|
| |
Basic
Characteristics
The official
definition in the
prior section will
give you the most
accurate
understanding of the
Characteristics of
AS. But for those
of you who would
like an
easier-to-understand
version, this
section is for you.
Symptoms of AS
include: impaired
ability to utilize
social cues such as
body language,
irony, or other
“subtext” of
communication;
restricted eye
contact and
socialization;
limited range of
encyclopedic
interests;
preservative, odd
behaviors; didactic,
verbose, monotone,
droning voice;
“concrete” thinking;
over-sensitivity to
certain stimuli; and
unusual movements.
Uta
Frith has suggested
that there are five
main characteristics
that identify AS:
(1) impaired social
relationships, (2)
impaired
communication, (3)
impaired
make-believe play,
(4) a peculiar
pattern of
intellectual
abilities, and (5)
the repetitive
phenomena of
rituals. By
analyzing each of
these
characteristics we
can get a better
understanding of how
AS can be
identified. It is
necessary to realize
that we are
discussing a variety
of symptoms with AS,
and that not every
characteristic will
manifest itself in
each individual.
Some traits may not
apply in your
particular case.
Impaired Social
Relationships
Understanding the
concept of
friendship and
forming close and
intimate
relationships is
difficult for most
individuals with
AS. As a child with
AS approaches school
and has an
opportunity to be
with his/her age
peers, it becomes
very noticeable that
he/she is generally
alone. Teachers and
other adults
consider the AS
child a “loner”, and
may even tell others
that the child is“
in a world of
his/her own”. But
in truth, this child
may want desperately
to have friends, but
is unaware of how to
attain
friendship—they are
lacking the skills
and therefore are
not successful in
their attempts to
make friends. While
many AS adolescents
may have a number of
friends, it turns
out that very few of
them are of the
intimate,
"bosom-buddy" kind.
In actuality, other
people would
consider those that
the AS individual
considers “friends”
as “mere
acquaintances”.
Without deliberate,
patient instruction
by professionals and
others about the
meaning of
relationships,
friendship, and
sexual bonding, many
children and adults
remain adrift with
unanswered questions
about "why" they
continue to have
difficulty forming
such relationships.
Even as an adult,
without proper
training the AS
individual may
easily make
acquaintances, but
is still lacking the
expertise to change
that relationship
into friendship,
dates, or eventually
a spouse.
Most
aspies (a term
developed by Liane
Willey to identify
any individual with
AS) report being
victims of bullying,
victimization,
abuse, and teasing,
much of which may
continue into
adulthood. An AS
individual appears
naive and gullible
to others. They
become targets for
such behavior
because they stand
out from their
contemporaries as
odd, not being able
to understand simple
social cues and
unwritten rules of
social communication
and the hidden or
"other" meaning of
words, phrases, or
the facial and body
gestures of others.
Many aspies do not
understand the
significance of
variations in vocal
pitch, pauses, and
expectations by
others that they
"keep up their end
of the
conversation". In
addition they suffer
the consequences of
remaining on the
outside or at the
edge of social
conversation and the
social behavior of
their peers.
Since there is a
basic
non-understanding of
social etiquette,
the AS individual
may become
overbearing,
domineering,
bullying, and
controlling as a
means to be “in
charge” of their
environment. The
domineering AS adult
will have no
sympathy for others,
and no remorse for
any pain or
suffering they
inflict. This
person does not
understand that
others have
different goals or
“rules” than he/she
does. The anger,
frustration, and
rage that an ASPIE
experiences may lead
him/her to overstep
the lines of
decency, and touch
into abuse,
violence, and even
illegal activities.
It is therefore
important to work
with a child and
help thwart this
side of AS before it
becomes ingrained
into his/her
personality.
Other AS adults
become very
submissive in their
actions. They have
considerable empathy
for others, and are
repeatedly
apologizing for
their actions.
They are also unsure
how to respond to
others in order to
actually develop
friendships and
normal social
relationships. But
even these quiet AS
adults have
described being
overcome with
rage—they feel as if
something is taking
over their body—they
cannot control it.
