Running head: ANALYSIS OF ASPERGER SYNDROME

Asperger Syndrome: An Exploratory Analysis of Asperger Syndrome and It's Effect on School Age
Children
Kyia Sonnier
Utah State University

ANALYSIS OF ASPERGER SYNDROME

Asperger Syndrome: An Exploratory Analysis of Asperger Syndrome and It's Effect on School Age
Children
Autism is a broad term used to describe someone that is on a spectrum that contains other
disorders under the same umbrella. These disorders all have deficits in the way they express language,
receive language, and differences in intelligence and social situations (Getty, 2013). Asperger syndrome
is one of the disorders along the autism spectrum, it was first identified in 1944 by a man named Hans
Asperger (Safran, 2002). However, Asperger syndrome has only recently gained exposure in the last
few decades, particularly in the educational system (Getty, 2013). Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
are a group of neurobiological disorders that affect three domains: language, cognition, and social
development (Allen, Robins, & Decker, 2008). ASDs are father expanded into the following five
disorders: Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise
Specified (PDD-NOS), Rett's Disorder, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (Allen et al., 2008).
Prevalence and incidence. Asperger syndrome rates and statistics are very limited in number
and hard to come by because of the complexities of this disorder. Asperger syndrome in comparison to
other forms of autism is often misdiagnosed or not diagnosed because there are no physical traits to
signal an abnormality, thus these children often go without treatment for a longer period of time and
some people are never diagnosed. Often if a diagnosis is made, this diagnosis is given later in terms of
development, normally once the child starts school or beyond, such disparities in time of diagnosis
have made the incidence of Asperger syndrome very hard to discern (Travano, Pesarin, Vittorio, &
Cristanyi, 2014). There have been reports on the prevalence of Asperger syndrome with Allen et al.
(2008) stating that ASDs in general occur in about 1 in 150 children. Asperger syndrome alone appears
1 to 10 times in every 10,000 instances of autism (Holaday, Moak, & Shipley, 2001).
Description and population. Autism is a disorder that affects more boys then girls. Asperger
syndrome is another type of autism and as a result also follows that characteristic in terms of gender.

ANALYSIS OF ASPERGER SYNDROME

Asperger syndrome is found more in predominately Caucasian children, although the number of
children diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in children of minority backgrounds has been on the rise in
the last few years (Noterdame, Wriedt, & Hohne, 2010). As mentioned previously, Asperger syndrome
is one disorder on a spectrum. Asperger syndrome is on the high-functioning end of the spectrum, some
people use Asperger's and high-functioning autism interchangeably but at present they are considered
to be different disorders just on the same end of the autism spectrum (Holaday et al., 2001). Autism
encompasses deficits in three main areas: social, communication, and unusual behaviors and patterns.
Allen at al. (2008) states the following:
Individuals with Asperger's Disorder demonstrate the same impairments in the social and
restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped domains. In contrast to individuals with autism, those with
Asperger's Disorder do not exhibit a deficit in communication skills. In fact, this diagnosis
requires that children develop language on time, and demonstrate adequate cognitive and
adaptive skills. (p. 906)
Normal development in language is one reason for the under diagnosis of this disorder. The normal
language development and normal to above intelligence of children who have autism can cause the
child to become overlooked or labeled as antisocial or nerdy by their parents, teachers, and/or peers
(Getty, 2013). Often Asperger syndrome becomes noticeable at about age 3 to 5 when preschool begins.
During this time these children will have difficulty making friends, having empathy for others, no
facial expressions and eye contact, egocentrism, and have trouble understanding and displaying humor
(Holaday et al., 2001). Social deficits in this area along with normal language development is
paramount in a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, without both a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome will
not be given (Noterdaeme et al., 2010).
Speech and Language Characteristics
Speech characteristics. Children with Asperger syndrome are able to communicate verbally

