Modern view of Asperger syndrome: symptoms, testing and treatment

One of the most unexplained diseases of the human psyche is Asperger's syndrome.

What are the causes of the development of this disease, as it manifests itself in children and adults?

Methods of diagnosis of the syndrome, including self-diagnosis. The possibilities of medicine in the treatment of pathology. About this, and many other things in the article.

history of diagnosis of becoming

The term Asperger's syndrome represent one of the five heavyviolations of the formation of the human personality. This condition in medicine stands along with autism, although there are certain differences between them. The Asperger syndrome is characterized by severe difficulties in social adaptation of a person.

Hans Asperger

This pathology has been known in medicine since 1944.For the first time, the symptoms of the disease were found in young patients of pediatrician and psychiatrist Hans Asperger. Then this condition was called autistic psychopathy, that is, like autism.

Syndrome is a special type of autism - due to a large number of similar symptoms. However, the preservation of intelligence makes it yet another disease. Perhaps these two states are of a general nature, but somewhat different manifestations.

Who is ill

Asperger's disease is a congenital condition. The frequency of its occurrence has quite large fluctuations - from three to fifty children per hundred thousand newborns. On average, it is considered that the incidence rate of 26 children is one hundred thousand.

In boys, the disease occurs four times more often than in girls.

What are the causes of

Until now, the exact causes of the disease have not been established. There are many theories that to some extent explain its origin, but at the same time in each of these theories have their own inaccuracies and inconsistencies.

No theory can indicate the morphology of this disease - that is, the specific focus of pathology. It is assumed that the underlying cause of the disease is a latent autoimmune reaction of a pregnant woman - antibodies are produced on the brain of the fetus, as a result of which its damage occurs.

However, the examination of children with Asperger syndrome does not reveal organic damage to the brain substance.

Another theory suggests the connection of this disease with deep prematurity. However, not all premature babies have a syndrome.

There is a so-called ecological theory. It assumes the emergence of the disease due to high environmental pollution, the negative impact of a large number of preventive vaccinations, the availability of various preservatives in food. But in this case, the syndrome would suffer a much larger number of people.

The most fully explaining the emergence of the syndrome is a theory that takes into account the genetic predisposition and the effect of some infectious agents on the body of a pregnant woman.

How to classify

Asperger syndrome is part of a group of autistic disorders of a general nature. This group unites all pathologies with a violation of social adaptation. The same group includes four more disorders:

• autism - is most similar in symptomatology with Asperger's disease;
• Rett syndrome;
• children's disintegrative disorder;
• is another common disorder.

Clinical picture of children

The first symptoms of Asperger syndrome are found in children at an early age - about two years. This is exactly the age when the child begins the process of social adaptation. Before this age, there are no specific symptoms - the child can be either relatively calm for the baby or vice versa, more irritable.

In the classic sense, Asperger's syndrome is characterized by a triad of abnormalities in the following areas:

• social communication;
• social interaction;
• social imagination.

After the age of two, certain disorders begin that indicate a violation of the social side of the person:

• fear of strangers;
• the child is extremely difficult to bear the separation from his parents;
• have difficulties when visiting a kindergarten - the child does not communicate with other children, cries when parents leave, does not play toys and does not play with children;
• violated the emotional sphere of personality - the child is not able to experience a feeling of pity, joy, sympathy, in this Asperger syndrome has a similarity with autism;
• , older children become stubborn, they want to impose their behavior on others, which leads to the rejection of such a child already by the collective.

However, with this pathology there is a violation of abstract thinking. Therefore, the child may be lost if necessary to perform even the simplest task, but requiring non-standard behavior.

If the child has chosen for himself one particular occupation, he can not pay any attention to the surrounding reality. His work he will bring to the fullest completion, will perform everything perfectly.

This syndrome does not affect the development of speech. The child can speak absolutely correctly, using all expressions, sometimes even not corresponding to age and place. But his speech is devoid of emotional coloring. Children are very sensitive to any stimuli from without - light, sound, tactile.

Characteristic for the syndrome is the presence in children of certain rituals of behavior, which they follow very pedantically. At the same time, any change in the habitual situation, violation of the order of actions, leads the child into confusion or even into a hysterical state.

Available in Asperger syndrome and motor disorders. The child hardly learns to perform daily activities, can not fully take care of themselves. When enrolling in school, the child struggles to learn to write, his handwriting is sloppy and illegible.