Instead of stifling
their emotions,
these adults would
be happier if they
learned how to
safely express their
feelings in a
socially acceptable
manner.
An
ASPIE cannot quickly
review a social
situation and decide
on a course of
action, but instead
must totally review
all the “input” and
decide how to
respond. Others do
not realize that the
“processing” time is
necessary for an AS
person, and tend to
become aggravated at
the slowness in
their reactions. It
must be remembered
that the social
awareness that comes
naturally for most
people must be a
learned and well
thought out response
for the person with
AS.
Role
playing, guided
instruction by other
socially savvy
children and adults,
Social Stories, and
the sensitive use of
modified cognitive
behavioral
techniques can make
an enormous
difference in an AS
person’s
understanding of how
to form and sustain
lasting
relationships. For
all such formal
instruction, it is
critical that the
ASPIE have safe
opportunities to
practice
newly-learned skills
with other
individuals in a
supportive and
respectful
one-to-one setting,
moving gradually
into supportive
small group
settings, testing
and generalizing
lessons learned into
structured
educational, social,
community and work
environments, and
finally generalizing
those skills with
strangers in the
world at large.
Impaired
Communication
AS is
characterized by
rigidity of thought,
black and white
thinking, and
impulsive behavior
(or its appositive -
indecision). These
individuals tend to
take everything very
literally,
understanding
everything just the
way it is spoken, no
hidden ideas, no
idioms, and no
double meanings. In
addition, a person
with AS will listen
to the words only,
and not recognize
the non-verbal
methods of
communication
(gestures, nod,
winks, or even
facial
expressions). From
research in the
early 1970's has
come the term "mind
blindness"
describing autistic
individuals'
difficulty in
perceiving and
understanding the
intentions of
others.
Many
children and adults
with AS develop a
style of expression
characterized by
long, fact-filled
monologues. In
addition they show
an apparent
disinterest about
active reciprocal
engagement with
other children or
adults, leaving
their listeners
exhausted and
exasperated, or very
bored. The listener
wonders why the AS
individual has
returned the
discussion to their
favorite interest no
matter how far the
conversation has
progressed into new
topics. As an
example, a child
that knows the
manufacturing
process of every
toilet in Central
Oregon may at first
be interesting, but
will bore others
after an hour or two
if they are even
still listening and
have not walked
away. A child or
adult with a more
common special
interest like music,
sports or animals
seems to fare a
little bit better
because many other
children and adults
have an interest in
these hobbies.
Finding their own
age-mates bored with
their special
interests, AS
children often seek
out adults to
impress with their
knowledge and gain
the acceptance
denied them by their
peers. Aspies are
more interested in
finding a discussion
about their favorite
topics than they are
in social
interaction with
their age-mates.
An
ASPIE is unaware how
they sound to
others, and many
tend to speak with
loud, authoritative,
monotone voices.
Or, the other
alternative is that
the person with AS
will become
exceedingly quiet,
not wishing to have
a conversation with
anyone at anytime.
Others incorrectly
perceive that the
person is bored,
mad, or very
knowledgeable based
on the tone and
volume in their
voice. The AS
person is totally
unaware of the
unintentional
messages he/she is
sending to others.
They are also unable
to “fix” any
problems in
communication that
might arise in any
social situation.
This lack of social
ability often will
cause employment
problems as an
adult.
Many
aspies have a
tremendous
vocabulary and tend
to use very long,
specific words in
rather unusual (but
grammatically
correct) ways.
They tend to write
very long sentences,
and very
comprehensive essays
on whatever topic is
of interest to
them. If the topic
is not interesting
to the AS
individual, you
might find an
exceedingly short
one-sentence
response on an essay
test paper, or as
adults they will
simply walk out of
the conversation.
He/she will find it
very difficult to
make a response
longer or shorter
based on another
person’s request (e.
g. a teacher or
professor), but will
rather say what they
think is important,
regardless of
length.
