Asperger's Syndrome Symptoms

One of the many autism spectrum disorders is Asperger's syndrome. This disorder is characterized by development delays, communication problems and inability to socialize. Asperger's syndrome differs from other autism spectrum disorders as it does not involve linguistic and cognitive development of the child. Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger was the first person to study and describe this syndrome in children. He found these children had limited ability to show empathy, lacked nonverbal communication skills and were clumsier than children of their age. Asperger's syndrome symptoms are generally diagnosed in older children and adults as opposed to other autism disorders that manifest themselves in young children. Let us go into the detail's of Asperger's syndrome symptoms in children as well as adults and find information that will help you in understanding the mystery.

What is Asperger's Syndrome
Asperger's syndrome is a development disorder that causes social awkwardness and communication problems in those affected. This is a pervasive development disorder that involves delay in development of social skills, communication skills and use of imagination. Those with Asperger's syndrome have normal intelligence and show normal language development. Asperger's syndrome symptoms maybe mild or have severe implications in some children. There are variety of Asperger's syndrome symptoms in children. Thus, no two individuals may show very similar symptoms of Asperger's syndrome.

Asperger's Syndrome Symptoms in Children
The onset of Asperger's syndrome is rather late in life and most children are diagnosed with this condition after the age of 3. Many cases of Asperger's syndrome are diagnosed between the age of 5 to 9 years. The Asperger's syndrome symptoms in children are observed by parents when their kids do not interact like other children. There social interactions and behavior are different from those in other children. When the child begins to go to school, the symptoms tend to become an issue. This is because as they have limited interaction skills, they tend to develop problems with other children around them. Many people take their children to doctors for evaluation of behavioral problems. However, these children end up taking Asperger's syndrome test and are found to have positive results for this disorder. Some of the Asperger's syndrome symptoms in children include:

• Problems with nonverbal communication and gestures like facial expressions, body postures, eye contact, subtle body cues, etc
• Failure to develop relationships with peers and siblings
• The child tends to play alone and does not get involved in group activities
• The child tends to show lack of empathy and does not reciprocate emotions. For example, if someone is crying, the child will not be able to console the other child or will not understand the reason for crying
• The child is unresponsive to others
• When the child speaks, he/she uses a more formal tone, does not use slang and lacks expression of emotions in tone
• There is lack of variation in pitch, tone, accent, etc in speech
• The child does not understand sarcasm, humor, or other figurative speeches and takes them in literal sense
• The child cannot ignore irrelevant stimulation and tends to suffer from concentration problems
• In some children, language regression is observed. This means, if the child learns to speak a new word or sentence, he/she may forget it or is unable to reproduce the same again

These are some of the communication and psychological symptoms of Asperger's syndrome in children. These children also exhibit certain physical as well as behavioral symptoms of Asperger's syndrome. Remember, not all children exhibit similar Asperger's syndrome symptoms. Some may have mild symptoms and few may show all the symptoms mentioned here. The physical as well as behavioral Asperger's symptoms in children include:

• Repetitive and restricted behavior
• The child shows obsession or deep attraction to certain objects or tasks
• The child tends to follow their routine as a ritual and does not show flexibility to change
• The child tends to appear clumsy due to uncoordinated motor movements
• The child is highly sensitive to light, noises, tastes as well as textures
• Temper tantrums is a common scene with these children
• These children tend to be fixated with some hobby or object like stamp collection, cars, etc

Asper's Syndrome Symptoms in Adults
There are many cases, where Asperger's syndrome is not diagnosed till the person reaches adulthood. These people are often thought of as weird as they do not make eye contact, are obsessed with a particular topic or activity, have problems maintaining relations and yet are very talented or intelligent. The Asperger's symptoms in adults affects their daily lives as they cannot pursue a relationship, have problems holding on to a job or even doing a simple task of going shopping. These are situations when a person is asked to seek medical or psychological help. In most cases, Asperger's syndrome symptoms in children are also observed in adults. However, some other Asperger's syndrome symptoms in adults include:

• These patients suffer from seizures and epilepsy episodes
• Emotional disturbances like anxiety, depression, mood swings, irritability, etc
• Eating disorders like anorexia, due to interruption of ritual meal pattern or emotional disturbances like anxiety or depression
• Sexual problems as they are unable to form adult relationships and lack social skills

What is Asperger's Syndrome Test
There is no specific diagnostic procedure called Asperger's syndrome test. However, there are certain screening tools that help in diagnosis of this condition. Of these diagnostic tools include Childhood Asperger's Syndrome Test (CAST) that contains a series of Asperger's checklist to be answered by parents and teachers. On the basis of the results of these tests, one can diagnose the severity of the disorder.

What is Asperger's Syndrome Treatments
There is no cure for Asperger's syndrome symptoms. However, there are many therapies that help children with this condition to led a normal life as much as possible. These therapies include communication and social skills training, cognitive behavioral therapy and certain medications that helps cure certain Asperger's syndrome symptoms like depression, anxiety, hyperactivity, etc.

This is all about Asperger's syndrome symptoms. Many times parents keep spending a lot of time trying to find a correct diagnosis of their children's condition. If one observes any or most of the Asperger's syndrome symptoms in their children or loved ones, they should get them evaluated. Intervention and Asperger's syndrome therapy will prove to be useful in improving the quality of life for individuals suffering from Asperger's syndrome.