I need Help! I think my 10 yr old son may have Asperger's Syndrome. Has anyone heard of this?

Question

I need to know any specific websites or information concerning Aspergsers. His teacher at school thinks he has some of the qualities of someone with Asperger's. I also need to know if it can be treated. Any and all information will be of great use to me as I try to figure all this out. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I'm a teacher and I have heard of Asperger's Syndrome. I've heard that it's similar to Autism and that there is developing research on this, but not much is known. I will give you a couple of sites that I've found below.
Asperger's syndrome (AS) is an autism spectrum disorder. It is milder than autism but shares some of its symptoms. It is more common in boys than girls.

Symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome, for example, include social problems, vulnerability to sensory overload, awkward posture, and a tendency to take many figures of speech literally.

An obsessive interest in a single subject is a major symptom of AS. Some children with AS have become experts on dinosaurs, makes and models of cars, even objects as seemingly odd as vacuum cleaners. Their expertise, high level of vocabulary and formal speech patterns make them seem like little professors.

Children with AS have trouble reading social cues and recognizing other people's feelings. They may have strange movements or mannerisms. All of these make it difficult for them to make friends. Problems with motor skills are also common in children with AS. They may be late learning to ride a bike or catch a ball, for example. Treatment focuses on the three main symptoms: poor communication skills, obsessive or repetitive routines, and physical clumsiness.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Answer 2

Hi. I am a school psychologist, and we are seeing many more children with Asperger's Syndrome these days. It is more common than you would think. If you google Aspergers you will get a great deal of information. One of the best resourses is from Yale, but I don't have the URL just now. But, your child can and should have an evaluation through the school, by the school psychologist. You can request this through the special education office. Most children with Aspergers are great students, but have difficulty with social interactions. The degree that this is a problem varies with the child. Is it curable, not really, but it is more like a type of personality. If your son has proper counseling or instruction to learn to monitor and facilitate his social interactions, he should be able to be very successful. Some people feel that Bill Gates may have Asperger's, as he is brilliant in one particular area, has poor social skills, and he has certainly done very well. Good luck, and it can be a challange to have Aspergers, but there are certainly a lot more worrisome things to have. There is a website for kids with Aspergers, termed Aspie's, I think. I am not sure the URL for this either. Talk with your school psychologist. They should be able to help you out.

Answer 3

We have a boy who is autistic, Asperger's Syndrome is just what they call it when they are older. I have a whole bunch of info ( we where searching once we found out for weeks and weeks, in fact I was searching today). There is very little differnce between autism and Asperger's Syndrome. If you want you can email me and I will send you all the research I did, free of charge. there is a couple of therapies you can do for your son Son-rise, ABA, and floor time. I am still doing research on floor time but I can send you the info when I find it if you like. Also dont worry to much about and focus on the fact he does have a problem rather focus on the solution. I really think you should use a mix of all 3 therapies. Also some body on yahoo answers told me that you can hire a vlounteer from the college in there special education department or it may cost you some money depending on where you live. We got somebody to come teach my cousin at home but the people from the college are un experienced and we also have to pay but sometimes I see that if I just try to teach hime 15 min he can learn more with me than he can with them in 2 hours. so if you want you can email me and I will send you some good info.

Answer 4

I have Asperger's Syndrome myself and was diagnosed at a very young age. I'm 17 now so i'm learning to handle it more effectively. I would say your son does have AS, the eye contact is an obvious symptom, had the exact same thing, but now I've learned to look people directly at their eyes so they know I'm talking to them. I found it very tough to make friends because I didn't understand their humour, also I was always called 'posh' because my vocabulary was wider than everyone else's. All my life I've never had much imagination, I'll see my younger brother playing with a stick pretending it's a gun and he's in WWII. I never did that when I was younger, everything I did had to be interactive and real to me. The reason I say that he probably has AS is because of how similar he is to me in terms of personality and the way he sees things, sounds like we'd get on very well! :) My advice is to talk to him about it. How he thinks you should talk to him, touch him (Some cases of Asperger's sees children that hate to be hugged or touched in any way). At his school, see if there any other children with Asperger's Syndrome and see if he can make friends with them, my first pal had Asperger's Syndrome and we got on like a house on fire :) Hope I helped, Aspergers can be considered to be a horrible disorder, but I consider it a gift.

