How Does It Feel To Have Asperger Syndrome

When you are a child and have Asperger Syndrome, you feel different. You are often bullied and teased by other children. Others may get angry with the one with Asperger Syndrome because of their idiosyncrasies.

Rituals and obsessive behavior is all a part of having Asperger Syndrome. These obsessions usually center on something of great interest. Things being the same is safe and predictable, changes create uncertainty and anxiety.

Sensitivities to light, sound and touch are quite common and can be disruptive. There are things that can be done to help deal with these sensitivities such as wearing protective glasses against harsh light, wearing ear plugs, and wearing soft fabric that is comforting.

Nonverbal communication is a part of the communication equation that is missing for someone with Asperger Syndrome. They are not able to read body language, including facial expressions, hand gestures, and other communication that is nonverbal. Individuals with this syndrome need to learn how to ask people how they feel or to practice listening to others in order to pickup on clues to help them understand the emotions of others.

Individuals with Asperger Syndrome are subjected to treatments and therapies such as AIT, Lovaas, and Options Irlen Lenses.

Just because people with Asperger Syndrome are not good at social skills does not mean that they can't learn how to deal with social situations with practice and time. They particularly have difficult time dealing with parties, public transportation and situations like school where they have to mingle with others and relate to them.

Having Asperger's Syndrome affects how a person interacts with the world around them. It can also affect motor skills, sensory systems, and develop obsessive and compulsive tendencies. The challenges involve social skills, verbal communication, nonverbal interpretation, interests and obsessions, sensory difficulties, and also motor skills.

Socially individuals with Asperger's Syndrome are known as geeks, nerds, weirdoes and eccentric.

Individuals with Asperger Syndrome to not have any significant delays in language development in fact typically score high in vocabulary but usually fall short when it comes to expression of language and often talk in monotones or have off speech patterns. They may speak inappropriately such as swearing in front of the class or boss, speaking in inappropriate manner in front of an authority figure.

Most individuals with Asperger Syndrome have a "pet habit" or subject that they follow obsessively.

People with Asperger's Syndrome cope with life's challenges and with other people by a rigid set of rules in order to obtain a sense of "sameness".

To survive, those with this syndrome often rely on certain instincts, or follow rigid routines, doing things by rote. When made to alter normal routines the person becomes anxious and easily overwhelmed. Situations such as a noisy stadium, or noisy crowd intensify the stress level and the individual may react with an angry outburst or may take flight.

The motor skills of someone with Asperger's Syndrome are clumsy and uncertain. Any activity that requires coordination such as sports will be difficult for the person with Asperger's syndrome to undertake. They have difficulty with understanding the personal space issue and often bump into things due to not being able to gage correctly where their body is in regards to other objects.

After The Diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome Then What?

Once you have a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome (AS) you have some decisions to make as to what you want to do with the diagnosis, especially if you are an adult when your receive the diagnosis. You may simply wish to use the information to make sense of your life, as an explanation for your behaviors and your inability to socialize. It may also be helpful to your doctor regarding other conditions that may pop up in the future such as anxiety, depression or symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). You may choose to keep the diagnosis to yourself or you may wish to share it with family, friends, even co-workers so that they can understand your behavior and perhaps even assist you to improve your social interactions by learning all they can about Asperger's Syndrome. The diagnosis may clear up some misunderstanding as others can often view you as rude, or uncaring, odd, even eccentric.

Once you have the diagnosis you can seek out others who have the same diagnosis in order to share experiences and therapies. Sometimes when individuals get together who all have Asperger Syndrome they are able to be friends with each other because they understand each other and friendships are easily forged through the common bound and understanding of each other's behaviors. Organizations that are set up for those who suffer from AS are there to support those with AS and to foster social contacts, to give resources, to encourage treatment, and to give those who suffer from Asperger's Syndrome a sense of community something they were lacking in their life before the diagnosis.

Another obvious way to use the diagnosis is to seek treatment for the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome in order to improve your lifestyle. Your doctor can use your diagnosis to help you seek intervention and treatment including speech therapy, occupational therapy, social training and counseling. These interventions and treatments can help individuals with AS to learn to relate better in social situations including those at work, school and when dealing with interpersonal relationships. Seeking treatment is especially important when it is a child who has received the diagnosis. Early treatment and intervention on the behalf of the child can mean a world of difference for the child when going through middle school and high school. It can also mean that as a teen, many embarrassing and painful situations can be avoided with social training.

A diagnosis can give those around the person new insight into the behaviors and communication experiences that have been a part of the life before the diagnosis. Misunderstanding can be cleared up; allowances can be made for future communications and social events. A diagnosis can lead to action. Action that will improve the quality of life for the individual with Asperger’s Syndrome, his or her family and friends.

What Causes Autism

What causes Autism is something every doctor hears when they tell a parent their child is Autistic. There is not one definite answer to this question. There are several thoughts on what causes Autism. Some of the causes of Autism are thought to be genetic. Doctors think there are several genes that cause Autism, but have yet to locate them. They now feel that some people are born with the predisposition to be Autistic. Then they have some type of environmental trigger and they become Autistic.

Autism is more common in boys that girls. Some studies show a connection to environmental factors and Autism. They think that the pollution and toxins in the air can contribute to a child having Autism. Studies have shown small towns with high cases of Autism. The towns had one thing in common, a high pollution source. Usually the source is a factory of some sort that release a lot of toxins, and chemicals into the air.

