Asperger's Syndrome

Do you consider yourself incapable of understanding social situations? Are your interests focused on one topic? Is it hard for you to maintain eye contact? Then you, like many talented and intelligent people, can be diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.

It differs from other forms of autism, in part because it is often diagnosed in adolescents and adults, unlike very young children. This is due to the fact that Asperger syndrome is a relatively easy form of autism, which does not include problems with basic language skills. Many people with this syndrome are very bright and capable. Problems are associated specifically with social and communication skills, which become necessary only when people are older and need to be able to negotiate in complex social situations.

History of Asperger's Syndrome

Hans Asperger was a Viennese child psychologist who worked with a group of boys who had similar developmental features. Although they were all smart and had normal language skills, they also had many symptoms of autism. He began by describing the diagnostic criteria for the syndrome, which he named his own name. During the Second World War, Asperger's work stopped for several years. They continued it only in the late 1980s.

What does it mean to have Asperger syndrome?

Signs of it, obviously, are such that many successful people can be diagnosed (Dan Ackroyd, for example, announced his diagnosis on the air - and there are rumors that Bill Gates may also have Asperger syndrome). This is not a disability in the classical sense. In fact, some historians suggest that Mozart, Einstein and Alan Turing (who invented the first electronic computer) also had Asperger syndrome.

Because people with this syndrome have a common set of characteristics that is associated with social interactions, it is especially difficult to diagnose it. Above many, "espair" (the term defining adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome, which they sometimes use to refer to themselves) was mocked or teased as a child. They can be awkward with the opposite sex. They have constant problems in school, at work, caused by the inability to find contact with other people.

The Cambridge organization, investigating Asperger's syndrome, the symptoms of its manifestations, developed a simple questionnaire of ten control questions to conduct a preliminary self-diagnosis:

• Social situation I often put up in a dead end;
• It is difficult for me to maintain a small talk;
• I never liked creative work at school;
• I choose the details and facts well;
• I can focus on certain things for a very long period of time;
• People often say that I am rude, although I do not notice it;
• I have unusually narrow interests;
• It was always difficult for me to make friends;
• There is a delay in motor development. It's hard to learn to use a fork or spoon, ride a bicycle or catch a ball. The handwriting often leaves much to be desired;
• Increased sensitivity to loud sounds, light.

If you answered positively to most of these questions about yourself or your loved one, you may have discovered one of the undiagnosed cases of Asperger's syndrome. For some teenagers and adults, this is a huge relief: they found the answer to a lot of questions that bothered them throughout their lives. And it also opens the way to support and treatment.

But no one is obliged to do anything at all with Asperger's syndrome. In fact, many adults feel that being "espair" is a matter of pride. Certain features characteristic of Asperger's syndrome, such as attention to detail and purposeful interests, can increase the chances of a career success. Therefore, for some it's not a diagnosis, but a lifestyle!