Asperger’s Syndrome

What is Asperger's Syndrome?

Asperger syndrome, a subgroup of autism spectrum disorders, was described by Dr. Hans Asperger in 1944. The most characteristic feature of Asperger's syndrome is the difficulty in communicating with people. In addition, obsessive thoughts and behaviors are seen in people with Asperger's syndrome. People with Asperger's syndrome are distinguished from other autism spectrum disorders by their normal or superior intelligence. In addition, their strong oral language skills and intellectual abilities differ from other autism spectrum groups.

Although Asperger's syndrome was considered a disease in its own right when it was first defined, today it is a developmental disorder that is included in the group of autism spectrum disorders. Individuals with Asperger's syndrome can do extremely well academically and career-wise and can communicate well with others in situations. However, they may find it difficult to communicate with others in social areas. In addition, people with Asperger's syndrome have serious difficulty understanding subtle ways of communicating, such as humor, body language and innuendo.

People with Asperger's syndrome focus on a particular area of interest to the extent that it affects their daily lives. They can think and talk about these interests for hours. They devote so much time to their interests that it can become an obsession that complicates their daily lives.

Asperger's syndrome usually occurs in children between the ages of 5 and 9 and is diagnosed in this age range. There is no definitive treatment for Asperger's syndrome, which is more common in boys than girls. However, children who are diagnosed early and receive the necessary support have the opportunity to lead productive lives.

Asperger's Symptoms

The symptoms of Asperger's syndrome vary according to the individual. The most important feature that distinguishes Asperger syndrome from other autism groups is its obsessive focus on a particular area of interest. The spectrum of this obsession in individuals with Asperger's syndrome is extremely wide. These obsessions may include the arrival time of buses, the neighbor's child, a family member or an intellectual subject. Because of these obsessions, they constantly talk about their interests during a conversation, even though they have nothing to do with them. In addition, the subject matter of the communication is of no importance to them. Since people with Asperger's syndrome start talking about their interests, the other person's efforts to change the subject are futile. Because of these characteristics, they have difficulty in socializing and communicating with other people.

Another symptom of Asperger's syndrome is that individuals have difficulty understanding other people's emotions and facial expressions. Not only do they avoid looking other people in the eye, but their speech is emotionless and monotonous. Their speech is accompanied by a limited number of gestures. These gestures are not connected to what they are saying. In addition, they do not know when to raise or lower their voices.

Individuals with Asperger's syndrome may also have delays in basic motor skills such as walking and running. They may also be unable to do activities such as climbing or cycling.

Diagnostic methods for Asperger's syndrome

Asperger's syndrome can be diagnosed in childhood or in adulthood. However, Asperger's syndrome is usually diagnosed after children start school. Because there is no delay in language development in Asperger's syndrome. For this reason, it is only when they compare their children with their peers that parents realize that there is a difference in their children.

No single test is sufficient to diagnose Asperger's syndrome. For this reason, many tests need to be performed together. In addition, feedback from parents and teachers should also be taken into account.

Some of the differences that can be observed in children who are not diagnosed until school age, especially in the classroom environment, include the following.

• Coordination problems
• Inadequacies in motor muscle skills
• Reacting negatively to changes or having a different attitude
• Difficulties in communication with friends and teachers
• Different facial expression during the conversation
• Difficulties in social interaction
• Language development

Unfortunately, these differences are misinterpreted by many experts and teachers. For this reason, children with Asperger's syndrome may be diagnosed with hyperactivity or attention disorders. In order to make a correct diagnosis, all symptoms should be evaluated together.

Causes of Asperger's

Asperger's syndrome is known to occur for neurodevelopmental reasons. However, it is not yet clear what causes these abnormalities in the brain. These changes in the brain are thought to be caused by genetic factors and environmental toxins. Viruses and chemical toxins are also thought to cause Asperger's syndrome.

Asperger's Treatment Methods

Treatment methods for Asperger's syndrome are extremely limited. These treatment methods are not intended to cure the disease, but to help people with Asperger's syndrome lead a quality life.

In the treatment of Asperger's syndrome, a treatment plan is prepared based on the symptoms seen in individuals. The important thing here is to focus on the skills that the child needs to develop.

