Asperger's Syndrome

Elk River Treatment Program accepts students with Asperger's Syndrome (AS), a developmental disorder that is characterized by:

• Limited interests or an unusual preoccupation with a particular subject to the exclusion of other activities
• Repetitive routines or rituals
• Peculiarities in speech and language, such as speaking in an overly formal manner or in a monotone, or taking figures of speech literally
• Socially and emotionally inappropriate behavior and the inability to interact successfully with peers
• Problems with non-verbal communication, including the restricted use of gestures, limited or inappropriate facial expressions, or a peculiar, stiff gaze
• Clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements

Parents usually sense there is something unusual about a child with AS by the time of his or her third birthday, and some children may exhibit symptoms as early as infancy.  Unlike children with autism, children with AS retain their early language skills.  Motor development delays – crawling or walking late, clumsiness – are sometimes the first indicator of the disorder. 

The incidence of AS is not well established, but experts in population studies conservatively estimate that two out of every 10,000 children have the disorder.  Boys are three to four times more likely than girls to have AS.      

The most distinguishing symptom of AS is a child’s obsessive interest in a single object or topic to the exclusion of any other.  Some children with AS have become experts on vacuum cleaners, makes and models of cars, even objects as odd as deep fat fryers.  Children with AS want to know everything about their topic of interest and their conversations with others will be about little else.  Their expertise, high level of vocabulary, and formal speech patterns make them seem like little professors.  

Children with AS will gather enormous amounts of factual information about their favorite subject and will talk incessantly about it, but the conversation may seem like a random collection of facts or statistics, with no point or conclusion.  

Their speech may be marked by a lack of rhythm, an odd inflection, or a monotone pitch.  Children with AS often lack the ability to modulate the volume of their voice to match their surroundings.  For example, they will have to be reminded to talk softly every time they enter a library or a movie theater.   

Unlike the severe withdrawal from the rest of the world that is characteristic of autism, children with AS are isolated because of their poor social skills and narrow interests.  In fact, they may approach other people, but make normal conversation impossible by inappropriate or eccentric behavior, or by wanting only to talk about their singular interest.    

Children with AS usually have a history of developmental delays in motor skills such as pedaling a bike, catching a ball, or climbing outdoor play equipment.   They are often awkward and poorly coordinated with a walk that can appear either stilted or bouncy. 

Many children with AS are highly active in early childhood, and then develop anxiety or depression in young adulthood.  Other conditions that often co-exist with AS are AD/HD, tic disorders (such as Tourette Syndrome), depression, anxiety disorders, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).    

 Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke