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Asperger Syndrome

© Sharon Gillson

Asperger Syndrome was named after Hans Asperger, a Viennese pediatrician who first documented this group of characteristics in the 1940's. Many researchers believe this disorder falls at the high end of the Autism Spectrum. Individuals with Asperger Syndrome are sometimes confused with those individuals who are "high-functioning autistic" or HFA.

Individuals with AS have symptoms which range from mild to severe. They exhibit serious deficiencies in social and communication skills. They often have obsessive repetitive routines and preoccupations with a particular subject.

Both autism and AS are defined in the DSM-IV as Pervasive Developmental Disorders. There are characteristics in common between the two, particularly in regards to impairments in social interaction, communication, and repetitive or restricted interests and activities. Differences, however, exist mainly in the degree of impairment. An individual with autism may experience a delay in, or total lack of speech while an individual with Asperger's will not have a clinically significant delay in language. Though they wouldn't have a significant delay in language, they could problems understanding spoken language (e.g. irony, humor).

A second difference made by the DSM-IV concerns cognitive ability. Some individuals with autism have a degree of mental retardation, while an individual with AS wouldn't have a significant cognitive delay. Not all individuals with autism will have mental retardation. But a person with AS will possess an average to above average intelligence.

According to the DSM-IV manual, AS is one of five disorders in the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorder. The other four disorders are Autistic Disorder, Rett's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS).

According to the DSM-IV, the criteria for AS are as follows:

• Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
  1. marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction
  2. failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
  3. a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people(e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
  4. lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

• Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:
  1. encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus

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