Asperger's is a Psychological disorder that can cause a lot of serious problems in a person's life. It is an "Autism Spectrum Disorder" (ASD). It is not the same thing as Autism, but similar in some ways. Psychologists usually refer to Asperger's as just an Autism Spectrum Disorder now. For some reason, Scientists want to get rid of the word: Asperger's.
People with Asperger's are often refered to as: "ASPIES". Most people with Asperger's don't take offense to the term: Aspie.
Asperger's was first recognized by a Psychologist named Hans Asperger in 1944. He did extensive research on the disorder and it was named after him.
For now, Scientists and Doctors don't know the exact cause of Asperger's. However, they are doing a lot of research on it now. They do know that one thing that can make people more likely to get it is genetics.
Although there is no known cure for Asperger's and no medication to treat it, Psychologists can some times give patients other types of medication to treat some of the symptoms and other issues caused by the condition. For example, they can prescribe drugs to treat: Anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD or other symptoms and problems that aspies have.
A lot of people with Asperger's have other conditions along with Asperger's. I myself have also been diagnosed with ADHD.
Quite often the symptoms of Asperger's can be seen as early as age 3. Albert Einstein couldn't walk until he was 5 and he couldn't speak full sentences until he was almost 7! But, most Doctors are reluctant to test and diagnose children with Asperger's when they are really young. Most people get diagnosed with it when they are much older (I was diagnosed at the age of 40). Doctors often mistake the condition for ADHD and just give kids Ritalin. Asperger's is also harder and takes longer to test than ADHD.
Asperger's causes problems with the EXECUTIVE FUNCTION of the brain. This is controlled by the Prefrontal Cortex, which is the region of the brain right behind the forehead. Executive Function includes a person's ability to: Plan, organize and remember a task. It also includes time management and flexible thinking. Persons with Asperger's and other Psychological disorders often have problems with Executive Function.
More boys have been diagnosed with the condition than girls.
The main issue people with Asperger's have is with COMMUNICATION. People like myself who have Asperger's find it hard to talk to people. We are very shy, find it difficult to find things to talk about, are uncomfortable talking to people we don't know very well and have a hard time meeting new people.
We are not good at reading NON-VERBAL CUES OF COMMUNICATION. Some things that come natural to other people, like reading and understanding other people's body language and facial expressions, we have a hard time with that. Also, other people often find it hard to understand us, because, we are not good at using non-verbal cues. We may be excited or upset, but our facial expression, tone of voice and other forms of body language often don't reflect our true emotions. This often causes serious problems for people with Asperger's, because, the experts say that about 93% of communication is non-verbal.
(Some of my own experiences with this: People have accused me of being "Rude". Half of those were people whom I didn't even know. I didn't even do or say anything to most of these people, but they just said I was rude to them or someone else!
In the Army, I was stationed in Mannheim, Germany. I was at the bar on base, sitting at one end of the bar and there was a German girl sitting at the other end of the bar. She was interested in meeting me and showing me signs that she was interested. I didn't realize she was interested in meeting me. So she sent her friend over to tell me that she wanted to meet me. So I went over and talked to her and I did get a date with her.
In the same bar, on a different night, there was a guy in there that I talked to all the time. We were friends up until this night. I tried talking to him like I always did, but, he was not acting normal. He was acting weird, not very talkative, and giving me a strange look. Again, I didn't catch on to what he was non-verbally trying to tell me. A different girl, a complete stranger, came over, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from him and said, "He's trying to start a fight!"
The last one may have had something to do with Asperger's, but, probably had more to do with the fact that I was already pretty drunk!)
Aspies often have a MONOTONE VOICE. Meaning, they don't show their true emotions with their voice. Little or no inflection in their tone of voice. The pitch, volume, rhythm, tempo, etc don't change much as they are talking.
Having a monotone voice leads to other problems, such as APPEARING TO LACK EMPATHY. People with Asperger's do feel sympathy and empathy for other people, however, they just don't always show it. Again, this is mainly because they don't always express their emotions as well as other "Neuro typical" (NT) (A normal person who does not have Asperger's) people do with non-verbal language.
Sometimes their UNUSUAL WAY OF COMMUNICATING with people can lead to other problems. It is harder for them to make friends and communicate with Teachers, employers, relatives or anyone else. Since aspies are uncomfortable communicating in most social situations, they may be too shy to ask questions in class, introduce themselves to people they meet or join in a conversation.
