Asperger's Symptoms

Asperger Syndrome is considered to be one of the five pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), more often referred to today as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This is one of a distinct group of neurological conditions characterized by a greater or lesser degree of impairment in language and communication skills, as well as repetitive or restrictive patterns of thought and behavior.
Researchers still do not understand the cause of of Asperger Syndrome, however there does seem to be a genetic component. There also seems to be structural abnormalities in several regions of the brain in those people with Asperger's Syndrome. Some doctors refer to Asperger's Syndrome as High Functioning Autism (HFA), although there is little consensus that there is a direct relation between the two. The condition appears to be more common in boys than in girls. While some people with Asperger Syndrome have above-average intelligence, they typically have difficulty in social situations.

What role should media play in autism awareness?

An article written on March 14, 2010 reveals some interesting steps the media is taking, as of late, in properly representing Asperger's Syndrome in the media:

"Tuesday, the new NBC show Parenthood formally diagnosed one if its characters with Asperger's Syndrome. By Wednesday, the resultant public interest had led "Asperger's Syndrome" and other, more unfortunate, variants to become the top search trend in Google. The public interest is gratifying, but given the confusion that unfamiliar viewers had over the spelling alone - it begs the question: What should the role of media be in autism awareness?
Clearly, such increased interest can be valuable, as it puts Asperger's on the radar of those who previously knew nothing about it, or the struggles of those who live with it. For some, can provide an answer to questions that have plagued them and their families for years, such as "What is going on with me? What's going on with my child?" or "Why am I so different?"


(Visual Clip of the TV program "Parent Hood")
-Author: Lynne Soraya
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/aspergers-diary/201003/telling-the-story-autism-in-the-media

The History of Asperger's Syndrome

In 1944, an Austrian pediatrician named Hans Asperger observed four children in his practice who had difficulty integrating socially. Although their intelligence appeared normal, the children lacked nonverbal communication skills, failed to demonstrate empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy. Their way of speaking was either disjointed or overly formal, and their all-absorbing interest in a single topic dominated their conversations. Dr. Asperger called the condition “autistic psychopathy” and described it as a personality disorder primarily marked by social isolation.
Asperger’s observations, published in German, were not widely known until 1981, when an English doctor named Lorna Wing published a series of case studies of children showing similar symptoms, which she called “Asperger’s” syndrome. Wing’s writings were widely published and popularized. AS became a distinct disease and diagnosis in 1992, when it was included in the tenth published edition of the World Health Organization’s diagnostic manual.

Hans Asperger

-National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes

Asperger's: Defined

Asperger's Syndrome, is a type of pervasive development disorder (PDD). PDDs are a group of conditions that involve delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize with others, to communicate, and to use imagination.
Although Asperger's syndrome is similar in some ways to autism-- another, more severe type of PDD -- there are some important differences. Children with Asperger's syndrome typically function better than do those with autism. In addition, children with Asperger's syndrome generally have normal intelligence and near-normal language development, although they may develop problems communicating as they get older.
Autism and Your Child

Each child with an autism spectrum disorder will have his or her own individual pattern of autism. Sometimes, a child's development is delayed from birth. Other children with autism develop normally before suddenly losing social or language skills. In some children, a loss of language is the impairment. In others, unusual behaviors (like spending hours lining up toys) predominate.

For more information, visit: http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/mental-health-aspergers-syndrome

Welcome!

Hello!

We are happy that you have decided to view and visit our page! We are all currently students at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and have decided to focus our semester's project on Asperger's Syndrome. Through the creation of this blog, we hope to properly define exactly what Asperger's is, provide historical and medical background information, current events, events in film and various websites that will assist our readers in finding further information.

Thank you again for your visit!