Asperger Syndrome: An Overview of Characteristics

B. Smith Myles and R. L. Simpson, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Fall 2002, Pages 132 - 137.

Although the prevalence of Asperger's Syndrome (AS) is increasing, many children and youth who exhibit characteristics associated with this disability are not diagnosed until their later years. Because early intervention appears to be critical for individuals with AS, it is important that educators, families and physicians have a comprehensive understanding of this complex exceptionality. This article, is an attempt to meet the aforementioned need, describes the characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome and the syndrome's impact in the home, school and community. Only recently has AS been showing up on the educational radar. Ever-increasing numbers of children and youth are being identified with the disorder, and teachers, administrators, counsellors, and other educational professionals are quickly discovering that children and youth with AS are extremely challenging to serve effectively. This challenge is often related to a lack of understanding of the perplexing and sometimes seemingly contradictory characteristics of AS. For example, educators often have difficulty separating verbosity from a true understanding of language. Educational placement is problematic for children and youth with AS. They spend the majority of their time in general education with professionals who do not generally have specialised training with students and with disabilities. Furthermore, their placement in general education classrooms means that they will share space and experiences with normally developing and achieving classmates, who can be expected to have limited tolerance (at least without instruction and other interventions) for peers who fail to understand and follow the oftentimes complex and frequently unstated rules of their classroom and school.