What are the Symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome? Children with Asperger's Syndrome exhibit poor social interactions, obsessions, odd speech patterns, limited facial expressions and other peculiar mannerisms. They might engage in obsessive routines and show an unusual sensitivity to sensory stimuli.
Asperger's: Not a One-Size-Fits-All Disorder
The disorder manifests itself in various ways, and many people experience different symptoms than others do. Some have only mild issues, while some face major challenges.
Most people are unaware of the symptoms of Asperger's syndrome. They include an unusually high IQ and a difficulty surviving in the social world. The fact that the symptoms vary in gender doesn't help.
Asperger's in adults typically causes issues with communication, emotion regulation and interpretation, social interactions, and behavior. People who have Asperger's may also experience other conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or OCD.
Some of the effects of unaddressed or untreated Asperger's syndrome may include: Social isolation. Difficulty making and keeping friends. Challenges in finding and maintaining steady employment.
The Asperger's mind enjoys and focuses on details, while the normal mind is more skilled at assembling whole concepts from details. Some people with Asperger's are visual thinkers and others are math, music, or number thinkers, but all think in specifics.
Symptoms of Asperger's syndrome
Craving repetition and routine (and not responding well to change). Missing social cues in play and conversation. Not making eye contact with peers and adults.
Some people with Asperger syndrome say the world feels overwhelming and this can cause them considerable anxiety. In particular, understanding and relating to other people, and taking part in everyday family, school, work and social life, can be harder.
Many biological conditions can lead to social difficulties, including autism. However, not all autistic individuals will display social awkwardness (though they may struggle inwardly). Moreover, not everyone who is socially awkward is autistic. And, in fact, they don't necessarily have a diagnosable condition.
There are several conditions that resemble or have autism-like symptoms such as developmental delays, language disorders, motor impairments, attention-deficit, anxiety, brain injury, chromosomal abnormalities, and severe emotional and behavioral disturbance – just to name a few.
Autism Corner: Personality Types in Asperger's: Fixated, Disruptive, Approach and Avoidant. Fixated Personality–The fixated personality type can be characterized by a preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and the need to control one's environment (e.g., to have things in a particular order).
For example, a person with Asperger's may have flat affect, meaning that they appear to be sad or down. However, this affective state may not match what they feel on the inside; rather, they might actually feel normal or like nothing is wrong.
Many individuals with ASD have high IQs and have learned socially appropriate (“normal”) behaviors over the years. Some “ undiagnosees ” may take acting classes or study human behavior, becoming expert charmers and even at times coming across as social butterflies when they know that the “cameras” are on.
Some people with Asperger's speak in a formal manner and with less voice inflection. They may speak loudly or go on tangents during conversations and may have one-sided conversations and difficulty detecting changes in the topic.
If you still hear people use some of the older terms, you'll want to know what they mean: Asperger's syndrome. This is on the milder end of the autism spectrum. A person with Asperger's may be very intelligent and able to handle their daily life.
Kids with Aspergers begin to talk at the expected age, saying their first words around 12 months of age. However, their actual first words are often unusual (e.g., such first words as palm pilot, sheetrock, clock, mountain, fish, hammer). These words are generally used before the youngster says “mommy” or “daddy.”
A child who has Asperger's syndrome will generally begin to present with noticeable symptoms around the age of three but, in many instances, those with Asperger's are not diagnosed until much later due to limited social demands and support from parents and caregivers early in life.
Encountering social awkwardness is normal in everyday life. Stumbling across awkward situations and getting embarrassed now and again is something that people learn from a young age, but for individuals with Asperger's disorder, this can be a real challenge.
Computed tomography (CT) of the head cannot be used either to diagnose or to rule out Asperger syndrome, because no consistent CT findings are evident in people with this condition.