Asperger syndrome

Running Head : ASPERGER SYNDROME

Asperger Syndrome

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Asperger Syndrome

History

In 1944 , Hans Asperger identified a small group of children adolescents , and adults who exhibited social peculiarities and socially isolative behavior , while appearing cognitively and linguistically typical (as cited in Myles Simpson , 2002 . In particular , he described four boys , ages six to 11 who had impairments in nonverbal communication , comprehension of affect , and behavioral and conduct problems . Wing (1981 ) later coined the term 'Asperger Syndrome " adding other dimensions to Asperger 's original

observations and proposing that formal diagnostic criteria be developed to support the increasing number of clinical accounts

Prevalence

An increasing number of individuals have been diagnosed with AS (Ehlers Gillberg , 1993 . The mean age for a diagnosis of AS is approximately eight years old (Eisenmajer , Prior , Leekham , Wing , Gould , Welham Ong 1996 . Although the DSM-IV-TR (APA , 2000 ) does not provide reliable prevalence rates . AS has been estimated to occur in as many as 48 per 10 ,000 children . In 1989 , Gillberg and Gillberg estimated prevalence rates to be about 10 to 26 per 10 ,000 , based on a review of existing literature . In a later study , Ehlers and Gillberg (1993 ) noted that the prevalence might be higher , approximately 71 in 10 ,000 children (97 in 10 ,000 for boys and 44 in 10 ,000 for girls . Fombonne and Tidmarsh (2003 , however , noted that the prevalence rate could be as low as 2 per 10 ,000 , although they warned that few surveys of AS have been performed to date , and prevalence estimates can vary enormously , perhaps reflecting differences in methodology between studies and differing diagnostic criteria

Characteristics of the Syndrome

Asperger Syndrome is currently understood as "a developmental dis characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and emotional relatedness and by unusual patterns of narrow interests and unique stereotyped behavior (Church , Alisanski Amanullah , 2000 ,

br 12 . The diagnosis of Asperger 's Dis was first added to the American Psychiatric Association 's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diss , fourth edition (APA , 1994 ) as a Pervasive Developmental Dis . The primary diagnostic criteria were listed as "severe and sustained impairment in social interaction and the development of restricted , repetitive patters of behavior interests and activities (p . 75 . Further criteria included significant impairment in nonverbal behaviors such as eye contact , facial expressions , body postures and social gestures failure to develop appropriate peer relationships , lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment and lack of social \ emotional reciprocity (i .e , sharing interests achievements , etc . In addition , the following behaviors were noted repetitive and stereotypical behaviors , restricted interests and activities , abnormal preoccupation with certain s of interest rigidity

in rituals or routines , motor mannerisms (i .e , complex whole-body movements , or hand or finger flapping or twisting , and persistent preoccupation with parts of wholes . While there is not a clinically significant delay in language , there is a deficit in pragmatic language (the function or social use of language , used in conversation turn-taking , etc , as well as nonverbal communication (i .e...