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with people around them. However, the way that they use speech is often in error, even though no
clinical diagnosis of a speech disorder is made (Tavano et al., 2014). Their tone of speech is often
monotone, stilted, and formal in use, never changing regardless of the audience (Safran, 2002).
Children with Asperger syndrome often speak out of turn, and say embarrassing things at odd times, all
with a voice that is void of affect (Noterdaeme et al., 2010).
Holaday et al. (2001) state that:
Persons with Asperger's Disorder also have unusual patterns of speech such as an odd prosody
or idiosyncratic language; insertion of unexpected noises or bursts of speech into conversations;
peculiar voice characteristics; a pedantic or stereotyped style, old-fashioned language; tendency
to adhere to literal interpretations of words; and difficulty understanding ambiguous or
metaphorical language. (p. 483)
Children with Asperger syndrome also speak about topics with a narrow focus, they can exhaust a topic
and are unaware of other people's lack of interest (Safran, 2002). Children with Asperger syndrome
have an ability to elicit someone's attention with formal language and isolated locations, in contrast to
their normally developing peers who use their speech in conjunction with gestures, eye contact with
objects, and the physical movement of the person to gain an adult's attention (Allen et al., 2008).
Language characteristics. In order to have Asperger syndrome, the child must have normal
language development. This difference in language development is the basis of Asperger syndrome and
makes Asperger syndrome different from the other types of autism. However, language is often used
incorrectly by children with Asperger syndrome. The treatments and evaluations that are done before
and after a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, really focus on the language use of the child (Tavano.,
2014). Pragmatics: the social rules for the use and understanding of language in social contexts are
often used incorrectly by a child with Asperger syndrome. Personal space is often violated, and the
child may have a hard time picking up on the body language of others that could signal that they are

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uncomfortable, even verbal mentions of personal space violations go unnoticed (Safran, 2002). Getty
(2013) states that Asperger syndrome affects the way an individual communicates and expresses their
creativity, thoughts, ideas, actions, and emotions (p.47). This trouble with expression leads to
misunderstandings with peers and adults. People often label the child as rude, unfeeling, a loner or
other unsavory labels that are not an accurate descriptor of the child (Tavano et al., 2014).
Children with Asperger syndrome have trouble answering questions that require abstract
thought (Falk-Ross et al., 2004). Trouble with abstract words and thought lead to problems in school
because abstract thinking is important for summarizing and relating problems in school (Falk-Ross,
Iverson, & Gilbert, 2004). There are noticeable errors in conversational speech and, children with
Asperger syndrome do not engage in pretend play correctly or at all, which is important for children's
development of social relationships (Allen et al., 2008). Humor is another obstacle for children with
Asperger syndrome; they often use humor incorrectly and fail to pick up on the humorous stories of
others (Holaday et al., 2001). Children with Asperger syndrome have a hard time understanding the
actions of others and this causes them to not understand exactly what the person is trying to get across
to them, this often leads to the child responding in ways that are socially acceptable (Falk-Ross et al.,
2002).
Evaluation Tools and Methods
Asperger syndrome is a syndrome with major social deficits. As a result, children do not start
showing signs of Asperger syndrome until it is time to interact with other children (Tavano, 2014).
However, every child is different and some children are labeled as antisocial, nerdy, socially awkward,
and other labels that cause children to go undiagnosed for longer periods of time; some children are
never diagnosed (Getty, 2013).
There are many different assessment tools used to determine if a diagnosis of Asperger
syndrome in warranted. The evaluation will consist of screening and comprehensive evaluations that

