Your child may have Asperger syndrome. This is a type of autism that affects many children nationwide, and it can make childhood rough on both you and your child.
According to Web MD, Asperger’s used to have its own category. However, this changed in 2013 when the DSM-5 put in the category of autism spectrum disorders. That said, many people still call this health condition Asperger syndrome.
The first thing to know about Asperger’s is that kids who have it are really smart. According to Autism Speaks, Asperger's is a higher-functioning type of autism. Those affected can have very high IQs but struggle in other ways, and symptoms vary based on the person.
People with this health issue tend to struggle in social situations. Plus, they may repeat behaviors often. But they’re intelligent and do not experience difficulty in cognitive development. In fact, they may have a very profound vocabulary.
This difficulty in social interaction can be seen in a number of ways. According to the Mayo Clinic, a person with this condition might not engage in a lot of eye contact. Facial expressions may be minimal, and the affected person might not be affectionate, meaning that a child may avoid cuddling and engage in solo play. This is often equated to “living in one’s own world” in that the child is literally in a world of his or her own.
Further, communication issues may be present. For example, the Mayo Clinic says that a child with Asperger's might hear his or her name many times but refrain from responding, as if he or she hasn’t heard what you’ve said. He or she may have difficulty following directions and either may not speak or experience a delay in speaking. And the child may refrain from eye contact.
Another symptom can be seen in the form of solo conversations. The child may talk to himself or herself. This can be alarming to those who are not familiar with this health condition, opening the door to bullying by other children who have not been taught how to interact with a child with Asperger’s.
The thing is that the person with this condition won’t understand this difficulty in social interaction. For example, Kirsten Lindsmith writes about her experience in her blog, saying that her experiences were just that -- her experiences.
“My experience of life was the only one I knew, and so to me things like sensory processing problems, a lack of eye contact or a blindness to nonverbal cues were simply the reality of the world,” Lindsmith writes.“I had no idea that I couldn’t read everyday body language very well because I didn’t know what I was missing.”
In fact, Lindsmith says she learned appropriate body language by studying it. “As a teen, before I knew anything about autism, I believed that body language consisted of things like smiling, shrugging the shoulders or pointing to indicate an object. I had no idea that I wasn’t using body language properly or that I wasn’t reading the body language of others,” she writes. “I thought I was already doing it! I understood obvious gestures, like a wave hello or an angry frown. (But) I never realized what I was missing because I didn’t know what there was to miss in the first place.”
Social timing also can be affected. For example, the person might use a robotic type of tone. And certain words or sayings may be repeated without an understanding as to how these phrases or words fit into the context of fluid speech. This can make conversation and social interaction difficult for the child and his or her peers.
For example, a person with Asperger’s might join in in the middle of the conversation randomly. He or she may be confused as to what emotions a person is conveying in the context of a conversation in general. As a result, inappropriate responses may be given. This can make it difficult to develop relationships, and the child will not understand what he or she is doing wrong.
Further, repetition of behaviors can be a part of Asperger Syndrome. According to ASPEN (Asperger Autism Spectrum Education Network), a person may cling to routines religiously, and he or she might be fascinated by one particular interest.
One person with Asperger’s explains this concept in an ASPEN essay, saying that she had at one time been obsessed with the postal system. As a result, she tried to perfect holiday cards, both in the time that they were mailed and in the long message crafted inside each card.
Unfortunately, children with Asperger’s are often abused by other children. This is because one of the biggest problems that those with Asperger syndrome face is bullying. Kids may pick on them because they are different.
“After years of being of being emotionally bullied by intolerant people, I developed an enormous amount of empathy…for minorities. If you are financially privileged, Caucasian, Christian, heterosexual and ‘normal,’ I will likely pay you little attention, or be confrontational and condescending,” writes John Scott Holman in an ASPEN essay.
“A good friend once told me that I should learn to be tolerant of intolerant people. I laughed in his face. However, weighed against my standards of tolerance, the majority of my family and everyone leading ‘conventional’ lives, happen to be extremely intolerant.”
If any of these issues sound like your child, you’ll want to get a proper diagnosis. Talk to your pediatrician about psychologists and psychiatrists who specialize in the issue. At this point, treatment can begin.
Web MD says that Asperger’s is treated in a number of ways. For example, kids with this health condition will often undergo social skills training. This will help the child to learn how to interact with others appropriately.
Doctors may suggest speech-language therapy. This helps a child learn communication skills, like learning how to use appropriate inflection as opposed to a robotic tone during conversation. A child also will learn how to have fluid conversations with others using eye contact.
Cognitive behavioral therapy may be a resource to help a child with Asperger syndrome to learn to control emotions as well as fixated/repetitive behaviors. Parents will be educated regarding how to deal with children in a productive manner.
If you suspect that your child is suffering from this issue, don’t wait to get help. Professionals can help both you and your child to cope with Asperger’s.