What are Signs of the Syndrome?
Asperger's manifests differently or uniquely in each child affected and there is still a lot of research needed to understand this disorder and accurately delineate all its symptoms. The following Asperger's Syndrome symptoms may not all manifest in your child - or a child with Aspergers may mildly or severely show only some of these symptoms.
Childhood symptoms of Asperger's
Parents who are keenly aware of their children may become aware of some symptoms early in childhood while in some cases, symptoms of Asperger's may only be apparent in early school. These are factors indicating children with Asperger's Syndrome:
- Lack of basic social skills such as focused conversational abilities, awareness of body language or ability to follow conversation.
- Diminished capacity for or complete lack of empathy
- Inability to understand humour due to over-literal interpretation of speech
- Monotone in conversation
- Tendency to ramble or speak in monologues.
- Unusual interests resulting in highly detailed knowledge of unusual topics
- Lack of ability to adapt to new situations
- Lack of eye contact
- Delayed motor development in use of utensils or handwriting
- Overreaction to loud noises or bright lights.
Children with Asperger's Syndrome tend to try to socialize more than autism sufferers; they are not withdrawn.
Symptoms of Asperger's in teen years
Whether they are diagnosed or not, teenagers with Asperger's will have found some ways of adapting their behaviour to fit in. Teens with Asperger's Syndrome may find this draining and may find themselves an easy target for bullies as their behaviour will be explicitly out of the ordinary and not "cool." They will have difficulty in reading others' behaviour and this may contribute to social problems.
Many aspects of symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome help people succeed very well. Famous people who are believe to have had symptoms of Asperger's include Albert Einstein, Mozart and Thomas Jefferson. Today there are many successful people in business and culture who have Asperger's to one degree or another.
Private schools listed below offer specialized instruction and attention to students with Asperger's Syndrome.
Disclaimer: information here is intended to be only broadly informational for students, parents and families seeking an understanding of Asperger's Symptoms. Information here is not intended to replace the advice of medical professionals. We encourage any parent who suspects their child exhibits symptoms of Asperger's to seek professional guidance. Begin here to learn more about diagnosis
- JH
