Getting To Know Asperger Syndrome

Asperger syndrome is a condition that more and more children are diagnosed with. It is a high functioning form of autism or pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). PDD is basically a group of 5 different types of disorders characterized by delayed development in many basic functions of a person. Delayed development also includes socialization and communication. With an asperger syndrome, your child will have at least normal intellectual capacity but may be lacking in the area of social development.

Such developmental delays can be detected as early as before he turns 3 years old. You would want to send him for a diagnosis with no undue delay if there are obvious signs that he is not developing normally. Although there is no known cure for an asperger child, there are ways to help him learn socialization and communication skills. The younger that he learns these skills, the easier it is for him to modify his actions and behavior.

Your Asperger child will usually interpret auditory information literally. He may also experience delays in processing auditory information. Although he may be able to comprehend auditory information, it usually takes a great deal of effort and time for him to process this information. Hence, this will result in a delayed response. Additionally, he will also have difficulty following multi-step auditory directions.

Knowing his difficulties should prepare you to provide your child with concrete explanations whenever necessary. It is also important for you to focus on increasing your child's comprehension of figurative language skills including idioms, multi-meaning words, jokes, teasing, etc. The use of visual aids has been proven to be of great help in this area.

Your Asperger child may also have some sensory processing difficulties. These can result in atypical responses for your child. This is because your child has difficulty in organizing his sensory input because he may be experiencing both hypersensitive and hyposensitive responses. These responses can cause your child to experience stress and anxiety whenever he is trying to evaluate his environment properly. Difficulties in this area can also really decrease your child's ability to stay focused.

Autistic children also have a tendency to blurt out their thoughts as statements of factual information. This can cause your child to appear insensitive but your child simply does not realise that there are some thoughts and ideas that should not be put to words. So, be aware that your child may not be socially aware of what he is saying.

It is vital that you get the assistance of a therapist to help your child adjust socially. Your therapist can teach your child appropriate strategies and some modified behaviour to help him socialize well. Through learned actions, he will know how to make and keep friends. In all likelihood, with undergoing therapy, he is going to end up well adjusted and happier. The converse would have been growing up as a loner, with no friends and support from others. It is found that the greatest results can be attained when you, as a parent, work hand in hand with the therapist to address the unique challenges of your child.