A majority of people believe Autism was caused by the Mercury, or Thimersal in vaccinations. This was due to the fact that Autism was first diagnosed about the same time as vaccinations were given. There has been a lot of studies an research about vaccines causing a child to become Autistic. So far there has been no evidence to suggest the connection between vaccinating your child and Autism. There could be more risks from not having the vaccinations.

Some studies have shown children being exposed to high levels of Mercury were more likely to have Autism. This was a fear with the vaccinations, but the majority of shots these days do not contain any mercury or Thimersal. If they do contain Thimersal it is in very trace amounts. High levels of Mercury can be contributed to eating a lot of fish, and industrial emissions. Researchers think there could be a connection to pregnant women being exposed to Mercury and their children having Autism. There are new studies testing pregnant women to see how much Mercury is in their systems and testing the babies at birth. They can then monitor the babies with high Mercury levels and see if they have any problems later on.

There are theories that Autism is caused from an underlying health issue. Certain diseases make a child more likely to develop Autism. Some of these diseases include Fragile X syndrome, and congenital Rubella. Others believe Autism is caused by a metabolic imbalance.

It used to be thought that Autism was caused from an early emotional trauma. They also thought bad parenting was to blame. Doctors tried to blame mothers for not giving their children enough attention and love. These theories have been found untrue. Much more research is needed to identify the true cause or causes of Autism. Until a definite answer is found no one will know what cause a child to be Autistic. These theories are all just that, theories. Someday hopefully doctors will understand what causes a child to be Autistic, and they can work on a way to prevent, or cure it.

The Power of Music - Musical Therapy to Treat Autism

Musical therapy is a relatively new treatment method for autism patients, but one that should not be overlooking when discussing options. Patients who receive musical therapy often should great improvement in temperament and learning skills. Music connects to the non-verbal part of our brains, making it a perfect therapy for disorders in which the patient has trouble communicating, such as autism. Research this innovative treatment method if you are looking for some help with autism and haven't had much luck in the past.

Musical therapy is effective because it can be used in conjunction with learning social skills. Music is a very non-threatening medium for patients, and many games can be played using music to help improve social and behavioral skills. By encouraging eye contact while singing or using instruments that need to get close to the face, musical therapy can help autistic individuals break social barriers.

The number one way that musical therapy can help children, as well as older autistic patients, is by helping with the development of speech skills. Music is a way to connect the verbal and non-verbal functions in the brain. Autistic individuals may have various forms of speech problems. Some can only hum, grunt, or make other non-word noises, while others babble nonsensical phrases or cries. Still others gain the capability to put together phrases and sentences to communicate with the world, although these usually lack emotion. Autistic people are known for monotone voices. However, no matter how skilled the individual is with speech, he or she can participate in musical therapy by clapping rhythms, humming along, or doing simple echoing songs.

Autistic individuals are commonly found to be particularly good at music. Some, for instance, have perfect pitch. Others can play a particular instrument very well, with little instruction. Even if he or she shows no genius musical ability by normal standards, you may find that a particularly hard to deal with autistic person has abilities in music that exceed his or her other abilities. A musical therapist can use music as a way to link this kind of learning with other kinds of learning, not only as speech development and social behavioral development as previously discussed, but also as a way to communicate emotions and develop memory.

By using all of these techniques in conjunction with one another, musical therapy can work wonders with people who are autistic. Trained professionals can use music to teach children and others how to communicate in nonverbal ways, making it easier for patients to learn. Research the musical therapy option to provide you or your child with another choice when treating autism.

Drivers with Asperger's Syndrome Face Unique Challenges

Another venue where body language and especially eye contact are crucial is in the arena of driving. There are few other situations where your life might depend on adequately conversing with another individual through the use of gestures or simply eye contact. This has propelled many a person with Asperger’s Syndrome to take driving lessons from a professional. The added security of knowing the rules of the road for certain and not guessing about right of ways eliminates a lot of the nervousness a driver might experience.

Even with the best honed skills, driving is still a major challenge when someone battles with Asperger’s Syndrome and thus is not able to adequately understand the intent of other drivers. The problem, of course, is the fact that not everyone follows the predetermined rules of the road. Although in theory they ought to, in practice many rely on the eye contact with other drivers to estimate their intent and also their likelihood to slow down or allow them to squeeze into their lanes. When an individual with Asperger’s Syndrome is behind the wheel, there is a slight chance that he or she might misunderstand the other drives’ intent.

At the same time, other drivers may misinterpret the lack of eye contact as meaning that this driver is not able or willing to budge, and therefore there may be some odd moments at four way stop signs and other intersections when it is questionable what the intent of the individual drivers may be. The best advice most individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome have received with respect to safety on the road is patience. It is best to be a defensive driver who will allow others to cut into their lanes, and who will leave a lot of room between their car and the one up ahead. In addition, going no faster than the speed limit and traveling in the slow lanes is another good bit of advice for those who cannot rely on split second decisions arrived at by accurately evaluating eye contact with other drivers on the road.

Avoiding freeways and high speed lanes is another bit of advice often given to those with Asperger’s Syndrome. The stress of navigating an area at a heightened speed may lead to episodes of apathy, which usually happen when the patient with Asperger’s Syndrome becomes extremely stressed. Even though she or he might make it home safely, there is a good chance that getting back into their automobile the next morning is not as simple a task as they would like it to be. It is best if they avoid the danger of apathy ahead of time and simply opt for a safer, less stressful way to work or home.

As odd as it may sound, but the kind of car such a person drives also makes a huge difference. The car should reflect the personal taste of the patient with Asperger’s Syndrome for sure, but above and beyond, it should provide a sense of safety. For some this is achieved when driving a tall SUV while for others this is accomplished when they get behind the wheel of a large car.