What You Need To Know About Asperger’s Syndrome
“There is no medication tor direct treatment of core Asperger’s symptoms but the additional symptoms that co-exist with the core symptoms can be diagnosed and treated”
sperger’s syndrome (AS) is a developmental disorder of childhood, belonging to the category of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The main problems in AS are related to social interaction and nonverbal communication. Affected children also show repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests. Nonetheless, children with Asperger’s syndrome often have normal intelligence.
Symptoms
Symptoms of AS begin before the age of two years and persist throughout lite, as the disease is incurable. Children with AS have difficulty in normal social interactions. They appear too self-centred and are not able to show empathy. They may be more interested in talking and are not concerned about giving others a chance to talk. They are also poor at nonverbal forms of communication such as gestures or facial/eye expressions.
People with Asperger’s syndrome have very high sensitivity to sight, sound, taste and smell. They do not like loud music or noise or bright lights. They also like soft colours.
Children with Asperger’s symptoms are likely to suffer abnormalities in sleeping and might face problems like not tailing asleep easily, frequent awakening at night etc. They also face problems in identifying and describing their emotions which is a condition called alexithymia.
Particular Interests
People with Asperger’s syndrome may develop an interest in a small area and go into real depths about that. For example, they may get interested in cars and learn all about the different parts of cars, its manufacturing etc. However, they may not be interested in how to drive it.
Also, they like to talk about their ‘knowledge’ in narrow areas of interest to friends and family members. So, this preoccupation they tend to develop could take up a lot of their time but at the same time, may not be productive for them.
Treatment
There is no medication for direct treatment of core Asperger’s symptoms but the additional symptoms that co-exist with the core symptoms can be diagnosed and treated. Using medication in combination with behavioural intervention could be effective in treating the associated symptoms like inattention, anxiety disorders or aggression.
However, the most important part is to accept that they are different. This understanding helps them adapt at school and at home. They should not be judged based on their ‘different’ behaviour and should be allowed to live in society with dignity.