Medication is also used to treat Asperger's syndrome. Medication is administered to relieve problems such as irritability and hyperactivity, which are common in these individuals. This treatment uses medicines containing the active ingredients olanzapine and guanfacine. In addition, sleep medications can also be used to treat sleep disorders in individuals.

In the treatment of Asperger's syndrome, the focus is on the emotional, social and communication skills of individuals. In addition to these, speech therapies are also used to eliminate speech disorders in individuals. Physical therapy applications are used to improve the coordination deficiencies and motor skills of individuals with Asperger syndrome and cognitive behavioral therapies are used for their mental development.

It is not possible for experts to implement all of these trainings that should be given to individuals with Asperger syndrome. Because the trainings given to these individuals need to be repeated continuously throughout the day. For this reason, the trainings are also taught to families and they work together with the experts.

In order for individuals with Asperger's syndrome to live a normal life, it is very important that they are diagnosed early and receive the necessary treatments. It is also recommended that families seek psychological help as this process is extremely distressing for families.

Differences between Asperger's and Autism

The main difference between Asperger's syndrome and autism is that individuals with Asperger's syndrome do not have difficulty with speech and pronunciation. Individuals with autism speak with fewer words than their peers and are sometimes silent, while individuals with Asperger's syndrome have the same vocabulary as their peers. In addition, people with Asperger's syndrome use technical and detailed vocabulary.

Another difference is that autism is diagnosed in many children before they reach school age thanks to its symptoms. However, children with Asperger's syndrome often need to participate in social life or have difficulties at school to be diagnosed.

Another difference between individuals with Asperger's syndrome and individuals with autism is that individuals with Asperger's syndrome should be aware that they are not compatible with society. However, individuals with autism do not realize that they cannot live in harmony with society.

Another difference between autism and Asperger's syndrome is in the cognitive domain. Individuals with Asperger's syndrome do not show any cognitive problems and usually have IQs above normal.

While the physical development of individuals with autism is parallel to their peers, individuals with Asperger's syndrome show delays in the development of motor skills.

Asperger's syndrome and language impairment

People with Asperger's syndrome do not have any delay in language development, but there are some differences in their speech. These differences include the following.

• Having problems with pronoun usage
• Using some words too often
• Often deriving new words

In addition to these differences, people with Asperger's syndrome can express themselves easily. However, they have difficulty in understanding the other person's communication with the vertical. For example, they do not notice if the other person is listening to them and they continue to talk about themselves. In addition, they do not notice the other person's efforts to change the subject and continue their communication as a monologue.

In addition to these, intonation and stress errors are among the most common language differences in people with Asperger's syndrome.

Asperger's syndrome and intelligence

Intelligence is basically divided into two categories. These are verbal and performance. People with Asperger's syndrome differ in both types of intelligence. People with Asperger's syndrome have average and often above average intelligence.

Since the definition of intelligence is not precise, it is generally defined as the ability to do work. For this reason, people with Asperger's syndrome are also differentiated from other forms of autism. This is because autism is characterized by learning impairment, whereas people with Asperger's syndrome have strong learning, in some cases in limited areas. Otherwise, they do not have learning difficulties. In addition, they gain detailed knowledge about their interests and therefore are much more successful in many areas than people without autism.

When we look at the performance intelligence of people with Asperger's syndrome, it is known that they have low performance in symbol and number coding and symbol searching. In addition, the reaction time of people with Asperger's syndrome is much later than the rest of the population. Therefore, they need questions much more quickly in order to accomplish a task and solve a problem.

When we look at the verbal intelligence levels of individuals with Asperger syndrome, there is no retardation. In their language development, their verbal communication at home develops in parallel with their peers. On the other hand, he has Asperger's syndrome. Although individuals have a large vocabulary and adequate grammatical knowledge, they are behind the rest of the population in making inferences. They can also understand much more content than other populations. Finally, people with Asperger's syndrome have a disorganized narrative.

Another verbal deficiency of people with Asperger syndrome is difficulty in communicating with people.

Asperger's syndrome and sexuality

Individuals with Asperger's syndrome may be reluctant to socialize and establish intimacy with other people. In addition, their inability to understand metaphors makes it difficult for them to establish social relationships.

In addition, people with Asperger's syndrome may also dislike being touched. Therefore, their partners need to understand the situation and give importance to verbal communication. They can minimize problems through open communication. In addition, it would be useful for couples to seek psychological help for a healthy relationship.