Autism-World

Q:What symtoms are unique to Asperger’s and not found in other forms of autism?

Answer:

Asperger’s Syndrome is an Autism Spectrum Disorder. There are five main disorders on the spectrum. Asperger’s, Classic Autism, Rett’s Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and PDD-NOS which stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not otherwise Specified.

All ASD’s need to have certain hallmark traits to qualify for the label ASD, including a delay in social skills, resistance to change and insistance on routines, limited interests, and loss of previously acquired skills. Not all disorders carry all the same symptoms and even within the same disorder symptoms can vary wildly from child to child.

All five of the disorders are very different from one another so I am assuming you mean the difference between Asperger’s and Classic Autism which is the one most people associate with autistic people. The differences are that people with Asperger’s develop normal speech patterns and they generally have average to above average intelligence skills. They tend to be viewed as painfully shy rather than completely cold and distant. and are very awkward in social situations. They have difficulty understanding facial expressions and body language and take literal meaning into everything they hear (i.e It’s raining cats and dogs. The person with Asperger’s would really believe it is raining cats and dogs.)

Also people with Asperger’s have a delay in fine and gross motor skills and can seem unusually clumsy and inept when it comes to everyday manual tasks such as unlocking doors with a key, using a manual can opener, A screwdriver, Turning faucets on and off etc… The other symptoms such as lack of eye contact and sensory issues and self injurous behavior may be present but the two differences I listed are the main two that doctors look for in distinguishing Asperger’s and Autism. People with Autism are usually delayed in their speech skills and often don’t develop normal speech patterns if they talk at all and they have difficulty with gesturing and expressing their feelings and wants, and are more often than not hardly able to communicate at all. Their motor skills may still be delayed but usually not severely as you would oftren find with someone who has Aspergers.

It is also important to note that High functioning Autism is often confused with asperger’s but they are two completely different disorders. The term High functioning Autism does not exist in Diagnostic terms. It means a person has Classic Autism they are just higher on the spectrum and are able to function better than someone who is not as high on the spectrum, but both still have Classic Autism. A person who is diagnosed with Autism and is low functioning who improves with therapy is not reclassified with an Asperger’s diagnosis. That person remains classified as a person who has Autism.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2007 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Ask and answer.