Asperger Syndrome
Asperger Syndrome was first described by Hans Asperger in 1944 and came to the fore due to an article published by Lorna Wing, one of the important researchers of autism, in 1991. Hans Asperger described the characteristics of the syndrome in detail and also explained its differences from autism.
These differences are; early childhood autism begins to show itself from the age of one; a child with autism has delayed or no speech or does not use language communicatively; starts to walk without crawling; lack of eye contact and inadequate social skills. On the other hand, it was stated that Asperger syndrome is a diagnosis and does not appear before the age of 3, that the child with this syndrome starts to talk before walking, has the intention to communicate even in an inappropriate place, has a continuous communication style in the form of a monologue and shows a mediocre or superior level of talent.
In the literature, it is possible to come across contradictory discussions claiming that Asperger syndrome and autism are different or the same. Many studies have focused on the differences and similarities of autism and Asperger syndrome. Tantam (1988) emphasized the differences between these two syndromes in the following ways;
- Wanting to establish social relationships but having difficulty in doing so
- Being clumsy and incompetent
- Having difficulty adjusting one's language to the context
- Having difficulty using body language such as gestures and facial expressions
- Having monotonous interests.
Tantam (1988) suggested that it would be more appropriate to diagnose autistic children with these characteristics with Asperger syndrome.
On the other hand, in the book edited by Frith in 1991, Gillberg compared 6 Asperger cases with Asperger syndrome in terms of their similarities with autism. Gillberg briefly demonstrated that there is a very close relationship between the two syndromes, and that some children show autistic characteristics at an early age and begin to meet the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome at a later age. Gillberg also stated that some autistic children may initially receive a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome along with it.
Again, Wing (1991) states that Asperger Syndrome includes a mental performance that ranges from mild mental retardation to superior intelligence, but that in autism, the general intelligence level retardation or superior performance in skills that do not require verbal intelligence is a distinguishing feature from Asperger syndrome.
Some recent studies are being conducted comparatively to distinguish between Asperger and high-functioning autism diagnoses. For example, Szatmari (1989) found that individuals with Asperger syndrome have fewer difficulties in communication, social interaction, and narrow areas of interest, and therefore need less special education than individuals diagnosed with high-functioning autism.
On the other hand, Ozonoff, Rogers and Pennington (1991) found significant differences between the two syndromes. While individuals with Asperger syndrome performed better in theory of mind, high-functioning autistic individuals were found to be less successful, on the other hand, in tests measuring executive functions, problems were found to be the same in both groups. Ozonoff, Rogers and Pennington (1991) tried to draw attention to the fact that poor use of executive functions and deficiencies related to theory of mind are primary deficiencies in the autism spectrum. In addition, Ghaziuddin et al. (1995) also investigated whether Asperger syndrome was really a different diagnosis from high-functioning autism and presented various findings. One of these studies revealed that children with Asperger syndrome were more likely to commit suicide than children diagnosed with high-functioning autism.
When we look at more recent studies (Star, Szatmari, Bryson&Zwaigenbaum, 2003), in a study where Asperger and High-Functioning Autistic children were examined longitudinally and evaluated with ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview-revised), it was found that the symptoms of children with Asperger syndrome in 3 areas (communication, social interaction, repetitive stereotyped movements) decreased with age compared to children with high-functioning autism.
Again, in a study by Ghaziuddin et al. (1995), in which they aimed to compare the reality testing and perceptual disorders of 12 Asperger and high-functioning autistic children with the Rorschach ink test, they found that children with Asperger's gave less abnormal reactions and focused more on their internal experiences during the autism diagnosis process compared to children with high-functioning autism.
As a result, this diagnostic confusion continues today, with the criteria for Autism, High-Functioning Autism, Autistic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, and Asperger Syndrome beginning to become clear. Researchers are also planning their studies on the subject to distinguish these groups.
PSK. DR. SELİN ATASOY