When people don't use as much body language and other non-verbal communication, people sometimes have trouble understanding them. They might say something as a joke, but, the other person will not see them doing anything to indicate that what they said was not to be taken seriously, nor will they hear it in their monotone voice. Sometimes just the opposite happens. I have had this problem several times. I said something to somebody, which was totally serious and they either told me that they thought I was kidding or they just walked away from me and didn't take the advice I'd just given them. They either got themselves in trouble, got injured or had some other bad experience because they didn't take my advice seriously.
They are SOMETIMES VERY SHY and have a hard time approaching people they don't know and trying to think of things to talk about. From their past experiences, they already know that they will have a hard time communicating with new people and they are scared to even try, Quite often, peoplr who don't know them feel uncomfortable around them, because of their unusual way of communicating. Some people will automatically think this person is weird, rude or strange in other ways. This all makes things harder for the aspie. So making and keeping friends is not easy for people with Asperger's.
Aspies often HAVE VERY FEW, BUT VERY INTENSE INTERESTS. They are often so intensly interested in one or a few subject, which they will study up on those few things all the time. For example, I happen to be very interested in Astronomy, outer space, UFOs, NASA and anything related to space. I am fascinated with it and I would really like to know what and who is out there in other parts of the universe. I wish I could get in a rocket and travel Billions of light years away, just to see what is out there and meet any other aliens around the cosmos. I love learning about how the stars work, how are Black Holes created and the Hubble's latest discoveries.
(That is another thing about aspies: We often do feel like we are on the "Wrong Planet", because we just don't fit in with everybody else on Earth! For this reason, Asperger's is sometimes called: "Wrong Planet Syndrome".)
I used to be obsessed with cats.
Years later, I my obsession was telling jokes.
While I was writing this article, I became obsessed with researching and writing about Asperger's.
Some other aspies I know love sports and that is all they ever talk about. I hate sports, so they sometimes bore me to death. However, some of them don't like outer space or telling jokes.
Another problem with communication is that people with Asperger's are often very intelligent. Most, but not all aspies have AVERAGE TO HIGH IQ SCORES. a lot of them have advanced degrees in college. So, they will often know a lot of technical terms, which most people will not understand. Sometimes, when they are trying to describe something to a layman's audience, they might not know how to describe what they are talking about in simple terms, so they might use technical terms which the other person will not understand.
You can see this on the TV show: Big Bang Theory. The main character, Sheldon, has several degrees in Science and is extremely smart. He has trouble communicating with people and often uses large, technical terms to explain Scientific things to other people and they don't understand him. Sheldon is a perfect example of someone with Asperger's. However, a lot of aspies have taken offense to the show, they think the show is making fun of Asperger's. But, the creator of the show has said he had no intentions of creating a character who has Asperger's.
Bill Gates and Albert Einstein both had the same IQ scores. They both scored 160 on their IQ tests! The average IQ score in the US is around 100. Both Einstein and Gates are thought to have Asperger's. Einstein was a Physicist who won the Nobel Prize twice! He also invented the math formula: E=MC2. Without this, they would have never been able to make the Atomic or Nuclear bombs.
Bill Gates went to Harvard. But he never graduated. Instead, he dropped out of college, moved back home to Washington State and started a small company with a friend named: Paul Allan. They started their business in Paul's garage and it grew into one of the biggest computer companies in the world, which is now called: Microsoft.
A lot of people with Asperger's have TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING JOKES. You might say something to a group of people and everyone in the group will automatically realize you were just kidding and they will all laugh. But, if there is an aspie in the group, they might think you were serious or they will have to think about it for a minute before they understand the joke. (I have been lucky, because, this has never given me much of a problem. All my life, I have been pretty good at understanding jokes and I even love telling jokes.)
Some aspies have problems with LITERAL INTERPRETATIONS of things. If you use a common figure of speech, such as: "It's raining cats and dogs", they might go look out the window and see that it's raining, but there are no cats and dogs falling down from the sky. They may not understand what you said and may be extremely confused.
Due to social problems and other issues caused by Asperger's, , aspies often PREFER TO BE ALONE. It is often easier for aspies to just run away and hide. Not literally, but when they are at a party where they don't know a lot of people, they will either stick with a few people they already know really well or find a place where they can just be alone.
Aspies are usually uncomfortable communicating with people in large groups. They usually do better either one on one or in a smaller group of people or at least with a large group of people that they know and are comfortable with.
Another thing which some aspies do is called STIMMING. Repetitive movements or sounds made by the person. They are not always aware that they are doing it. For example, bill Gates often rocks back and forth or side to side. Some other people flap their hands. It is really nothing to worry about.
