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It affects boys more often than girls. It is not fully known whether it is a separate condition or a milder form of autism, or at least belongs to the spectrum of autism.
Scene 1:
School corridor. The boy approaches a group of friends and says something to them. They get up and when they leave, they say:
– Anyway, shut up.
The boy looks around uncertainly and looks for a room or a wardrobe to lock himself up in.
Scene 2:
A weekend in the countryside. At one of the farms, a chain dog is lying on the roof of the kennel. The boy runs to pet him, but an angry man appears in the farmyard, who, frowning and waving his fist, screams menacingly:
– Just try to approach him!
At the last moment, the father pulls his son away from the aggressive dog, because the boy has tried …
Scene 3:
In the supermarket, a boy approaches a woman choosing the freshest bunch of dill and, avoiding her gaze, begins to speak in a strange voice:
– The Apollo 13 mission started on April 11, 1970 at 19.13pm Coordinated Universal Time. Even before the scheduled landing on the moon, there was an explosion of the liquid oxygen tank in the SM-109 service module weighing 23,181 kilograms. The crew of James A. Lovell, John L. “Jack” Swigert and Fred W. Haise left the CM-109 command module and moved to the LM-7 lunar module …
Starring…
The most important actor in all of these scenes, or rather the writer and director, is Asperger’s Syndrome. Like most developmental disorders, boys are more common than girls. Whether it is a separate condition or a milder form of autism, or at least part of its spectrum, is still debated. The WHO classification in force in Poland includes Asperger’s Syndrome as a comprehensive developmental disorder. He is associated with childhood autism, among others, by difficulties in social interactions and a limited repertoire of interests, all of this, however, in a much less extreme form than in autistic people. The limitation of interests implies the entire field of knowledge, e.g. space flights, and not fixation on an object, while social interactions are established willingly, but imperfectly.
Doctor Alicja Rutkowska-Suchorska, a specialist psychiatrist of children and adolescents, says that the diagnostic criteria are constantly being changed and refined, but she herself begins to take Asperger Syndrome into account when her patient learns well, has impressive knowledge on a specific topic, but it is not accepted by peers and adults, including teachers.
This non-acceptance comes from the fact that Asperger’s Syndrome impairs the so-called theory of mind, that is, it prevents the reading and interpretation of signals that testify to what other people feel and think. It is said that people with Asperger lack empathy: without blinking an eye they say unpleasant things, laugh and talk about their interests at a completely inadequate moment, e.g. when everyone else is experiencing an illness of a family member, they cannot comfort, support the ordinary spirit “will good ”, but how can they do it if they don’t know if that’s how it will be?
Children with AS are intelligent and eager to learn, and they are eager to make friends with their peers, but they are completely helpless among them. They cannot play imaginary games consisting in imagining something or taking on assigned roles, they cannot talk or joke freely, they do not read non-verbal signals, so they do not know if someone is angry or happy or if the situation suits them, or maybe makes you feel uncomfortable? They don’t interpret the situational context and don’t understand that some behaviors are acceptable and others out of place. All this causes little Aspis to be rejected by their peers and adults. The latter can be particularly hurt by the uncritical honesty that characterizes AS.
– These seemingly polite kids may seem arrogant, but at the same time they are clearly not doing it for show, they are not rude on purpose, nor are they ashamed of their behavior or see anything inappropriate in it. – says doctor Alicja Rutkowska-Suchorska about her patients.
Jack Einstein
Inherent in AS are the narrow areas of interest in which the child specializes. If the interest grows with him, it can become a way of life and his profession in adulthood. Aspis are usually excellent workers, they become professors devoted to the rest of their field of study. Supposedly, one of the famous Aspergers was Albert Einstein, but another thing is that it is difficult to find a disorder that would not be a prime example.
Such a career is possible for Aspich assuming that from childhood they will undergo arduous but effective therapy and rehabilitation.
– Through intellectual analysis, they find out what others instinctively absorb, by imitating the mother’s gestures and communing with a group of children. – says doctor Alicja Rutkowska-Suchorska – Patients with AS learn social rules, learn the ways (not only words, but also gestures and facial expressions) in which people express emotions and learn how to relate to it and how to recognize and recognize express your feelings. They learn that fear, fear, and sadness are just as unpleasant to someone as it is to themselves.
Properly learned empathy and an educated theory of mind work well enough that many Aspergers function in society, live independently, are successful at work, have acquaintances and even friends, and the freak label, which is usually pinned to them, applies to so many other people …
Often, the diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome brings relief to parents, because they already know that their child is not a quirk devoid of human reflexes. Each child needs to explain the world, little Aspim just more detailed. It is not enough to say that man is a mammal, we must start with the fact that a man whose mouth is curved in a horseshoe shape and tears are falling from his eyes, cries because he is in pain or is very sad. In such a situation, you have to try to help him somehow, so not to entertain him with a story about fissioning an atom, but e.g. to stroke him and tell him not to worry. If he smiles, which means his mouth will take the shape of a boat, you know that the consolation worked and we did something good for someone.
Doctor Rutkowska-Suchorska calls the home therapy of Asperger Syndrome grateful because it brings results:
– Aspis are intelligent and quickly learn what their behavior towards other people is beneficial for them, they just need help and guidance in this learning.
Text: Julia Wolin