Asperger's syndrome?

Question

What are the symptom's and how MILD can these be ?

Answer 1

The symptoms can be so mild that even though my 16 yr old has been in and out of doctor's offices for many years for a chronic illness, not one health professional thought of screening him.  I'd thought of it and finally requested it, and he clearly met the criteria.  I regret I didn't take this step when I first read about AS.  However, he is high functioning, but it has answered some questions for us.  Some very fine qualities in his character are common AS traits.  I do not regret that he has AS.  I regret only that I didn't get this information sooner.  Do not attempt to self-diagnose this.  Go to a professional, because there is so much more to the screening than the list of symptoms.  The testing involves much more than answering some questions.  We found out that our son is pretty much ambidextrous, and that he can benefit from some accomodations at school.  We/he also didn't know that his antsy feeling in waiting rooms isn't boredom, it's anxiety.  This is really going to help us help him.  Go get tested if you think there's a possibility you have AS.

Answer 2

I have aspergers myself.  I have found the wikipedia.com article the most comprehensive on the subject.

Answer 3

Symptoms:

An "unusual" way of looking at you.

Social awkwardness, unable to read other people's social signals.  Don't understand the concept of personal space,

possibly uncoordinated or clumsy, sometimes "robotic". . .often helped very much by gluten free diet.

Best to get a diagnosis, obviously.

Anne

Answer 4

My son has Aspergers.  Keep in mind, not every child is a cookie cutter version of the diagnosis.  For example, my son is very social.  He has problems with pragmatic and nonverbal language.  IE - reading people's facial expressions, taking literal things VERY literally, give and take of conversation.  He also has obsessive interests.  He will speak about the same thing over and over, and not be able to tell if somebody is bored by it.  He also has sensory overload issues.  He has cried at the smell of potato chips and had meltdowns in restaurants because the music was to much for him.  My son also has difficulty holding silverware properly, as well as writing utensils.  Written output is extemely difficult, in fact he uses a word processor in school and is allowed a scribe.  He is very bright.  If he is interested in a topic, he will learn all there is to know.  When he was 5, he was speaking about evolution etc.  Read up as much as you can on the net.  There are a lot of great sites.

Answer 5

Asperger Syndrome can have different symptoms in different people, but there are certain common issues.

People with AS have difficulty with social relationships, first and foremost. They tend to have trouble making friends and understanding how the social world works. They may have great spoken language, very formal and precise, and yet have a hard time with conversation.

Kids with AS are often said to sound like "little professors." They will get deeply involved in some topic of interest, in a very obsessive way, and often everything revolves around that interest, which may be a "normal" subject (like horses) or a bit odd (say, train schedules). People with AS are often rather clumsy. They are by definition of normal intelligence and often quite bright, although they may need help in certain academic areas, such as organizational skills or more abstract kinds of thinking.

The severity can vary greatly. I know people who would probably fall in this category, but they're fine, functioning adults with careers, spouses, and so on. Their symptoms must be mild enough that they've been able to work around them. On the other hand, there are kids who can't cut it in public school and adults who have a hard time finding jobs. It's a big range, and I think it crosses over with people who are temperamentally rigid and socially awkward, but don't need to be diagnosed with anything in particular.

Answer 6

My son may have Aspergers, they said he has signs of a mild form. He doesn't show much affection, and answers questions by one to 2 words. At times he seems to have a flat effect emotion on his face. He is very obsessive about everything. As a baby I was able to tell something just wasn't right with him. He seems to be normal when you first meet him. After time you can tell he is a little different. He is a joy and very funny little boy, with work I think he will be able to face the world on his own, in his own way.

Answer 7

As Asperger's syndrome is on the autistic spectrum the symptoms vary widely. All sufferers of Asperger's syndrome like those with autism have the basic triad of impairments, a lack of social imagination, difficulty with social interaction and difficulty with social communication. Because Asperger's syndrome is at the higher end of the autistic spectrum a lot of people who have the condition are extremely good at appearing to have no difficulties what so ever. Many appear very sociable and can hold and maintain eye contact. If you look a little closer they are not what they seem and are very often just copying what every one else does in social situations. I have a daughter who has Asperger syndrome and because she is very intelligent and appears very sociable people very often do not believe that she has any difficulties. However, she is totally insecure and worries about everything. She has obsessions which take over her life and has no friends at all. She has a need to control every situation and the people involved. She struggles with life on a daily basis. Some people who have Asperger syndrome are very good at disguising it and it takes a lot of visits to a good clinical psychologist to diagnose it.

Answer 8

Try the following website

www.aspergerfoundation.org.uk

Answer 9

Bill Gates has Aspergers-that is how mild it can be----

Answer 10

Its on the Autistic SPECTRUM that meaning it can be anywhere on there from severely affected to hardly at all. My son has mild autism . If you were to meet him I doubt very much you would notice anything . It is something that is improving as he grows older and matures . This is because he can intellectualise 'social ' rules now . If he keeps going at the way he has been I can see him only being left will all the positive aspects of the condition. I'm not trying to platy down the problems he has had or indeed will have but its SO not doom and gloom .

The symptoms are very varied . There is also a website called semantic pragmatic disorder which is like one step up from aspergers again in terms of severity . Just google it you will get all the symptoms , BUT one word of caution...there is not  a human on earth who doesn't fit some criteria of autism . Do not treat each symptom individually it has to be a number of factors to be diagnosed or suspected. Good luck.

Answer 11

I usually go to webmd.com for all my questions on anything medical.

Good luck!