Aspies often have PROBLEMS CONCENTRATING. They are often very forgetful to. Einstein himself was forgetful. This causes problems with things like time management and taking tests. Aspies quite often wait till the last minute to do things. This causes them to get to work or school at the last minute. (I have always had problems remembering my keys. I used to have a sign on my door that said, in really big letters: "get your keys!" I locked them in my car so often that I had to call my insurance company a few times and have them send a lock smith to unlock my car door. My insurance paid for the lock smith.)
The AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) does consider Asperger's a disability and has laws protecting people with the condition. For example: Schools and employers are required to make "Reasonable Accommodations" for people with the condition. (Accommodations may include: Giving a student extra time to take tests and letting them take tests in a separate room, away from the other students and other distractions.) They also can't fire or kick someone out of school because they have Asperger's or any other Psychological or physical condition. If they person is able to do the job and the employer is aware of the condition, they cannot fire them nor discriminate against them because of it. The only exception to this rule is if the employee is physically or psychologically unable to do the work. If an employer or school violates this law, the student or employee can sue the company and either fight to get the job back or get a lot of money!
The ADA also protects students and employees from BULLYING AND HARASSMENT from students, teachers and other school employees. If a student is being harassed badly enough to the point where it is interfering with their ability to learn or participate in a class, this should be taken seriously and reported to the school. The Principal should investigate the incident.
(The Asperger's Answer Book. Susan Ashley PH.D)
BAD TEACHERS frequently cause problems for Asperger's students. I myself have had a few bad teachers. All they did was cause me problems! I have never hated anyone in my entire life as much as I hated some of these Teachers! It was hard for me to talk to these teachers, I felt uncomfortable even going to school, it was hard to concentrate, I was always angry and scared just being around the teacher. I was afraid that the teacher wanted to harm me and I really wanted to hurt the teacher as well!
I can't say it any more clearly than this: If your kid tells you that they have a problem with a Teacher, get them out of that class immediately! If you like the Teacher, but your kid doesn't , your opinion is irrelevant! You don't know all the problems the Teacher may be causing. If you don't get your kid out of that class, it will cause problems between you and your kid.
You should first call the principal and request that your kid get transferred to another class. If the Principal says they can't do it, go to the Superintendent. If they won't do it, go to the school board. Don't accept any excuses that they may give you as to why they cannot or will not remove your kid from that class. I f nobody at the school will get your kid out of that Teacher's class, start by filing a police report about the Teacher, then report the incident to Child Protection. Then go to the courthouse and get a court order saying that Teacher cannot come within 20 feet of your kid, except in passing (such as walking down the hall) or in an emergency. If the Teacher or the school violates the court order they are breaking the law. Then the school will have no choice but to transfer your kid to another class.
Adam Lanza had an Autism Spectrum Disorder and a lot of problems with people and life in general. He went into Sandy Hook Elementary School and shot a bunch of people. Autism is not a legitimate excuse for what he did, however, he was a psychopath with a lot of problems in school and that's what he decided to do.
Most people with Asperger's or Autism don't get commit a lot of serious crimes and are not as likely to get into serious trouble with the law as NTs (Neuro Typical people) are. However, there are a lot of exceptions, such as: Adam Lanza and Ted Kaczynski (Unabomber).
There are some JOBS THAT ARE NOT GOOD FOR AN ASPIE to get. I learned this the hard way on a few jobs. First of all, customer service jobs are usually not good for aspies. They are usually not a very good at dealing with people. I was accused of being "rude" to several customers when I worked in a store. I never did anything to anybody that was rude. However, maybe they didn't like the fact that I didn't talk very much to them or I didn't give tem enough eye contact. Both of those are hard for aspies to do!
Jobs like fast food, which are very high paced and require a lot of MULTITASKING and concentration are not good either. I learned this by working at McDonald's. That was the worst job I've ever had!
If the job requires a lot of very detailed instructions, you should avoid that to! People with Asperger's don't do well with long, detailed instructions. So, they should have instructions broken down into smaller, more manageable steps. They should also have the instructions written down.
Aspies are usually very VISUAL LEARNERS. So, if they have to do something really complicated with a long set of instructions, if they have instructions with pictures, it will be much easier for them to understand and learn how to do things. They will also learn things better in school if they can see pictures or an actual demonstration of what it is they have to do.