Answer 5

Asperger's Syndrome is usually defined as the following: A child which tests in the range of average to above average intelligence and has no clinically significant general delay in language. However, the child will show impairments in social interactions, including difficulty in using social cues such as body language, and has a restricted range of interests and activities..

In the early 1940's two doctors used the terms "autism" and "autistic" in separate publications. Dr. Leo Kanner, an Austrian psychiatrist based at Johns Hopkins in America, was the first to identify autism as a distinct neurological condition. In 1944, Dr. Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician published a doctoral thesis using the term "autistic". Asperger's description was of more able children while Kanner's was of more severe cases.

The terms "high-functioning autism" and "Asperger's syndrome" are sometimes used interchangeably by certain professionals and authors.

Tony Attwood is a world-renowned clinical psychologist who specializes in Asperger's Syndrome. He has published a number of informational literature for parents and professionals.

I am a behavioral therapist who works with autistic children and I have had the pleasure of working with children diagnosed with Asperger's. These students are absolutely amazing and there are a number of programs that can be used to help them become more socially adept. Books by Carol Gray, Stanley Greenspan, and Temple Gradin are an excellent place to start.

Good luck and God bless you and your son. I hope everything works out for the best.

Yours truly,
Marissa

Answer 6

Asperger's syndrome is a form of autism, a disability that affects the way a person communicates & relates to others.

A number of traits of autism are common to Asperger's Syndrome including:
Difficulty in communicating
Difficulty in social relationships
A lack of imagination & social play.

People with Asperger's usually have fewer problems with language than those with autism, as people with Asperger's can usually speak fluently.

People with Asperger's also do not have accompanying learning difficulties often associated with autism, because of this many children with Asperger's syndrome can remain in mainstream schools, with the right support and encouragement.

Best wishes to your son and yourself.

Answer 7

Asperger Symdrome is on the Autism Spectrum, it cannot be cured. It is a high-functioning form of Autism, some people treat Asperger with special diets or medications that are used to help people with ADHD. People with the disorder tend to dislike physical contact (cuddling for example), and will have objects or topics they focus on to the point of obsession. A book I read that really helped clarify Asperger Syndrome was "Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome" by Luke Jackson. It is written by a teenage boy in the UK who has Asperger and give a good perspective on what life is like for such a person. Of course, to be sure if this is what your son does have, you would need to have a professional diagnose him, it is likely his school has either the means to test him or they will have contacts to help you further. The only information I have comes from the above listed book and from my recent college course on working with students who have special needs.

Answer 8

I had a friend when I was growing up that has Asperger's Syndrome. He was less socially inclined than most of my other friends, but absolutely brilliant when it came to anything relating to math or logical thought. It is a type of Autism, so I hear that many people with it have similar traits. Today he is capable of living on his own, although he still has some trouble in social situations. I'm unsure if it is treatable by some sort of medication, but I know therapy and special education while young can help a child learn to grow and adapt with their condition.

There are a lot of good resources on the web, and the Wikipedia entry has a great deal of information, plus many other resources. You can find it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome

Good luck!

Answer 9

A friend shared the website below. She is trying to determine if her child has Asperger's. It was useful for her search. Additionally, several friends and I are considering a group out of Chicago who work primarily with autistic children. They do a full blood work up on your child and prescribe minerals, vitamins and amino acids based on the results. Children in the autism spectrum typically have similar profiles were they are deficient or have excesses in metals etc. Additionally, there may be food sensitivities which affect behavior. They have had great successes. I think they have over 6000 patients.

A tape I just listened to called Biology of Behavior is also interesting by Dianne craft....she even mentions the Pfifer Institute. She recommends a protocol developed by MD's to start first with the gut.

I have to go. I hope this helps. Don't panic - even if you don't feel it - God is really in control - he will help you find your answers.

Answer 10

Asperger's Syndrome is on the higher end of the Autism spectrum. Basically, the person is very intelligent, but lacks social and communication skills. There are other signs also, but these are the most common.

No, it cannot be treated. However, with proper training and education, your child might be able to overcome it.

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/