Manifestations of the disease in adulthood

Symptoms of Asperger syndrome, which appear in adults, have slight differences. In adulthood, social disadaptation remains.

A person with a syndrome is able to study in higher education institutions, work in various professions - this is allowed by his intellectual abilities. But the obstacle is his inability to think outside the box and difficulties in communicating with people.

An adult with this disease prefers simple monotonous work. This is due to the fact that adults remain excessive pedantry and fear of change. Sometimes these symptoms can reach the point of absurdity. Any violation of the usual routine of the day, the state of things can lead to hysterics.

The adult person does not have abstract thinking - he is not able to represent different images, to calculate different patterns of behavior. The adult with Asperger's syndrome does not distinguish between true and false statements.

Einstein - the famous asperger

Diagnostic criteria

To establish this diagnosis, specialists use a set of certain criteria. They are divided into several groups, each of which has several criteria.

Social difficulties:

• impossibility to establish visual contact, lack of facial expressions, the person does not use gestures when communicating;
• emotional coldness, lack of feelings such as pity, sympathy, joy;
• violation of generally accepted norms of behavior and communication.

Behavioral features:

• limited interests - a person is engaged in only one chosen business, without being distracted by what is happening around;
• development of certain behavior rituals and strict adherence to them;
• presence of stereotyped movements with frequent repetition - twisting hair locks, buttons on clothes, drawing of patterns by a finger;
• pathological focus on a particular subject.

To these basic diagnostic criteria are added secondary, which can have clinical relevance only if there are basic:

• emotional speech impairment;
• self-service violation;
• lack of interest in the world around.

Diagnosis can be performed by the patient himself or the parents of the child. For this, there are certain tests that can identify the developmental abnormalities that are inherent in Asperger's syndrome. Psychologists are more specific in deciphering the tests.

The following tests are being used:

• from the age of six can hold the ASSQ test, it is based on the interpretation of the child's perception and description of various images;
• for children and adults is used test Tas-20 - determines the degree of emotional impoverishment of a person's personality;
• Aspie-Quiz is a test containing a hundred different questions on the basis of which a psychologist draws up a conclusion about a possible syndrome in a patient.

Many famous people with Asperger's syndrome showed and manifest themselves in various areas of life, science, creativity:

Correction options for

violation Due to the unclear etiology of this disease, Asperger's syndrome treatment is aimed only at eliminating symptoms that worsen the quality of life.

Treatment should be strictly individual. Each patient is required to select certain activities and activities that contribute to improving social adaptation.

Both in childhood and in adulthood, a patient with Asperger syndrome is taught certain skills that he did not acquire. Requires counseling therapist, especially in adolescence.

For the training of motor functions special complexes of physiotherapy exercises are prescribed. Thanks to them improves fine motor skills, normalizes posture and gait.

Drug treatment is a much more complicated task. Specific drug for the treatment of the syndrome does not exist, because neither the causes of the disease nor its morphology are known. All drugs prescribed for this pathology have as their goal the relief of symptoms of anxiety, irritability and quick temper.

Drugs used as a symptomatic treatment for Asperger syndrome are among several pharmacological groups:

• antipsychotics ( risperidone) contribute to the reduction of aggression and irritability;
• antidepressants ( Fluoxetine, Zoloft) contribute to reducing depression, eliminating suicidal thoughts.

What are the actions of the

family? Parents of a child with Asperger's syndrome must observe a number of rules that allow improving the quality of life and most fully adapting a child to social life. These rules apply to both family relationships and behavior in public places:

• creation of an enabling environment in the family - parents' quarrels, screams, curses, even if they are not aimed at the child, provoke hysteria and attacks of aggression;
• permanent self-study of - reading of new information about the disease, use of new rehabilitation techniques;
• teaching the child the rules of behavior in public places, communicating with other people - this is done in a soft unobtrusive manner;
• constant encouragement of the child for the correct behavior of ;
• stimulation of development of the child in the sphere that he himself chose.

Relatives of an adult patient should take his personality characteristics and not violate his daily routine, as this can lead to outbreaks of aggression, or vice versa, to deep depression.

Asperger's syndrome does not directly affect life expectancy. However, due to the high incidence of depressive disorders and suicidal tendencies, lethal outcomes are possible.

Some patients experience an age-related weakening of symptoms, but social maladjustment persists to a greater or lesser extent throughout life. Patients in most cases lead an isolated lifestyle, are not able to build a family relationship.