Asperger’s Syndrome is a neurological disorder that affects a small part of the general population. It is usually present right from childhood in certain persons. The symptoms become obvious in childhood itself. Several symptoms have been identified by experts over the years. These symptoms are now agreed to be the key indicators of Asperger’s Syndrome.
Lack of Social skills
Children with Asperger’s Syndrome generally lack social skills. They are unable to successfully become part of social groups. They are unable to pick up on social cues. They are unable to discern the tone of speech in others. They are also unable to read the facial expressions of other people.
Manner of speaking
Children with Asperger’s syndrome generally speak in a very formal tone. They speak very monotonically. They don’t understand the tone of others. They might take jokes or sarcastic sentences very literally. They frequently get involved in one sided conversations which the listener might have no interest in listening to. At the same time, it is observed that some of them tend to develop a very large vocabulary very early in their lives.
Narrow interests
Children with Asperger’s syndrome generally have intense interest in a very narrow subject area. They can talk all day about their favorite things and objects. They are unable to expand there are of interest beyond this narrow subject area. They tend to spend a lot of their time on the narrow subject are.
Routines and Rituals
Children with Asperger’s syndrome generally follow a very strict routine of activities every day. Everything must be in order and must be done at the right. Two things must not be mixed or done together, if they are inappropriate. Sometimes they get very upset, if their usual routine is disrupted in any manner.
Sensory Perception
Children with Asperger’s syndrome have a heightened sense of perception of their surroundings. They react very strongly to bright lights and to loud sounds. They can detect the faintest odors and can notice the smallest movements from a distance. This ability can either improve or deteriorate over time in many of them.
Progress of Asperger’s syndrome
As many children with Asperger’s syndrome grow older, many of them lose the symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome. This happens in most, but not all of the cases. This is now considered to be normal by the experts. Some symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome might still remain in adult age. These are mostly limited to social and interpersonal skills.
Over the years, many causative factors have been identified that may lead to Asperger’s syndrome. Many experts have created models of progression of the syndrome. Some experts also claim that Asperger’s syndrome is not a serious disease at all and that there is no reason to seek treatment if one has the syndrome. Many children with the syndrome are able to overcome it as they grow older. This is also a reason why the syndrome is not considered a health problem anymore now. Children with Asperger’s syndrome are known to have a higher likelihood of succeeding in university and education.