Aspergers

Asperger’s syndrome is a milder variant of autism.   Both Asperger’s and autism are in fact subgroups of a larger diagnostic category referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD).  In Asperger’s, affected individuals are characterized by social isolation and eccentric behavior in childhood. There are impairments in two-sided social interaction and non-verbal communication. Though grammatical, their speech may sound peculiar due to abnormalities of inflection and a repetitive pattern.

Clumsiness may be prominent both in their articulation and gross motor behavior. They usually have a focused area of interest which leaves no space for more age appropriate, common interests. Some examples are cars, trains, books, door knobs, hinges, computers, meteorology, astronomy or history.  The name “Asperger” comes from Hans Asperger, an Austrian physician who first it in 1944. 

Biomedical treatment can be extremely helpful for children diagnosed with Aspergers.  The brain chemicals that govern social development can be optimized to improve interaction and social use of language.  Another successful avenue of treatment is to help children diagnosed with Aspergers open up areas of interested and decrease fixated or repetitive types of behaviour.  Many “aspie” children also struggle with anxiety which can be greatly improved with biomedical treatment.  Find and gross motor skill aquisition can also be enhanced by improving production of key brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine.

Click here to learn more about biomedical treatment of Aspergers