Truck Driving can be a good job in some ways, but it can also be a bad choice for an aspie. People with Asperger's often like to be alone. You will spend a lot of time by yourself as a Trucker. By law, you can drive up to 11 hours a day, then you must be off duty for at least 10 hrs. You park at a truck stop and sleep in your truck. That is the good part, if you like to be alone. One major problem is that most trucking companies will supply you with a truck, but it will be a stick shift! Driving a stick shift requires a lot of concentration and multitasking. Aspies often have problems with those two things. I cannot and will not drive a stick! I hate those things and think they should stop making them! They are hard to drive and always cause me problems. Just give me something in which I can just hit the gas pedal and go.
You can buy your own truck to, if you want, for around $100,000 or more! They cost as much as a house! but a few companies do have automatic transmissions. Fortunately for me, the US Army doesn't have very many manual transmission vehicles at all these days. I was a Truck Driver in the Army and all I ever had to drive was automatics.
Car manufacturers are slowly phasing stick shifts out now anyway. Ford and GM don't even make very many of them anymore.
Aspies often CONCENTRATE ON THE SMALL DETAILS of things rather than the big picture. (Most people see a fancy car, but aspies are more likely to notice the hubcaps, chipped paint on the hood or the dent in the front bumper.
Aspies prefer to STICK TO A ROUTINE and any interruption in the normal routine will be extremely frustrating to them. A regular routine makes things easier for us. This way, things are less confusing and frustrating. When there's a change in the normal routine, it can cause the aspie to become very annoyed and angry.
MELTDOWNS are very common with aspies. When they have problems with people, places or things. This happens a lot in school, with Teachers, other students, school work, etc. Also if they have a problem and don't know exactly how to deal with the situation or if they can't figure out how to tell somebody what the problem is.
A meltdown often looks like the aspie is having a TEMPER TANTRUM. This is where the aspie loses control temporarily as a result of an emotional response to environmental factors. It might look like the person is losing control because of a single, specific issue, however, the problem is usually a result of several problems that have added up over a long time.
When someone is having a meltdown, they often feel powerless. They feel like they have little or no control over what they are doing or saying as if a demon has taken over their body! In some cases, it is so bad, they would be able to plead insanity for their actions in a court of law for their actions.
Sometimes the warning signs of a possible meltdown in are hard to spot in children, because people with Asperger's because, people with Asperger's will not show many signs with their facial expressions and tone of voice.
When children have a meltdown, they often fall onto the ground and scream or cry. They might also get violent and begin kicking and screaming.
Adults usually react differently, they will usually start shouting or showing other emotions. Quite often it leads to depression and the aspie will simply keep to themselves and stop talking.
(www.myaspergerschild.com.Autism Meltdown-Management 101)
Aspies often have certain TRIGGERS which can cause anger outbursts. For example: Confusion, boredom, annoying questions they hear over and over, people or situations they are uncomfortable with, school subjects that give them a lot of problems and a lot of other things. It will help if they learn their own triggers and other people in their life should be familiar with them to.
People often falsely accuse aspies of BEING EXTREMELY RUDE. This is partially because they don't realize the person has Asperger's, they don't understand the disorder or they them self are rude and just don't care.
Aspies will frequently EXPRESS THINGS VERY BLUNTLY, with no filter. Since their brain works differently than most other peoples, that might be the only way they can think of to explain certain things. Since they are not very good at socializing with people or reading non-verbal language, they may not understand that what they are saying is inappropriate or that the other person is uncomfortable with what they are saying. The problem might also be the way they said something. Their tone of voice or body language might not match up with what they said, making the other person confused or even offended. Lack of eye contact could also be to blame for this to.
It is very hard for aspies to make DIRECT EYE CONTACT with people. When people talk to someone, they subconsciously expect the other person to give them eye contact If they don't, they feel uncomfortable with the other person. They may think the other person is rude or hiding something. They may even feel threatened by the other person. However, the aspie usually has no intention of offending anybody by avoiding eye contact with people, because it is very uncomfortable for them to look you in the eye! All their life, they have been doing this and it has became a habit and kind of a defense mechanism. If someone looks them in the eye, they just naturally look away. They are not trying to be rude by doing this!
It took me a long time to learn how to give people eye contact. I am able to do it now, but at first, it was very hard for me to do. I went to a Psychiatrist and I told her I was their to get tested for Asperger's. She said, "I could tell you had that within the first few minutes of talking to you." One thing she noticed that gave it away to her so quickly was that I did give her eye contact, but, it wasn't as natural as most other people. I also appeared as I still had to force myself to maintain eye contact.
