Asperger Syndrome and Terror

Roe, K. (1999) Focus on Autism and other Developmental Disabilities, 14 (4), 251-253.

Leewhay lives a life of terror. Those who know him would be amazed to hear me say that. The terror comes from Asperger syndrome (AS), in at least two respects. The first is easier to describe, relating to his sensitivities. Due to a nuance in his neurological development, when he perceives sights, sounds, touch, motion, smells, and tastes, or changes in his position or his environment, his brain distorts the stimuli, not allowing him to sort out which things are important from the others, and even exaggerates the wrong ones. His perceptive processing is out of balance.

The second terror is more difficult to discuss. This terror is real, but it often goes unrecognised until it has nearly destroyed the soul. When the other children were learning social skills, his brain could not perceive what he was supposed to learn.

Most people make a social mistake here and there, and they may even misbehave a little when they really do know what to do or say. But to be absolutely clueless about how to handle these situations is really scary. You know you must respond in some way, even if it’s to ignore it and walk away. But to know that a response is actually required, and that your repertoire doesn’t include this particular type of conversation, and, further, that the person’s face (even a very typical face), and, worse yet, his eyes, are far too distracting, making you forget anything you would have said anyway, adds real fear. You also know that any mistake could be socially disastrous.

Trying to help Leewhay can be difficult. First, it may not be clear or obvious what part of the situation he is having trouble with. Second, not knowing how his mind works, it may be difficult to explain in a way that he will surely comprehend it. Third, since the situation may seem so easy for people of typical social skills, they may feel embarrassed, projecting how silly they themselves might feel not being able to handle the same situation.

Leehway is reminded of his old friend, Lanjis, who was repeatedly suspended, and finally expelled, from school. It was only afterward that he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and it became clear that most of the misbehaviour was either from having been set up or in response to being punished for misdeeds he hadn’t really done. What happens to self-esteem with this kind of abuse? Will he ever recover completely? Not likely.