Introduction to Asperger Syndrome

I created this blog because I wanted to educate people a bit about Asperger Syndrome, and also to let them know about my issues and experiences surrounding it, and how it affects me as a Medical student etc.

Although Asperger Syndrome is becoming an increasingly known condition, with worldwide diagnosis rates increasing significantly since its introduction to the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) in 1994, lots of people still haven’t heard of it. Far more people however have heard of the term “Autism”, and when they hear that Asperger Syndrome is a form of Autism, lots of stereotypes and misconceptions pop up in their mind. I’ll try to clarify these confusions by defining Asperger Syndrome more accurately.

Firstly, Asperger Syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder that lies within the Autistic Spectrum. The Autistic Spectrum is basically a spectrum of conditions that range in severity of certain issues, primarily social impairment, communication difficulties, and stereotypy (repetitive behaviours). Sensory issues are also extremely common among people on the Autistic Spectrum.

ASDs (Autism Spectrum Disorders) are NOT mental illnesses!

Asperger Syndrome is considered to be a high functioning form of Autism in the sense that there is no mental retardation (IQ is 70+), and no noticeable impairment in practical verbal/written language skills. In fact, many Aspies have above average IQs and/or Hyperlexia (superior reading ability). This is different from Classical/Kanner Autism (lower functioning), in which there is a noticeable language skill delay or impairment, and significant prevalence of mental retardation***.

ASDs do NOT automatically equate to mental retardation!

***( In fact, I disagree with the notion that most Classical Autistic people considered mentally retarded are retarded, due to the methodology used to test their IQ, but that’ll be discussed in another post in the future.)

HOWEVER, what people with Asperger Syndrome and others with ASDs do have is social impairment, in the sense that they don’t have the intuitive ability to read non-verbal cues and gauge social situations in real time like NTs (Neurotypicals, ie non-Autistic people). And there are also innate difficulties and/or absence in performing certain non-verbal activities, like eye contact and expressive body language. Also, most people with ASDs communicate and understand things differently to NTs, so many Autistic people have trouble in understanding jokes, sarcasm, and irony, or they interpret it differently, especially in the literal sense.

All this leads to many misunderstandings in communication between people with ASDs and NTs, and either party can be easily be offended or made upset. The people with ASDs are then seen to be “weird”, “arrogant”, “rude” etc by certain NTs because their behaviours are perceived to step outside what was expected by society’s social norms. The person with ASD DIDN’T intend to appear that way to the NT, because they interpreted the situation differently by not recognizing the non-verbal social cues and other contextual features.

Likewise, the NTs’ behaviour can also be irritating, irrational, upsetting or confusing etc to the ASD person who tends to view things in a logical and practical perspective.
It also makes people with ASDs more vulnerable to bullying and abuse by certain NTs who are intolerant of those who are different from them. This is a major problem that ASD people suffer from at school and in the workplace, and makes it harder for ASD people to attain and maintain employment.

ASDs involve communicating and seeing things DIFFERENTLY!
It’s both an impairment AND an ADVANTAGE (to be discussed next time)!

People with ASDs, and especially those with Asperger Syndrome, ARE capable of learning about contextual communication, and understand and produce non-verbal cues towards NTs, but it’s a time consuming, manual process that’s usually learnt intellectually, and not intuitively like NTs.

Stereotypy is also a symptom of those with Asperger Syndrome (and other ASDs). It basically involves certain repetitive physical movements and/or activities. It is also called “Stimming”, and is actually quite soothing and comfortable for the person who does it. It’s meant to be a way to manually stimulate oneself or calm oneself when they are stressed. The typical examples cited in other ASD literature include hand flapping, and rocking back and forth. If you physically force or punish an ASD person to stop stimming, chances are they’ll be quite angry or upset.
Sometimes, we don’t even realize we’re doing it automatically! For me, my stims are walking in circles, pacing back and forth, and twisting my hair. However, when I’m fully engrossed in study or work, or when I’m enjoying myself doing something else like watching TV, then I usually stop stimming because I’m already stimulated doing other things.
Stimming is often viewed to be a bad thing and inappropriate in public by NTs, so many Aspies learn to control their behaviour and only stim when at home, in a private place, or in the company of people who are fine with it.

A narrow range of interests, or special interest, is very common in people with Asperger Syndrome, although not officially part of the DSM-IV criteria. An Aspie can be fascinated with a subject or hobby and learn as much as they can about it through encyclopedias, the internet, CD-ROMs etc, eventually becoming very knowledgeable in the matter. The subject could be trains, cars, teddy bears, quantum physics, Calculus, chess, anything!
It’s one of their joys in life, and is very important for positive self esteem, and they’ll be very happy to talk about their interest if asked about it. It’s much easier for them to make friends who share the same special interest with them.
If their special interest or small range of interests is in a field that has “real world value”, especially in the Scientific field, they can later on turn their special interest into a career and be very successful through their enthusiasm and hard work.

So in conclusion:
1. Asperger Syndrome is an Autism Spectrum Disorder that has no practical cognitive or linguistic impairment.

2. Asperger Syndrome involves an innately “impaired” and different communication style with Neurotypicals, difficulty forming friendships compared to NTs, along with repetitive activities.

3. People with Asperger Syndrome are perfectly capable of making friends and having intimate relationships, providing they work on certain social skills and/or meet the right people.

4. People with Asperger Syndrome are NOT stupid, because Social Skills =/= Intelligence.

5. Special Interests and Sensory Issues are very common among people with Asperger Syndrome.

6. Asperger Syndrome has many disadvantages as well as advantages!

First Post

Ok, this is my first post.

Testing font.

Welcome to my blog, for those who are new to it! I have a few interesting things coming up in regards to AS, and I will blog about them when I have time. Cheers. :)