AS
individuals do have
a sense of humor,
but it often differs
substantially from
that of persons who
are not autistic.
They will understand
the humor if the
story includes a
familiar topic or
punch line, one that
he/she has already
learned. If it is
something unfamiliar
he/she is totally
lost and often the
response will simply
be blank stare (very
reminiscent of Data
in Star Trek). It
may take a while to
process everything,
and then the
laughter and
reaction may be
delayed and
subdued. But other
times, only after
explicit information
and discussion can
he/she join in the
laughter.
AS
individuals have
problems identifying
their emotions and
the emotions of
others, problems
that can lead to
outbursts of
frustration, anger
and rage. On the
other hand, passive
AS individuals
withdraw from the
same stressful
conditions that
cause others with AS
to be argumentative,
"righteous" and
persistent in trying
to convince others
of the correctness
of his/her thinking.
Since the AS
individual is unable
to learn social
manners by watching
others, it is
necessary to
actually teach them
each step of the
way. Only with
individualized
instruction will you
avoid the
12-year-old
answering the family
phone with a gruff
“Who’s talking?”
instead of a more
acceptable “Hello”.
Impaired
Make-believe Play
A child
with AS will not
enjoy imaginary play
with other
youngsters. This
child is unable to
understand the
emotions of others,
and will instead
revert to the safety
of “scripts” of
movies, videos, or
books that he/she
has recently seen.
An AS individual
will have a
wonderful memory for
facts and want
things just the way
they were in the
original. He/she is
a great historian,
especially about
events that he/she
participated in (if
you want to review
what happened last
Tuesday at noon, and
who specifically
said what, ask your
AS child). This
child at other times
will wish to discuss
his/her favorite
subject, and
therefore will find
that older or
younger people will
be more receptive to
his/her feeble
social advances than
his/her age-peers.
This child will
continue to use
“parallel play”
until considerably
older than most of
his/her peers.
Then he/she will
grow into the next
phase where he/she
is desirous of being
“in control” of
every play situation
so that everything
will go exactly as
he/she prearranged
it. He/she is
unable to accept
anything that is not
predicted, and
therefore imaginary
play is avoided. It
is too spontaneous.
Peculiar Patterns of
Intellectual
Abilities
AS
individuals have
strong but
relatively narrow
"obsessive"
interests. They may
develop them as
children and
persevere in their
pursuit of knowledge
in such areas
throughout their
lives. Other
individuals develop
strong but
successive
interests, moving
from one intensive
preservation to the
next. Others don't
as much abandon
earlier interests as
place them in a
lower order of
importance, but
still maintain a
substantial
"collection" of
areas of expertise
which they are often
able to temporarily
pull up from their
past and pursue
anew. As the
ASPIE
becomes more mature,
he/she will often
refer to these
special interests
with the socially
acceptable label of
“hobbies”. Aspies
are distinguished
from those who are
not on the autistic
spectrum by the
intensity of their
efforts to gain
knowledge about
their special
interests (even if
they are calling
them “hobbies”), as
well as their
unusual fascination
with
out-of-the-ordinary
topics not
ordinarily
considered age or
context-appropriate
by their
non-spectrum peers.
Many children and
adults, regardless
of whether they are
introverts or
extroverts, become
known by others as
"little professors".
Many AS adults
actually do become
teachers or
professors due to
their considerable
knowledge on one
subject.
Those with ASD will
often have
tremendous memories
for facts or
events. They will
enjoy DVD players or
Videos because these
allow them to see
their favorite
movies over and
over, until they
actually can predict
the next scene or
the next line from a
favorite character.
But this memory will
also cause them to
recite things to
others that may have
been told to them in
confidence. They
are unaware of the
intention of the
person when they are
told the
information, and
just share it when
they are under
stress in a social
situation—breaking
confidences and
hurting feelings.
