ASPERGER'S SYNDROME. Tell me everything you know about this - preferably useful and constructive information. I'm particularly concerned about Aperger's Syndrome in pre-teens and teenagers.
ASD
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IceOwl said, (182 days ago)
Having autism doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means that the left and right halves of your brain don't really communicate properly. Normal socialisation for children with autism can be rather difficult because they don't latch onto the social norms we're all used to in the same way.
Jeepster said, (182 days ago)
My cousin has a severe form of it. It basically means that the person can't empathize with other people, they have trouble reading emotions, they don't know how to properly react to social stimuli, they don't look people in the eyes when they talk to them, stuff like that. They can be abnormally focused on specific activities, repetetive actions, etc. My cousin, for example, is obsessed with electronics--collecting them and repairing them. I think it's something about patterns.
lostintranslation said, (182 days ago)
Good stuff so far. Keep it coming. I need to know as much as possible.
Jeepster said, (182 days ago)
I don't know about it being used as a label for 'sensitive kids.' It could be that it's overdiagnosed, like ADD, but it's definitely a form of autism. It can be a serious disease.
beccah. said, (182 days ago)
jeepster is right on target.. and it is becoming over diagnosed like ADD.. if the majority of what jeep said isn't something you see in the kid, I'd ask for a second opinion.
L said, (182 days ago)
social skills are generally stunted. there is a tendency towards savant-ism and obsessive knowledge-collection about a particular subject. emotions are unfamiliar territory and empathy is not usually possible. they cannot generally read facial expressions- they don't know the difference, for example, between angry and happy. they generally do not want physical contact and sometimes do not understand the difference between good physical contact (petting a cat) and bad physical contact (squeezing/hitting a cat)
Centropomus said, (182 days ago)
Children with Aspberger's tend to average about 90 on standard IQ tests, because they measure things learned in school, but they average 120 on an alternate IQ test (considered equally valid) that isn't specific to school learning.
In other words, they're NOT stupid. They just have a difficult time expressing themselves and understanding other people. They tend to develop their talents to truly remarkable levels on their own.
The same principles generally apply with autism as well, but it's much more severe, so it's very difficult to evaluate their talents, and the talents may be extremely focused in their own world and difficult for them to apply (or care about applying) to the outside world.
Anyone know where Ghostie is? I'm sure she would have a lot to say.
lostintranslation said, (181 days ago)
She nails down almost all of the symptoms that jeep mentioned, amongst many others.
Her WISK4 and other cognitive tests showed her ranking almost off the charts in her percentiles... she already attends a school for intellectually gifted children, and both psychologists attached to the assessment stated, "We have never before seen a child score this high in either of our careers." So, certainly no lack of intelligence...
...but man, I am not looking forward to the dating years...
My fiancee's daughter has it. I don't know alot about it, but it's basically a label for sensitive kids. I'm not sure why they call it a form of autism. She's one of the brightest 9 year olds I've ever met. But she can't really rationalize certain behaviors and freaks out at the slightest mishap.