Asperger Syndrome: Signs, Causes, and Treatment

35 years ago, autism was not good enoughstudied by scientists, and this was not seen as a strong necessity - on average 5 out of 10 thousand people suffered from autism. However, subsequently, doctors noticed a sharp increase in such diagnoses among the population and now, for every 150 people, one with autism is isolated. The alarm was sounded very quickly, programs for the study of autism and the development of methods for its treatment were launched. But despite the fact that during this time medicine made a serious leap forward, so far such pathological conditions have not been fully studied. Among them, Asperger syndrome is separately distinguished.

Sheldon Cooper - one of the most famous characters with Asperger Syndrome

Content

• 1 What is Asperger Syndrome
  • 1.1 Signs of Asperger Syndrome in Children and Adults
• 2 Why does Asperger Syndrome occur?
• 3 Famous People With Asperger Syndrome
• 4 How to cure Asperger Syndrome?

What is Asperger Syndrome

This condition of a person was named afterAustrian psychiatrist and pediatrician Hans Asperger, who in 1944 noticed children who cannot communicate normally with their peers and are characterized by limited empathy. The term was proposed by the English psychiatrist Lorraine Wing in a 1981 publication.

The history of this syndrome began very sadly. During World War II, Asperger practiced at the University Children's Hospital in Vienna. He selected children whose mental disorders and abnormalities were expressed, and wrote them directions to the Am Spigelgrund clinic - known for being included in the Nazi nation-cleansing program. During the war, 789 children were killed there, many of them were killed.

Asperger Syndrome - a pathological condition of a person in which he becomes closed and does not know how to recognize other people's emotions. Often it is characterized by the pronunciation of long monologues in a monotonous manner.

In other words, a person with a syndromeAsperger begins to experience difficulties in interacting with other people, he does not want to communicate again. Such a person is usually focused on his own interests and is often fixated on any one task. However, he cannot understand the motives and emotions of other people, often equating them to “another class of creatures”.

It’s difficult for a person with Asperger Syndrome to communicate with others

Can this be called a disease? Although before Asperger Syndrome strongly identified with autism, now everythingmore doctors consider him a mental disorder. The fact is that people with such a syndrome often have high intelligence and are far ahead of their peers in mental abilities. Due to attention to detail, determination and scrupulousness, these children often turn out to be geniuses of their work. Asperger syndrome was, for example, in Nikola Tesla and Isaac Newton; he was also diagnosed with Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, and Bill Gates, who became the head of Microsoft.

Asperger Syndrome was seen by Bill Gates and Steve Jobs

Signs of Asperger Syndrome in Children and Adults

Asperger syndrome is most often diagnosed.psychologists in schools, since when a child is in society, one can well understand whether he is able to communicate normally with his peers and understand them or not. Specific classification signs of Asperger Syndrome no, however, scientists were still able to identify the main ones.

• It is difficult for a person to make friends and make new acquaintances;
• He is only interested in specific things;
• During a conversation with another person, he reduces everything to his own monologue;
• Sudden bouts of depression and anxiety;
• A person speaks only with a limited circle of persons;
• Little uses facial expressions and gestures.

Even if a person has one orseveral of these signs, you can not independently diagnose him Asperger syndrome. As a rule, psychologists and neurologists work to identify it with a child (or an adult, although it is easier for children to find it).

Now on the Internet there are several tests for Asperger Syndromeone of them was developed by psychologist SimonBaron Kogan and his colleagues at the Cambridge Autism Research Center can try the Asperger Syndrome test. If a person scores more than 32 points in it, with a high probability he has signs of Asperger syndrome. At the same time, the test is not a diagnostic tool, so in any case, you need to consult a doctor.

Why does Asperger Syndrome occur?

Children with Asperger Syndrome tend to have higher intelligence.

Many doctors tried to find cause of asperger syndrome, many scientific papers have been written on this subject,however, there is no consensus on the reasons for its occurrence. It is believed that the onset of the condition is associated with a breakdown in the X chromosome - this explains why the syndrome is more common in boys (they have one X chromosome and do not have a second copy of all genes, unlike girls).

There is also evidence of environmental impact, inincluding pregnant women, however, this can be said of many deviations. For example, air toxicity during pregnancy can lead to a baby having growth problems.

Among the negative factors, excessive drinking and smoking are among other things.

However, no biochemicals have yet been found,hormonal or genetic markers that uniquely accompany this condition. Do not reveal it when scanning the brain. This is connected with the desire of some scientists to isolate Asperger syndrome into a separate classification of conditions, and not to attribute it to varieties of autism.

Famous people with Asperger Syndrome

In addition to Steve Jobs and Nikola Tesla, which we spoke about earlier, there are several more confirmed cases of Asperger syndrome in famous people:

• Charles Darwin
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Thomas Jefferson
• Albert Einstein
• Michelangelo
• Andy Warhole
• Lewis Carroll
• Tim Burton
• Hans Christian Andersen
• Anthony Hopkins

Among contemporaries to people with Asperger syndromealso include environmental activist Greta Tunberg, the killer of Anders Breivik and the hero of the series “The Big Bang Theory” - the brilliant physicist Sheldon Cooper.

Greta Tunberg herself announced the presence of Asperger syndrome

How to cure Asperger Syndrome?

Doctors usually do not prescribe any medications to people in this condition. Usually signs of the syndrome become less pronounced after classcommunication and social skills - children are helped to understand other people. Psychoactive substances are prescribed for severe anxiety and hyperactivity, and if the child has impaired fine motor skills of the hands, which also sometimes occurs with Asperger syndrome, physical therapy is used. In some cases, such children have problems with speech - stuttering or a problem with some sounds, which is mainly corrected by a speech therapist.

Children usually become more social after special activities.

Because the Asperger syndrome cannot be 100% called a disease or some kind of deviation, many researchersargue that this syndrome should not be considered as a disorder, but to attribute it to the individual characteristics of a person. They stipulate this by the fact that even if a person has poor contact with people and is not of great use in the social world, this feature allows him to achieve success in mathematics, engineering, music and other sciences that require perseverance and concentration. And the example of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mozart clearly proves this.