Asperger syndrome is now considered to be part of the autism spectrum disorder, essentially the one that affects the development of social and communication skills. It should be noted, however, that people diagnosed with Asperger’s do not have a delay in language development and, in most cases, have well-developed language skills with normal or above-average intelligence. Today, there are many specialists who consider Asperger’s syndrome to be a mild form of autism, using the formulation of “high-functioning autism”, but this characterization does not yet have an official equivalent in official medical terminology.
To the extent that a classification could be made, children with Asperger’s syndrome can have the following peculiarities, in different forms of severity:
- Hypersensitivity to external factors, such as light, sounds, different tastes;
- They have certain difficulties at the level of non-verbal communication, more precisely a mismatch of tone, voice intensity, etc.;
- Difficulty initiating and maintaining a conversation;
- Uncoordinated movements may appear, which, from the outside, are interpreted as child's clumsiness;
- Anxiety and depression.
Many of these symptoms tend to diminish with age, so an adult with Asperger syndrome can control some of the things listed above by emphasizing certain positive attributes that are, in turn, generated by the condition: they have a remarkable power of concentration and persistence, recognize patterns in different situations more easily and are much more attentive to details.
RECOMMENDED THERAPIES FOR PATIENTS
WITH ASPERGER SYNDROME:
- In the case of anxiety states and other personal experiences, specialists recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy;
- Strengthening courses for social skills can improve the ability to support conversation skills and understanding interpersonal relationships;
- Speech therapy can help with vocal control during conversations;
- Physical and occupational exercises tend to improve coordination;
- Drug therapy (psychoactive substances) could have the capacity of combating anxiety and depression.