The individuals who
have been betrayed
may choose to avoid
additional contact
with the AS
individual not
realizing that it
actually may be a
“teachable moment”
and that the breach
of confidence was
not meant to be
hurtful, but rather
to fill in a
perceived
uncomfortable pause
in the conversation.
Repetitive Phenomena
of Rituals
All
individuals
diagnosed with AS
demonstrate unusual
responses to
change. Regardless
of their IQ, without
being prepared for
or being able to
anticipate changes
in their
environment, all
individuals with AS
have substantial
difficulty
responding to new
problems. This
reaction is related
to their fondness
for routines and
predictability, as
well as dependence
upon rules that they
do not expect will
be changed.
An
adult with AS
prefers to work with
objects or alone,
not with people and
in addition he/she
may have difficulty
with social
interaction on
his/her job. Many
AS individuals
engage in repetitive
activities or prefer
"mindless" tasks at
work primarily
because they can
master such
activities and
perform them with
increasing ease.
Fondness for doing
these things has a
calming effect in
them, and allows
them to sort out
confusion in what
they experience as a
challenging
environment. The
intensity of their
adverse response to
change is directly
related to their
desire for routine
and sameness in what
they perceive as
chaotic or
disordered,
unpredictable
situations.
If
the ASPIE has a set
routine that must be
followed before
something can occur,
this routine is not
negotiable—it must
be followed—and if
interrupted, it has
often been noted
that an ASPIE must
start the full
routine over, from
the very beginning.
They are not able to
restart in the
middle of the
routine, and they
are not able to
accomplish the task
without that
routine.
In
stressful situations
it is possible for
an AS individual to
“flap” or vocalize
in unusual manners
in order to try to
calm themselves
similarly to those
who are further
along the autism
spectrum. It is
important to
remember that the
overwhelming desire
for routine and
control of the
situation is still
there in an adult
with AS; you just
need a little more
looking to find
it.
Conclusion
Persons
with autism have
materially different
brain wiring and
sensory issues not
found with the same
frequency or
intensity in the
non-autistic
population. Testing
with MRI and
CAT-scans are still
in progress, even
though the
preliminary research
shows marked
differences. This is
when the parent
saying that the AS
child “doesn’t think
like I do” is
totally correct.
Those with ASD
often have other
conditions such as
gut or immune system
problems, unusual
reactions to
medications, sleep
problems, very
strong food
preferences, and a
high expectation of
"sameness" and "no
surprises". There
often are problems
with sensory issues
like smell, touch
and taste.
Something as
insignificant to
most people as the
flicker of
fluorescent lights
might be enough to
keep the AS child
from concentrating
and learning in the
regular classroom
situation.
Because ASD's
reflect
neurobiological
differences, while
it may be possible
to modify body,
intellectual
responses and
behavioral outcomes
there are many
things that cannot
be changed, or if
they can, they exact
tremendous,
permanent damage on
the individual. One
ASPIE compared
trying to modify her
behavior to stopping
vomiting when you
have the flu—it just
isn’t possible. Many
differences are now
being seen as just
that -- differences,
rather than
something to be
fixed. Rather than
trying to wipe out
differences,
enlightened persons
now see strengths in
what are commonly
perceived as a
weakness or
deficits.
It
turns out that the
significance of any
difference is what
one makes of it. As
long as changing the
person may have
devastating
consequences now and
in the future,
parents, educators,
professionals and
enlightened family
members now
recognize that many
of these strengths
can become the basis
for life-long
satisfaction and a
high quality of
adult life. In order
for these
differences to be
perceived as
strengths, they must
first of all be seen
as differences
rather than
deficits. Secondly,
differences that can
be supported,
nurtured,
strengthened and
increasingly
accepted by society
then become
"normalized" rather
than the basis for
continued
marginalization.
What is AS
Official Criteria
for Asperger
Syndrome
Basic
Characteristics
Traits by Age
Truth and AS
Family and AS
Should You Seek a
Diagnosis?
Reason and Support
for BRASS
Go Top
|
|
|
"I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical.
Even God had some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin."
~ Jerry Newport