ASPERGER’S

SYNDROME
 WHAT IS
ASPERGER’S
SYNDROME?
ASPERGER’S
Syndrome was
proposed by Dr. Hans
Asperger , an Austrian
pediatrician in 1944.
He observed children in his
class who did not exhibit
non-verbal communication
skills, failed to demonstrate
empathy with their peers,
and were physically clumsy.
He called it “ autistic
psychopathy” which
was marked by social
isolation.
 Causes:

The exact cause is not

known but the fact that it
tends to run in a family
means that it can be
inherited genetically.
How common is Asperger’s Syndrome?

In Canada, it occurs from 1 to

every 250 children and are
more common in men than in
women. It is usually
diagnosed from the ages two
to six.
 How is Asperger’s Syndrome
diagnosed?

1. Complete medical history.

2. Tests for physical disorder causing
the symptoms.
3.  Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised
 (ADI-R)—and the 
Autism Diagnostic Observation Sche
dule
 (ADOS).
CHARACTERISTICS:
People with
Asperger
syndrome often
display restricted
or specialized
interests, such as
this boy's interest
in stacking cans.
 CHARACTERISTICS:
 qualitative impairment in social
interaction
 stereotyped and restricted patterns
of behavior, activities and interests,
 no clinically significant delay in
cognitive development
 general delay in language
 CHARACTERISTICS:

Intense preoccupation with a

narrow subject
 one-sided verbosity
restricted prosody
 physical clumsiness are
typical
 SOCIAL INTERACTION:

Lack of demonstrated empathy

Difficulties in basic elements of
social interaction
Lack of social reciprocity
Impaired non-verbal behaviors such
as eye contact, facial expressions,
posture and gestures.
SELECTIVE MUTISM

- A condition wherein they

do not talk to most people
and excessively to others.
Some may want to talk to
a person they like only.
 Restricted and repetitive interests
and behavior

They stick to inflexible

routines, move in stereotyped
and repetitive ways or
preoccupy themselves with
parts of objects.
Restricted and repetitive interests and
behavior

Pursuits specific and narrow

areas of interest.
Stereotyped and repetitive
motor behaviors.
An adult with AS would prefer
non-fiction.
 Speech and language

Language acquisition and use is

often atypical.
Verbosity-using more words
than needed
Abrupt transitions
Literal translations
 Speech and language

Miscomprehension of nuance
Use of metaphor meaningful
only to the speaker
Auditory perception deficits
Pedantic, formal or idiosyncratic
speech
 Speech and language

Oddities in loudness, pitch,

intonation, prosody and rhythm.
Echolalias, the pathological
repetition of what is said by
other people as if echoing them,
is also observed.
 Speech and language
Three Aspects of
Communication Patterns; poor
prosody, tangential or
circumstantial speech and
marked verbosity.
“Little Professors”
Difficulty in understanding
 Motor and sensory perception

Differences and problems with

motor skills, sleep and emotions.
Excellent auditory and visual
perception.
Have delayed developments
involving motor dexterity.
May be “uncomfortable with their
own skin”.
 Motor and sensory perception

Poorly coordinated
Have an odd or bouncy gait or
posture
Poor handwriting
Problems with visual-motor
integration
Motor and sensory perception

Problems with proprioception on

measures of developmental
coordination disorder
Balance
Tandem-gait
Finger-thumb apposition
Motor and sensory perception

Sleep problems

Alexithymia-difficulty in
identifying and describing
one’s emotions.
 MANAGEMENT
Attempts to manage
distressing symptoms and
to teach age-appropriate
social, communication and
vocational skills.
 THERAPIES
A typical program generally includes:
 Positive behavior support procedure
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Medications
Occupational or physical therapy
Social communication
Thank you for listening!