Asperger’s syndrome: all you need to know about this type of autism

Asperger’s syndrome is a form of autism without intellectual disability, which is characterized by difficulty in decoding information from its environment. It is estimated that one in ten people with autism have Asperger’s syndrome.

Definition: what is Asperger’s syndrome?

Asperger’s syndrome is a pervasive neurological developmental disorder (PDD) of genetic origin. It falls into the category of autism spectrum disorders, or autism. Asperger’s syndrome does not involve intellectual disability or language delay.

Asperger’s syndrome was first described in 1943 by Dr Hans Asperger, an Austrian psychiatrist, then reported to the scientific community by British psychiatrist Lorna Wing in 1981. The American Psychiatric Association has also officially recognized the syndrome in 1994.

Concretely, Asperger’s syndrome is characterized by difficulties in the social sense, especially in the field of verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions. A person with Asperger’s syndrome, or Aspie, has “Mental blindness” for everything related to social codes. How a blind man must learn to navigate in a world he does not see, an Asperger’s must learn the social codes that he lacks to evolve in this world of which he does not always understand the social functioning.

Note that if some Asperger’s are gifted, this is not the case for all, although they often have a slightly higher than average intelligence quotient.

Asperger’s syndrome and classical autism: what are the differences?

Autism is distinguished from Asperger’s syndrome by intellect and language. Children with Asperger’s syndrome usually do not have language delay or intellectual disability. Some people with Asperger’s disease – but not all – are sometimes even endowed with impressive intellectual capacities (often publicized at the level of mental arithmetic or memorization).

According to the association ‘Actions for Asperger’s Autism‘,’ ‘For a person to be diagnosed with High Level Autism or Asperger’s syndrome, in addition to the criteria usually identified for a diagnosis of autism, their intelligence quotient (IQ) must be greater than 70.“

Note also that the onset of Asperger-related problems is often later that for autism and that family history is common.

What are the symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome?

We can summarize the symptoms of Asperger’s autism in 5 main areas:

• of the verbal and non-verbal communication difficulties : difficulties in understanding abstract notions, irony, puns, figurative meaning, metaphors, facial expressions, literal interpretations, often precious / offbeat language …
• of the socialization difficulties : uncomfortable in a group, difficulty understanding social rules and conventions, perceiving the needs and emotions of others, and recognizing and managing one’s own emotions …
• of the neurosensory disorders : awkward gestures, poor eye contact, facial expression often frozen, difficulty looking into the eyes, heightened sensory perceptions, in particular hypersensitivity to noise or light, to smells, intolerance to certain textures, sensitivity to details …
• un need for routine, which results in repeated and stereotypical behaviors, and difficulties in adapting to changes and unforeseen events;
• of the narrow interests in number and / or very strong in intensity, exacerbated passions.

Note that people with Asperger’s autism, due to their differences in terms of communication and social sense, are known to their honesty, their frankness, their loyalty, their absence of prejudices and their attention to detail, so many assets that can be welcome in many areas. But this goes hand in hand with a lack of second-degree understanding, a strong need for routine, difficulty listening and frequent silence, a lack of empathy and difficulty listening to a conversation.

The communication and social integration difficulties experienced by people with Asperger’s syndrome can therefore be disabling and lead to anxiety, withdrawal, social isolation, depression, even attempted suicides in the most severe cases. Hence the importance of a early diagnosis, often experienced as a relief for the person himself and for those close to him.

Asperger’s syndrome in women: symptoms often less noticeable

To diagnose an autism spectrum disorder, whether or not it is Asperger Syndrome, doctors and psychologists have recourse to any a series of tests and questionnaires. They look for the presence of the behaviors and symptoms listed above. Except that these symptoms can be more or less marked depending on the individual, and in particular in girls and women.

Several studies tend to show that girls with autism or Asperger’s disease would be more difficult to diagnose than boys. Without us yet knowing very well why, perhaps for educational or biology reasons, girls with autism and Asperger’s use more social imitation strategies. They would develop a keener sense of observation than boys, and would then succeed in “Imitate” others, to mimic social behaviors that are foreign to them. Girls with Asperger’s disease also camouflage rituals and stereotypes better than boys.

The difficulty of diagnosis would therefore be all the greater in the face of a girl suffering from Asperger’s syndrome, to such an extent that some Asperger’s are diagnosed very late, in adulthood.

Asperger’s syndrome: what treatment after diagnosis?

To diagnose Asperger’s syndrome, it is best to contact a CRA, Autism Resource Center. There is one for each major region of France, and the approach is multidisciplinary (speech therapists, psychomotor therapists, psychologists etc.), which facilitates the diagnosis.

Once the diagnosis of Asperger is made, the child can be followed by a speech therapist and / or a therapist, specializing in autism spectrum disorders, preferably. The speech therapist will help the child to understand the subtleties of language, especially in terms of irony, expressions, perception of emotions, etc.

As for the therapist, he will help the child with Asperger’s learn social codes which it lacks, in particular via scenarios. The care can be done at the individual or group level, the second option being more practical to recreate everyday situations with which the child is or will be confronted (eg: playground, parks, sports activities, etc.).

A child with Asperger’s disease will in principle be able to follow normal schooling without any problem. Using a school life support (AVS) can however be a plus to help them integrate better into school.

How to help a child with Asperger’s syndrome to integrate?

Many parents can be helpless when it comes to a child with Asperger’s autism. Guilt, helplessness, incomprehension, quarantine of the child to avoid uncomfortable situations… Are as many situations, attitudes and feelings as parents of children Aspie can sometimes know.

Facing a child with Asperger’s disease, kindness and patience are in order. The child may have anxiety attacks or depressive episodes in social situations where he does not know how to behave. It is up to parents to support him in this permanent learning of social norms, but also at school level, by showing flexibility.

Learning social codes can notably go through family games, the opportunity for the child to learn to behave in several situations, but also to learn to lose, to give up his turn, to play as a team, etc.

If the child with Asperger’s a devouring passion, e.g. for ancient Egypt, chess, video games, archeology, it may be a good idea to take advantage of this passion to help him build a circle of friends, for example by registering for a club. There are even themed summer camps to encourage children to socialize outside of school.