ANALYSIS OF ASPERGER SYNDROME

are often conducted by a multidisciplinary group of professionals (Allen et al., 2008). IQ scores have
become routine when evaluating Asperger syndrome, the Wechsler intelligence test, which contains a
verbal, performance, and full-scale IQ score can be completed (Noterdaeme et al., 2010). IQ scores for
children with Asperger syndrome are often average or above average, a low score on the IQ test could
help a clinician decide between Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism (Noterdaeme et al.,
2010). It is important to note that there is a lot of disagreement amongst professionals when it comes to
Asperger syndrome and High-functioning autism. (Holaday et al., 2001). Many professionals believe
that Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism are the same disorder, as of now the disorders are
separate with Asperger syndrome being another type of high-functioning autism (Holaday et al., 2001).
A high or low IQ score is not enough for a diagnosis, the IQ score can only be used in conjunction with
a lot of other more evidence-based comprehensive evaluations (Getty, 2013).
There are three common tools used to evaluate ASDs. They include the Autism Diagnostic
Interview, Revised (ADI-R), Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), and the Childhood
Autism Rating Schedule (CARS) (Allen et al., 2008). An interview takes place using both the ADI-R
and the ADOS evaluation tools because they are made to be used together (Allen et al., 2008). After the
interview, a mathematical equation is used to determine if the child meets the criterion for an autism
diagnosis (Allen et al., 2008). CARS is a scale that uses both observation and information from parents
to score a child as having mild, moderate, severe, or non-autism (Allen et al., 2008).
Treatment Programs or Methods
Treatment for Asperger syndrome is different from other disorders because of the emphasis on
socialization. These treatments do not consist of medial drugs or special tests that involve long
algebraic equations and statistics. The treatments that will be discussed are intended to teach social
rules and integration of sensory stimulation in order to help teachers and adults with ways to make it
easier for children with Asperger syndrome to succeed, in the classroom and beyond (Getty, 2013).

ANALYSIS OF ASPERGER SYNDROME

Modeling is a great way for a child with Asperger syndrome to learn how to act in social situations, the
best way to achieve this is through a peer buddy, a peer of the same age to act as a social translator
(Safran, 2002). According to Safran (2002) A 7 step buddy program that included extensive peer
training; the program has been effectively implemented in a metropolitan high school (p. 65). This
system could be beneficial to younger students because early intervention is always more successful
than treatment's that are done when the child is older (Getty, 2013). Sensory stimulation in the
classroom can be regulated through the use of compensatory strategies that are designed to teach the
child ways to cope and handle the sensations that are feeling (Faulk-Ross et al., 2002).
According to Faulk-Ross et al. (2002):
Ineffective sensory processing can create hyper or hyposensitivites that distract children from
completing tasks. Problems with oversensitivity affect children's everyday experiences, such as
brushing teeth, riding bikes, and tolerating their clothing. The strength of these physical
reactions and the origin of the response is what often separates children having Asperger's
syndrome from children without the syndrome. (p. 49-50)
When a child is experiencing sensory overload, their school performance and interactions with peers
will decline. It is important that strategies are done to help the child cope with the stimulations that
they are feeling. Children with Asperger syndrome often have sensory complications with visual,
tactile, and auditory overload that can cause them to lose focus and act out (Getty, 2013). According to
Falk-Ross et al. (2004), when treating visual overload, it is best to use a visual cue such as a flashcard;
for tactile overload use a tactile cue such as touching their shoulder; and for auditory overload, manage
the amount of unnecessary audition in the classroom (i.e. ticking clocks, tapping pens, and fish tanks)
that the child is being exposed too (Falk-Ross et al., 2004). Children with Asperger syndrome do not
respond well to abstract language, thus when rules are established in school it is best to always
explicitly state what the rules are without assuming that the child will understand obvious unwritten

ANALYSIS OF ASPERGER SYNDROME

rules that other children may understand (Safran, 2002).

