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A Closer Look at 10 of Asperger's Own Findings on Asperger's Syndrome

When Hans Asperger worked with the children under his care in Vienna, he was astounded to note several similarities that appeared unique to individuals that are today understood to suffer from Asperger's Syndrome. In 1944, however, autism was just beginning to emerge as a clinical diagnosis and Dr. Asperger and several of his colleges were still working on cataloging, labeling, and also recognizing the disorders and its nuances.

There are 10l conditions which Hans Asperger recognized:

1. More often than not, boys were affected with the condition while girls made up the minority of cases. In addition, a true diagnosis is not possible to form until about age three, when several other ailments or behavioral idiosyncrasies have been ruled out.

2. Developmental delays were not common in the area of language development, but children suffering from Asperger's Syndrome appeared to be delayed walkers.

3. Later on the development of gross motor skills also appears to lag behind. Children appear clumsy, fail to make coordinated moves, and as a general rule will greatly fail in games that require motor skills. The same is also true for artistic skills, such as drawing or writing.

4. As language development progresses, children exhibit problems with the use of pronouns and instead of accurately using the first person singular, the second or third person is chosen.

5. Later on, the topics of conversation are abnormal in content. They tend to center on a specific topic of interest and the children may converse at elaborate length about the one item to anyone who would listen. This tends to happen in younger years, when most children have yet to identify a specific item of interest that captures more than a passing fancy.

6. As the child grows older, their chosen skills surpass that of their peers. Memory in these areas are astounding and it is not unusual to have pint sized patients recite extraordinary and exhaustive details about astronomy, history, or even something as mundane as a time table.

7. Phrase repetition is a common sign of autism and also Asperger's Syndrome. Moreover, the cadence of language is affected in such a manner that expressive speech or reading is not often observed. Children tend to recite facts in a somewhat monotonous manner.

8. It is noted that those suffering with Asperger's Syndrome are inept at reading and interpreting body language and facial impressions. Their own non verbal expressions are lacking, unless they are subject to very strong internal upheaval.

9. The repetitive nature of activities mimics the repetition of phrases and words, and children are often absorbed in repetitious activities, such as spinning a top and then watching seemingly mesmerized at the object continues to spin and slows down.

10. Children with this disorder have a hard time transitioning from one activity or locale to the next, and change is a hard reality for them. Anything that is unfamiliar presents huge challenges to the child and great efforts must be made to introduce that which is to have some form of permanence in the child's life.