Aspies often PREFER TO BE ALONE. Sometimes they just get stressed out by being around a lot of other people. They just don't understand other people very well, so they can have fun by themselves. This often leads to problems with roommates, coworkers, friends, relatives, etc.
Some aspies have serious problems with SENSORY PRECEPTION. Certain things can really cause serious problems for people with Asperger's or any other Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These include tings like: Certain sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells. Some people (especially children) with Asperger's often overreact to certain things they don't like. Their senses are more sensitive to the things that bother them. For example, a kid might hear a loud noise and they might have a meltdown. They might just cover their ears and scream as a reaction to the noise. The noise could be anything that bothers them, such as a vehicle with a loud engine, dog barking, fireworks or the vacuum cleaner. In some other cases, they might have an anger outburst or shut down emotionally and refuse to talk or move.
(The Asperger's Answer Book)
(One of my biggest sensory perception issues has always been the smell and taste of Vinegar. To this day, I can't stand it! Just the smell of it makes me feel sick!)
They usually prefer individual sports, where they don't have to deal with a team and they get to be in total control and don't have to deal with other people getting in their way. (This might have something to do with the fact that I have never been a fan of any sports at all.)
When people with Asperger's do play sports, they usually prefer individual sports, where they can be alone and be in total control of the game. They would probably be better at Golf or Fishing than they would be at Baseball.
Although they can do well in JOBS where they work with other people, aspies often prefer jobs where they can work alone.
A lot of aspies are VERY CREATIVE. They think outside the box. The ideas they come up with are sometimes so different than what other people come up with that the other people are surprised and say, "Now why didn't I think of that!" or they laugh and say, "That's a dumb idea, it will never work!" Then they are really surprised when the idea actually works.
A lot of people with Asperger's are not very creative at all, however, most of them are very creative.
Having Asperger's causes a lot of PROBLEMS WITH WRITING. Not only do aspies often have SLOPPY HANDWRITING, sometimes worse than a Doctor's writing. But they often have trouble writing research papers and fiction/nonfiction stories. Most aspies think more logically and they are better at things like Math and Science. Yes, They can be pretty creative, but, for some reason, writing is not usually one of their strong points (This is not true for me, however, because, I am just the opposite. I've always loved writing and been reasonably good at it. But, I am terrible at Math and I hate it. Although I love Science and I am extremely interested in it and I'm fascinated with Astronomy and Chemistry, I've never been good in Science classes.)
One of the things that Asperger's is most famous for is: A person's strong ability to RECOGNIZE PATTERNS in things. They frequently notice two or more things that fit together like a puzzle. Or if there is a group of things that logically go together, but there's one small thing in the group that is a little different, they are usually able to spot it before most Neurotypical (NT) people. This is one reason why so many aspies are so good at things like: Science, Math, Computers, art and music.
Asperger's causes a lot of UNUSUAL PHOBIAS for people. Some of them include: Bad weather, heights, death, shadows, electrical outlets, and the Moon. NT children are not really bothered by most of these things, but they could really irritate or scare a kid with an ASD. (http://bestpracticeautism.blogspot.com/2013/04/anxiety-fears-and-phobias-in-autism.html)
PHONE PHOBIA: Aspies are not very good at socializing with people anyway, which is why they are often reluctant to answer the phone. They are sometimes afraid they won't be able to think of very much to say or they may think the person they are talking to will think they are weird or something.
Another unusual phobia they sometimes have is: ASTROPHOBIA. The fear of outer space and celestial objects. Also the fear of floating out into space.
All the problems aspies face often add up to cause extreme frustrations with life in general. They often have problems with LOW SELF ESTEEM, DEPRESSION and find it hard to trust other people, The list goes on. As a result, people with Asperger's have a much higher rate of suicide attempts than most other people. They also have a significantly higher rate of divorce than NT people.
Because of problems with non-verbal communication skills and the fear of meeting new people, aspies often have problems FINDING SOMEONE TO DATE. It is not easy to walk up to a stranger in a bar or anywhere else and trying to get a know them. My advice here is: Try Internet dating sites. Dating sites are a much easier way of meeting new people than approaching a stranger in a bar. One site specifically for people with Asperger's is: www. aspergersdatingsite.com.
Keep in mind that not everyone who has Asperger's has all the same symptoms. Also this is not a complete list of symptoms of Asperger's. If you think you show signs of Asperger's, talk to a Psychologist to get tested.
I will be writing more on the condition of Asperger's in future blogs.