Social strategies are used in schools to teach children with Asperger syndrome how to deal with
experiences that they will face in the classroom and beyond (Tavano et al., 2014). According to FalkRoss et al. (2004) In terms of social communication, educators may teach pragmatic language through
direct modeling for turn taking. Games address initiation of communication, response initiation, and
topic maintenance (p. 50). Since visual cues are a great way to remind children with Asperger
syndrome how to stay on topic, comic strips are a great tool to demonstrate the emotions that other
people often are displaying through different facial expressions (Falk-Ross et al., 2004). Group-work
can be an invaluable tool for teachers to use in the classroom but, in order for group-work to work as an
intervention tool it has to be used correctly. According to Safran (2002) Avoid self-selection, and
carefully consider the nature and maturity of the students at the table or in a group that includes the
student (p. 62). It is important for the teacher to teach/model how to work in a group so that the
student can have something to think about when it is time to work in the group, also suggesting roles
and talking about the strengths and weaknesses of all the group members will help the other members
recognize what the student can bring to the group instead of focusing on the differences between them
(Safran, 2002)
Personal Reaction
My interest in Asperger syndrome was created through a TV show that I have become obsessed
with called Parenthood. On this show there is a young boy named Max who has Asperger syndrome.
While writing this paper I began to think more and more about the characteristics of Asperger
syndrome that go unnoticed and mislabeled. In school there were many of my classmates that we, as a
collective whole, thought were teacher's pets and nerds. It never crossed my mind that that some of my
classmates could have thought about things in a different way than I did. As a child, I was overcoming
my own egocentrism without any adult telling me otherwise. This way of thinking was not abnormal

ANALYSIS OF ASPERGER SYNDROME

for my young age. The real interesting reflection about Asperger syndrome has occurred when I think
about my high school classmates. Like most high schools in America, we had our own groups of the
popular students, nerds, and athletes etc. Some of my classmates most likely had Asperger syndrome,
one classmate of my mine in particular wore the same colored shirt everyday, maybe he just really liked
that shirt or he may have had Asperger syndrome that was never diagnosed.
As a future clinician, a statement made by Safran (2002), really stood out to me, Safran (2002)
states that The intelligence and vocabulary that many of these little professors display may mask the
disability, buying the child grudging tolerance but no support as an annoying nerd, or leading to
misdiagnoses within learning, behavioral, or attention-deficit categories (p.61). It is important to me
that I not allow these labels to alter my thinking about children having Asperger syndrome. It would be
very easy for me to see a child's high IQ and put them a category of gifted but not seeing their other
attributes as a need for intervention. The idea of misdiagnosing a child gives me great pause and
reminds me to look at the whole child and not just what the child is allowing me to see. I will strive to
remember that these labels for the students can be a sign of a syndrome such as Asperger syndrome.
Asperger syndrome is a functioning disorder and with the correct amount of intervention that centers
on the need of the client, the child can grow into an important member of our society. As a result of
their narrowed focus and interests, incredible discoveries can be made, benefiting all of society. As a
future clinician I hope to help these little professors reach their potential by not allowing their social
communication deficits stop them from enjoying the company of others.

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10
References

Allen, R. A., Robins, D. L., & Decker, S. L. (2008). Autism spectrum disorders: Neurobiology and
current assessment practices. Psychology In The Schools, 45(10), 905-917.
Falk-Ross, F., Iverson, M., & Gilbert, C. (2004). Teaching and learning approaches for children
with asperger's syndrome. Teaching Exceptional Children, 36(4), 48-55.
Getty, N. (2013). Asperger syndrome and diversities. Relational Child & Youth Care Practice, 26(4),
47-49.
Holaday, M., Moak, J., & Shipley, M. A. (2001). Rorschach protocols from children and adolescents
with asperger's disorder. Journal Of Personality Assessment, 76(3), 482-495.
Noterdaeme, M., Wriedt, E., & Hhne, C. (2010). Aspergers syndrome and high-functioning autism:
language, motor and cognitive profiles. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(6), 475481. doi:10.1007/s00787-009-0057-0
Safran, J. S. (2002). Supporting students with asperger's syndrome in general education.
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Tavano, A., Pesarin, A., Murino, V., & Cristanyi, M. (2014). Automatic conversational scene
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