What is Asperger's Syndrome?
This website moves away from the traditional definitions of
Asperger's, but if you're coming to it "cold" with no
previous knowledge, this page is for you.
Asperger's
Syndrome was named after Dr Hans Asperger, a Viennese paediatrician
who described it in a 1944 paper. It remained mostly unknown
to the English speaking world, until it was picked up by Lorna
Wing in an influential review and series of case reports in
1981. "Asperger's Syndrome" was made "official"
in 1994 when it was included in the DSM manual used by psychologists
to classify mental conditions.
Current
thinking places Asperger's Syndrome on the "autistic spectrum",
usually referring to it as a form of "high functioning
autism" (HFA). It is believed that Individuals with Asperger's
Syndrome tend to have an IQ ranging from average to genius,
and there is much speculation that the likes of Albert Einstein
and many other philosophers, scientists and genius musicians
were "Aspergians" (as we call them on this
site). Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome tend to develop
excellent speech and language capabilities, but they do differ
from the norm in various other ways.
The
main characteristics of an Aspergian are often (but not always)
a deep focus on a specialist subject or area (or consecutive
areas), a difficulty in understanding human interactions and
human social codes (almost like being an alien trying to understand
a strange species) and thus also a difficulty with changing
environments which need to be learned and adjusted to. Aspergians
tend to have a normal to high intelligence, often coupled with
a special skill or ability (e.g. extraordinary mathematical
or linguistic abilities). In addition People with "Asperger's
Syndrome" are sometimes hypersensitive to various stimuli
such as light, noise and pain, and their motor skills may be
less developed than the norm (e.g. they tend to play less sports).
Many of them are partially face-blind (have a problem remembering
faces), and are often clumsy. They have to invest a lot
of energy in understanding interactions, and would often need
to consciously plan their social behaviour in advance, including
when they walk down a busy pedestrian road, and have to avoid
running into people. That intuition - the innate ability to
translate human body-language and non-verbal cues is something
they often lack. Aspergians often describe their experience
as that of "being on the wrong planet". They have
to learn how humans interact and simulate it; it doesn't come
naturally to them.
Aspergeršs
Syndrome is characterised by a neurobiological difference to the norm,
which means Aspergians process information differently. This is an
important point to understand. Asperger's Syndrome is not a mental
illness or a disorder, it is simply a neurological variation to the
norm. It is inherited genetically, and very often you
will find it running through families. Thus it is a genetic mutation
that persists through generations. This is why this site also refers
to it as the Aspergian Mutation (AM). A variation of human genes.
Although
interest in Asperger's Syndrome is rising, it is still a relatively
new field, and one of the main roles of this site is to make sure it
is not pigeonholed by default as solely in the realm of mental health profession.
If
you are an Aspergian or think you are one, you are encouraged
to read as much as possible about Asperger's Syndrome, but not
to allow the terminology used by scholars to cloud your judgement.
If you encounter terms such as "severe developmental disorder",
"condition" and "disability", don't be discouraged.
What you make of your life is down to you, and not the prejudices
of others. And there is a sweet satisfaction is achievement
despite and against all odds.
A good
place to start is the open letter by Edan,
followed by our lead article (entitled
"re-branding Asperger's"), and our Aspergian
Mythos (all accessible from the top navigation bar).
Welcome
to Aspergia!
Š Edan and
Aspergia.com The content of this site is copyrighted and may not
be replicated in any form without prior written consent.
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