The Moral and Intellectual Development of Children with Asperger Syndrome: A Case Study of

Colton Harris Moore

Statement of The Problem

 What are the factors that affect Intellectual Development of children with Asperger
syndrome?

 What are the factors that affect the moral development of children with Asperger Syndrome?

 Does special interest develop with Asperger Syndrome through exposure to the environment?

 What did Colton-Harris Moore do to develop his interest?

Methodology

The researchers used some past journals that are related to the topic and that can provide
answers for the findings. The researchers did an in-depth literature review and cited the chosen
articles.

Findings

Asperger sufferers are said to perform poorly in digit symbol coding and symbol
search (Kanai et al., 2012). Studies have also shown that AS patients have worse
performance IQ, notably in the areas of digit symbol coding and symbol search (Kuo,
Liang, Tseng, & Gau, 2014). Although there is evidence that AS patients have coding
problems, they could improve their arithmetic and digit span scores (Koyama & Kurita,
2008).

Children with Asperger Syndrome respond faster and more accurately to

expression of happy faces than controls (Wong, Beidel Sarver, & Sims, 2012). However
AS and control do not differ in their emotional expression and responses to facial stimuli
(Doody & Bull, 2012). Moreover, AS individuals perform as accurate as controls at
matching fear body postures, but less accurate than controls in verbally identifying the
same stimuli (Doody & Bull, 2012). 

Special interests are one of the most common characteristics of people with
Asperger. Historically, some interventions have tried to limit them or use them largely as
a reward for good behavior. But they consider these interests to be an important strength
and a way to relieve stress.
 “He’s a smart kid — very impressive. I think he’ll make a good pilot … He knows more about it than
I do,” the policeman said. “Heck, he’s already done a solo flight,” noting that is a requirement toward a pilot’s
license.

Individuals with AS are frequently respected for their unusual abilities and may
be regarded as "eccentric" due to their extensive knowledge of certain topics or activities.
The individual's single-minded pursuit of his or her interest can lead to achievements
later.

Harris-Moore was confused as to why he committed so many crimes. Boredom?

Maybe. However, he claims to have discovered a few things about himself along the
road. He said he didn’t turn himself in because he truly feels like he was on a “spiritual
journey.” “Oh, I wouldn’t call it a spiritual journey when I was 17 or 18, I just knew that
I was on something that would matter for some reason and I didn’t want to end that
prematurely,” he said.
 REFERENCES

Doody J. P., Bull P. (2012). Evidence for impaired verbal identification but intact nonverbal
recognition of fearful body postures in Asperger’s syndrome. Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders, 43(7), 1652– 1661. doi: 10.1007/s10803-012-1715-5

Raftery, I. (2011). ‘Barefoot Bandit’ Gets Prison for Stealing From Neighbors.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/us/colton-harris-moore-the-barefoot-bandit-is-sentenced-
for-stealing-from-neighbors.html

Kanai C., Tani M., Hashimoto R., Yamada T., Ota H., Watanabe H., et al. (2012). Cognitive
profiles of adults with Asperger’s disorder, high-functioning autism, and pervasive
developmental disorder not otherwise specified based on the WAIS-III. Research in Autism
Spectrum Disorders, 6(1), 58– 64. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2011.09.004

Kuo C. C., Liang K. C., Tseng C. C., Gau S. S. F. (2014). Comparison of the cognitive profiles
and social adjustment between mathematically and scientifically talented students and students
with Asperger’s syndrome. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 8(7), 838– 850. doi:
10.1016/j.rasd.2014.04.004

Koyama T., Kurita H. (2008). Cognitive profile difference between normally intelligent children
with Asperger’s disorder and those with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise
specified. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 62(6), 691– 696. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-
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Wong N., Beidel D. C., Sarver D. E., Sims V. (2012). Facial emotion recognition in children
with high functioning autism and children with social phobia. Child Psychiatry & Human
Development, 43(5), 775– 794. doi: 10.1007/s10578-012-0296-z