TargetWoman Condensed Health Information



Asperger's disorder

Asperger's disorder is a developmental disorder associated with social and behavioral patterns. This disease was discovered in 1944 by an Austrian physician Dr.Hans Asperger. Asperger's disorder falls under pervasive developmental disorder category. The other types of disorders associated with these categories are autistic disorders. In many cases, Asperger's disorders are associated with characteristic features of eccentric behavior and minimized communication patterns with respect to social conditions.


Children affected by Asperger's syndrome often are found in isolation, as they exhibit insecurity among their peer groups. They often have a preoccupation with their areas of interest. These children have greater difficulty in socializing with others as they emphasize on their own interests without social involvement. The significant clinical symptoms of the Asperger's syndrome include:


  • Single sided interactions
  • Insecurity or inabilities to form friends or peer groups
  • Pedantic or repetitive speech in situations
  • Clumsiness and odd body posture
  • Decreased abilities in non-verbal communication patterns such as gestures.

The degree of facial expression in these children is much less and they appear astounded most of the times. The coordination and timing of the expressions are often irrelevant to circumstances or situations around them. The vocabulary pattern is well developed in children suffering with Asperger's syndrome; however these children lack the ability to communicate effectively. The clinical manifestations of Asperger's syndrome are associated with the intensity of the affected behavioral pattern pertaining to social relatedness, social skills and communication skills.

Epidemiological analysis of Asperger's disorder indicate that this disorder is more predominant than cases pertaining to autism. Asperger's syndrome is caused because of many underlying factors which are associated with the functionality of the brain, genetic influence and also a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Many children have impaired motor development in Asperger's disorder.

A classical indication of Asperger's syndrome among children is their idiosyncratic or obsessive behavior towards a certain object or group of objects. The conversations of these children are often based on repetitive adherence to these objects. The comprehension pattern is often misinterpretative to the context or situation. For example some people suffering this disorder may not be able to understand a joke easily. An interesting fact associated with Asperger's syndrome includes the career path of a person based on childhood obsession. Asperger's disorder is also associated with learning disability as it involves motor skills and communication skills.

Diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome is based on clinical symptoms. It is essential to diagnose the residual part of the disease in adults to avoid psychological complications. In many cases depression acts as a precursor for the onset of Asperger's syndrome. Asperger's syndrome in adults can be noticed in many scenarios such as mismanagement of time, poor interpretation skills and comprehension.

Pervasive Development Disorder

The term Pervasive Development Disorders (PDDs) is an umbrella term used to refer to a group of developmental disorders of the brain function. These cover the whole family of autistic spectrum including Asperger syndrome, Heeler's syndrome and Rett disorder. As PDD covers such a wide spectrum, it is exhibited differently from child to child. Children with these disorders are often confused in their thinking and they have problems understanding the world around them. Since these conditions are identified in children around 3 years of age, which is a critical period in the child's development, they are called development disorders. Even if the condition begins earlier than 3 years of age, parents often do not notice the problem until the child is a toddler who is not walking, talking or developing as well as other kids of the same age.


Diagnosis of Pervasive Development Disorder

Much of the diagnosis depends on the accurate developmental history and evaluation of the current functioning of the child. Complete medical history and physical exam is done for a complete evaluation by doctors. Although there are no laboratory diagnosis in PDD, various blood tests and X rays are done to determine if there is a physical disorder causing these symptoms. In the absence of any physical disorder, the child is referred to a specialist in childhood development disorders such as psychiatrist or psychologist, pediatric neurologist or other professionals trained to treat PDDs. Inputs from the parents of the affected child, his/her teachers, and other adults who are familiar to the child are sought. Parents require ongoing counseling and support and they must understand that they are not responsible for the child's condition.


Tags: #Asperger's disorder #Pervasive Development Disorder
Here is how it works

Enter your health or medical queries in our Artificial Intelligence powered Application here. Our Natural Language Navigational engine knows that words form only the outer superficial layer. The real meaning of the words are deduced from the collection of words, their proximity to each other and the context.

Check all your health queries

Diseases, Symptoms, Tests and Treatment arranged in alphabetical order:

TargetWoman holistic Health Application

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

Popular Topics
Free Health App
Free Android Health App Free WebApp for iPhones


Bibliography / Reference

Collection of Pages - Last revised Date: December 5, 2024