Q&A - Asperger's syndrome
By Tim Leslie
Celebrate difference:
Tony Atwood says the public needs to recognise the talents that often come with Asperger's (AFP: Jim Watson, file photo)
Asperger's syndrome is a neuro-developmental disorder, one of the suite of conditions making up the autism spectrum.
While
people with Asperger's have an intellectual capacity within the normal
range, they experience problems with social interaction, and
difficulties understanding the nuances of emotion, as well as intense
preoccupation with a particular subject or interest.
These
difficulties are often offset by exceptional abilities, brought about
by the intense focus that forms part of the disorder.
For
International Asperger's Day, ABC News Online spoke to expert Tony
Atwood, a psychologist who specialises in treating children with the
disorder, and has authored several books on the subject.
What is Asperger's syndrome?
Asperger's
syndrome describes someone who is different, and one way I describe it,
is that the person has found something more interesting in life than
socialising.
And that means that the person with Asperger's
syndrome finds people a real challenge in reading body language, making
friends and really understanding social situations.
But there are
other dimensions too, a different form of learning, of perceiving the
world, becoming very sensitive to certain sensory experiences, and
sometimes being a bit sort of anxious. But someone with Asperger's
syndrome may have particular talent in areas like engineering or the
arts.
How does it occur?
What
has happened is that the brain didn't develop as we anticipate. Now
that may be because of inheritance; in other words it's a family
characteristic that with this particular child is greater, or something
has disrupted brain development from conception, right through to early
infancy.
Is there a genetic component to the condition?
There
is a genetic component in the sense for half the children we see, this
seems to be a characteristic within families, and also from our clinical
experience one in five of the families we see have more than one child
with the characteristics.
Asperger's syndrome and autism are often linked together, can you explain the difference between the two?
It's
part of what we call the autism spectrum, and it's a bit like visual
impairment. You can have someone who is blind, ie you can have someone
who's severely autistic - completely blind to the social world.
Asperger's
syndrome is like someone who needs glasses, who can read the big print,
for example that somebody is crying, so they're sad, but may not read
the fine print in facial expressions, say embarrassment or jealousy.
How common is Asperger's?
Asperger's is about one in 250 people, and the ratio is about three to one; so three males to one female.
What do you think of public perceptions of Asperger's syndrome?
I think the general public is very positive. I think people are very curious, it's a name that they're starting to get to know.
What
we're trying to get across is that the child has difficulties, but also
talents, and I think if there's going to be a change, it's in terms of
seeing their qualities as children eg for Lego, their ability to play
music, their ability to draw in photographic realism.
So we're looking at their strengths to build up their self esteem and also their careers.
Do you think there needs to be more support for those who have Asperger's?
If
it's one in 250 people everyone will know someone either at school or a
neighbour or somebody in their past with those characteristics.
So
what we're trying to do is to get people to recognise such individuals,
and instead of laughing at them, or feeling annoyed by them, to show
some degree of compassion and support.
What is the one thing you would like the public to keep in mind in regard to Asperger's syndrome?
Celebrate difference and not necessarily see it as defect.
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