result of "improper parenting".

By definition, those with AS have a normal IQ and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of their high degree of functionality and their naiveté, those with AS are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying. While language development seems, on the surface, normal, individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody. Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like "little professors." However, persons with AS can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context.

At this time there is a great deal of debate as to exactly where AS fits. It is presently described as an autism spectrum disorder and Uta Frith, in her book AUTISM AND ASPERGER'S SYNDROME, described AS individuals as "having a dash of Autism". Some professionals feel that AS is the same as High Functioning Autism, while others feel that it is better described as a Nonverbal Learning Disability. AS shares many of the characteristics of PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder; Not otherwise specified), HFA, and NLD and because it was virtually unknown until a few years ago, many individuals either received an incorrect diagnosis or remained undiagnosed. For example, it is not at all uncommon for a child who was initially diagnosed with ADD or ADHD be re-diagnosed with AS. In addition, some individuals who were originally diagnosed with HFA or PDD-NOS are now being given the AS diagnosis and many individuals have a dual diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism.


Asperger's Syndrome is a developmental disorder on the Autism Spectrum Disorder spectrum. Children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome have difficulty with social interactions and understanding unspoken social cues. As such, it is often the case that kids with Asperger's Syndrome get into more trouble in school, exasperate teachers and are the subject of bullying.

Asperger's Syndrome sufferers are often highly intelligent and highly verbal. Boys are four times as likely than girls to be diagnosed with Asperger's, but it remains unclear whether this is because they are four times more likely to develop it, or if the different socialization processes for girls and boys improves Asperger's girls' social abilities so that they become indistinguishable from non-Asperger's girls.

When normal infants are learning to read caregivers' moods through facial expressions, Asperger's Syndrome children are not. When threats and dares are uttered on the playground, normal children might know when another child is bluffing, when to ask an adult to intervene and when to stand up for themselves. Asperger's kids might miss all these cues, and get into unnecessary fights, or allow themselves to be cowed by a kid who was only teasing, marking them as an easy target for bullies.

Teens and adults with Asperger's Syndrome are often unable to discern that they are talking too loudly for the circumstances. They also develop monomaniacal interests in esoteric topics, and cannot understand that others are less interested. Clues that they are boring someone with the depths and details of their interests pass them by, so Asperger's Syndrome people often find themselves socially isolated as peers avoid them.

People with Asperger's Syndrome can be taught to decode social cues intellectually, rather than instinctively. This is a fairly lengthy and frustrating process, because most people cannot verbalize what they understand instinctively, but recruiting friends and family to help is useful. A teen with Asperger's Syndrome might tell their most trusted friends, for example, to give them a particular hand signal when they are speaking too loudly, or a different signal when they are belaboring a topic that no one else is interested in.

It's not a uniformly bleak picture for those with Asperger's Syndrome, however. Their ability to focus like a laser on very intricate topics make them extremely well-suited to certain fields of endeavor; the computer field is a natural haven for those with Asperger's Syndrome.



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