The only thing I basically know is from Dear John when he says Asperger’s is living in our world with adaptations but Autism is living in their own world. Could someone explain that because I don’t really understand it.
Asperger’s syndrome is a type of autism. Classic autism (often just called "autism") is another type of autism. Both of them are autism spectrum disorders. Since they are spectrum disorders, the severity of them can vary quite a bit between individuals.
Asperger’s syndrome is milder than classic autism. People with Asperger’s syndrome are usually high functional, while people with classic autism can be anything between low functional to high functional.
In classic autism there is speech delay (which varies in severity between individuals), but in Asperger’s syndrome there is no speech delay. Some (not all) people who have classic autism have mental retardation too, but people with Asperger’s syndrome never have mental retardation and often have above average intelligence.
People with low functioning autism usually have much more severe symptoms than people with Asperger’s syndrome. High functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome are very similar and often the only difference is the speech delay.
Both people with classic autism and people with Asperger’s syndrome sort of live in their own world, but since people with Asperger’s syndrome are usually more high functional than people with classic autism, they are often better able to connect with the neurotypical world too.
I hope this helps you understand it better.
Aspergers is just one type of Autism. There is a wide range of people with it, some have more serious symptoms than others.
References :
Asperger’s Syndrome is a type of autism, typically more high-functioning (able to be more independent). My brother is quite high-functioning and definitely isn’t in his own little world, but is just diagnosed with mild autism. He is ten and at about a five-year-old level socially and three-year-old level academically. It really depends on the child, there are several different characteristics that people with autism can have, and some do spend most of the time seeming as though they don’t even see you. But every once in a while, they connect with you, and that makes it completely worth it. Thank you for caring enough to try to understand! Hope this helps!
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I have been working with children with autism, including my little brother, and trying to learn all I can about it since I was five.
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Wonderfully written on their part, except I would prefer that they refer to them as "people with Asperger’s Syndrome," rather than, "Asperger’s Syndrome people."
There are two major types of autism, of which you have probably heard, they are autism and asperger’s syndrome.
First let’s look at classical autism, how would we recognise it? Well, autism was first recognised in the mid 1940’s by a psychiatrist called Leo Kanner. He described a group of children, whom he was treating, who presented with some very unusual symptoms such as; – atypical social development, irregular development of communication and language, and recurring and obsessional conduct with aversion to novelty and refusal to accept change. His first thoughts were that they were suffering some sort of childhood psychiatric disorder.
At around the same time that Kanner was grappling with the problems of these children, a German scientist, Hans Asperger was caring for a group of children whose behaviour also seemed irregular. Asperger suggested that these children were suffering from what he termed ‘autistic psychopathy.’ These children experienced remarkably similar symptoms to the children described by Kanner, with a single exception. – Their language development was normal!
There is still an ongoing debate as to whether autism and Asperger’s syndrome are separate conditions, or whether Asperger’s syndrome is merely a mild form of autism.
In the 1960s and 1970s there arose a theory that autism was caused by abnormal family relationships. This led on to the ‘refrigerator mother’ theory, which claimed that autism in the child was caused by cold, emotionless mothers! (Bettleheim, 1967). However the weight of evidence quickly put this theory to bed as evidence was found to support the idea that the real cause was to be found in abnormalities in the brain. This evidence was quickly followed by findings, which clearly demonstrated that the EEGs of autistic children were, in many cases, atypical and the fact that a large proportion of autistic children also suffered from epilepsy.
From this time, autism has been looked upon as a disorder, which develops as a consequence of abnormal brain development. Recently, evidence has shown that in some cases, the abnormal brain development may be caused by specific genes.
However, we should not forget that genes can only express themselves if the appropriate environmental conditions exist for them to do so and consequently, we should not rule out additional, environmental causes for autism. I think what we have to accept is that ‘many roads lead to Rome!’ Yes, there does appear to be a genetic road which leads to autism, but that does not mean that all autism is caused by genes. It can be caused by a certain pattern of brain injury, or by parts of the brain not developing properly, or not forming the correct wiring pattern.
So, in our rush for a genetic explanation, we must not forget that autism can also be caused by brain-injury, that an insult to the brain can produce the same effects as can abnormal development of the brain, which may have been caused by genetic and other environmental factors. (there are many within the medical fraternity, particularly those who are the subjects of lawsuits for causing brain-injury, who might understandably want you to think that the cause of autism is totally the responsibility of genes!) I have seen too many children who have suffered oxygen starvation at birth, who have gone on to display symptoms of autism or Asperger’s syndrome, so, it is my view that autism can also be caused by brain-injury. In fact, as we have just seen, we say someone has autism when we see a specific group of symptoms displayed by that person. A specific group of symptoms produced by a specific pattern of brain injury. So, in fact, autism is an expression of brain–injury.
References :
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Asperger’s syndrome is a type of autism. Classic autism (often just called "autism") is another type of autism. Both of them are autism spectrum disorders. Since they are spectrum disorders, the severity of them can vary quite a bit between individuals.
Asperger’s syndrome is milder than classic autism. People with Asperger’s syndrome are usually high functional, while people with classic autism can be anything between low functional to high functional.
In classic autism there is speech delay (which varies in severity between individuals), but in Asperger’s syndrome there is no speech delay. Some (not all) people who have classic autism have mental retardation too, but people with Asperger’s syndrome never have mental retardation and often have above average intelligence.
People with low functioning autism usually have much more severe symptoms than people with Asperger’s syndrome. High functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome are very similar and often the only difference is the speech delay.
Both people with classic autism and people with Asperger’s syndrome sort of live in their own world, but since people with Asperger’s syndrome are usually more high functional than people with classic autism, they are often better able to connect with the neurotypical world too.
I hope this helps you understand it better.
References :
I have Asperger’s syndrome myself.