a developmental disorder which in DSM V will be included with
autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as it is difficult to distinguish from high-functioning autism (HFA)
the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger in 1944 studied and described children in his practice who:
lacked nonverbal communication skills
demonstrated limited empathy with their peers
and were physically clumsy
the term came into existence in 1981 and became a standardized diagnosis in the early 1990's which is distinguished by a pattern of symptoms rather than a single symptom.
prevalence of AS appears to be ~0.26 per 1,000 (~ 1/5th the prevalence of ASD)
behavior is usually apparent by age 5 or 6
it is characterized by:
qualitative impairment in social interaction
lack of demonstrated empathy is possibly the most dysfunctional aspect
lack of social or emotional reciprocity
impaired nonverbal behaviors in areas such as eye contact, facial expression, posture, and gesture
social awkwardness
stereotyped and restricted patterns of behavior, activities and interests
pursuit of specific and narrow areas of interest is one of the most striking features of AS
individuals with AS may collect volumes of detailed information on a relatively narrow topic such as weather data or star names, without necessarily having a genuine understanding of the broader topic
a lack of interest in fiction and a positive preference towards non-fiction is common among adults with AS
no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or general delay in language, however they often have specific language abnormailities such as:
verbosity
abrupt transitions
literal interpretations and miscomprehension of nuance
use of metaphor meaningful only to the speaker
auditory perception deficits
unusually pedantic, formal or idiosyncratic speech
oddities in loudness, pitch, intonation, prosody, and rhythm
individuals with AS often have excellent auditory and visual perception, and enhanced perception of small changes in patterns
may be delayed in acquiring skills requiring motor dexterity and may be poorly coordinated, or have an odd or bouncy gait or posture, poor handwriting, or problems with visual-motor integration
more likely to have sleep problems, including difficulty in falling asleep, frequent nocturnal awakenings, and early morning awakenings
they often have difficulty in identifying and describing one's emotion
most children improve as they mature to adulthood, but social and communication difficulties may persist