Asperger Syndrome

Asperger syndrome also known alternatively as pervasive developmental disorder, is mostly deemed as a highly functioning type of autism. Individuals having this syndrome have blighted social contact, restricted recurring behavioural mannerisms and are mostly gauche. They might be a delay in attaining milestones in motor skills adeptness.

Asperger Syndrome Causes:

• The cause is still woolly. The founder of this disorder, Hans Asperger in 1944 characterized it ‘Autistic Psychopathy’ and the cause is till date unclear. There is a potential association to autism and genetic predisposition might don a crucial role. This condition has been noted to appear more commonly in the male rather than the female gender.
• A child having Asperger exhibits lower than average non-verbal communication gesticulation, inability in forming peer associations and incapability in expressing delight in other person’s joys and delights and an inability in reciprocation of emotions during normal  social communications.
• Although persons with Asperger’s syndrome often display social ineptness, several such individuals show more than average aptitude and many might outshine in areas such as computer programming and science-related fields. There is no impediment in mental development, in developing age-apposite self-aid skill sets or in inquisitiveness regarding the environment.

Asperger Syndrome Symptoms:

• Unnatural non-spoken communication like difficulty in making eye contact, body stance or gesticulation and facial expressions.
• Mostly being isolated by other peers and dubbed as eccentric or peculiar.
• Inability in developing peer bonds or inaptness in reciprocating social or emotional sentiments.
• Rigidity regarding particular habits or practices.
• Lack of ability to show, bring or point out objects of curiosity to other persons.
• Noticeably blighted expression of delight in other individual’s happiness.
• Obsession with fractions of entire objects.
• Recurrent behaviourisms inclusive of continual self-mutilation behaviour.
• Recurrent finger shaking, twisting or complete bodily movements.
• Unnaturally extreme fixation with contracted areas of curiosity like being preoccupied with train timetables, phone books or accumulating or gathering certain items.

Diagnosis & Tests:

Assessments of the physical, emotional and cognitive levels are normally conducted to sideline other causes.

Asperger Syndrome Treatment:

• Depending on the patient’s extent of adaptive performance, the requisite treatment is meted out. A soaring intelligence quotient or IQ would fetch a better viewpoint as compared to a lower than average IQ. As the patient would have average or more than average aptitude, enhancements in social function are especially crucial.
• In those patients with chronic impediment, treatment analogous to autism therapy is adopted.
• Medicines like SSRI’s or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, anti-psychotic medications and stimulants might be employed for treating problems like anxiety, depressive tendencies and aggressiveness.

As is the case with majority of development disorders, the lasting result would differ in accordance to the nature of the underlying issue and treatments utilised to sustain continual development.

Possible complications: The person affected with Asperger’s syndrome might show extreme aggressiveness and might inflict self-damage that could be fatal.

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