The Eccentrics - Asperger's Disorder

For many years, Autism has been in the background.  It's the disorder that no one talked about or knew anything about.  Although it has been studied and written about since the early 1900s, mainstream society still knows so little about it. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when the show Parenthood featured a child with Asperger's Disorder.


In 1944, Hans Asperger first described the social disorder known today as Asperger's Disorder.  Children or Adults with Asperger's Disorder are characterized by social isolation and eccentric behaviors.  Most significantly, they have trouble with two way communication and often display self focused behaviors.  They have trouble relating to other individuals and showing empathy for others.  



Even though their speech may appear grammatically correct, often their speech is characterized by repetitive speech patterns.  Children with Asperger's often have limited interests and may play with an object repeatedly in a manner that is different than mainstream play.  


Children with Asperger's can display clumsiness.  They may have trouble with handwriting, riding a bike or other motor skills.  Like children with Autism, they may depend highly on schedules and routines and display feelings of anger and frustration easily when routines are changed or when confronted with new situations.  One of the other characteristics may be the inability to look people in the eye while talking or focusing on an object behind the person they are speaking to.


In comparison to children with Autism, children with Asperger's Disorder usually have a more positive outcome.  Most children with Asperger's are diagnosed later than children with Autism, they have a higher verbal IQ vs. performance IQ whereas in Autism, verbal skills are often lower than performance skills, as well as there is less difficulty with social and communication than those children with Autism.  Asperger's disorder can co-exist with other disorders such as ADD, ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.


There are many successful strategies for treating children with Asperger's Disorder.  These include parent education, behavior modification, educational interventions such as speech therapy, social skills training, psychotherapy or counseling services as well as medications for coexisting behaviors such as irritability and anger, aggression, hyperactivity or compulsions. 


I have two sons with Asperger's Disorder ages 10 and 20.  While we do not know the cause of their Asperger's, I have come to accept them for what they are.  I have reached a level of peace in knowing that I may never see a cure for Asperger's in my lifetime.  My energies have instead shifted to enjoying them for what they are and I hope using my experiences in helping other parents who are struggling with coping with parenting a special needs child.  I hope to educate more people about Autism and other special needs.


Our experience with Asperger's has been at times challenging.  When our 20 year old first received a diagnosis of ADHD, I knew that the ADHD diagnosis did not answer all the symptoms of eccentric behaviors, social problems and problems adjusting to change.  Upon receiving the diagnosis of Asperger's, it was a tremendous relief to me to finally know what was going on with him to being able to predict behaviors and how to prevent them.  


When our second son was diagnosed, it was so much easier because so much more information was readily available than 10 years previously and our oldest had prepared us for coping with our 2nd son.  I also found it enlightening to read the book Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's Disorder which chronicled the life of the author John Elder Robison.  Oddly enough, while our oldest son wasn't diagnosed with Asperger's until he was nearly a teenager, John Elder Robison wasn't diagnosed until in his 40s.  This book gave me the inside view of what living with Asperger's Disorder was like, which I hope in turn gave me the ability to show more compassion and understanding toward my children.


What strategies have worked for us? Trying to establish routines.  Be prepared for your child to display frustration.  Take time to prepare your child in advance for change.  Be an advocate for your child.  Utilize resources available such as speech therapy, social skills training and motor skills training to work on handwriting.  For us, the biggest help has been to love and accept our children as they are and do what we can to give them the resources to build self coping skills.


For more information on Asperger's Disorder, visit:


http://www.aspergers.com/


http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/tc/aspergers-syndrome-topic-overview


http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Aspergers%20Disorder&section=Facts+for+Families


For more information on John Elder Robison, visit:


http://johnrobison.com/