By Michelle Fattig - Autism Today 2007 The difficulty in understanding and acknowledging autism, primarily high functioning autism or Aspergers Syndrome, by the medical, psychological, and psychiatric community, can lead to misdiagnosis and even failure to provide the services needed for students. People with Aspergers Syndrome are often described, as having social skills deficits, reluctance to listen, difficulty understanding social give and take, and other core characteristics, is typically quite misunderstood and/or misdiagnosed in our country today. First recognized by Hans Asperger in 1944, who recognized that the patterns of behaviors and characteristics were often noticed in the parents as well, most noticeably in the fathers, and he very perceptively noted, that the condition was probably due to genetic or neurological, rather than psychological or environmental factors, (Attwood, 2006, p. 2). Psychologists, physicians, educators, and parents remain largely uneducated and uninformed regarding high functioning autism and Aspergers Syndrome, particularly in girls and women, and the person is often misdiagnosed (Fattig, 2007). Aspergers syndrome has probably been an important and valuable characteristic of our species throughout evolution, (Attwood, 2006, p. 2). Autism impacts normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. The disorder makes it hard to communicate with others and relate to the social world. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present (Autism Society of Delaware, 2005); however, internal behaviors such as withdrawal, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and social isolation may be just as prevalent (Fattig, 2007). Persons with autism may exhibit repeated body movements (hand flapping, rocking), unusual responses to people or attachments to objects and resistance to changes in routines. Individuals may also experience sensitivities in the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste, (Autism Society of Delaware, 2005). One reason why the prevalence in girls and women is so low in comparison to boys and men may be the fundamental lack of awareness of what Aspergers Syndrome looks like in females. Traditional frameworks may indicate that the female with Aspergers Syndrome is just shy, quiet, perfect at school so her parents must be exaggerating, tomboyish, moody, overly competitive, aloof, Gothic, depressed, anxious, or a perfectionist (Fattig, 2007). The Viennese pediatrician, Asperger, described a group of children with similar characteristics, observing that the childrens social maturity and social reasoning were delayed and some aspects of their social abilities were quite unusual at any stage of development, (Attwood, 2006, p. 2). More specifically, the pediatrician included aspects of difficulty to include social skills, friendship skills, conversational skills, pedantic speech patterns, tendency towards ego-centrism and preoccupation in a particular area of interest, lack of emotional control, and an immaturity of empathetic skills. These children were noted to have difficulty attending in class and demonstrated learning deficits, along with organizational, motor, and sensory concern. The difficulty in understanding and acknowledging autism, primarily high functioning autism or Aspergers Syndrome, by the medical, psychological, and psychiatric community, can lead to misdiagnosis and even failure to provide the services needed for students.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 19:09:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015