Aspergers Syndrome

Autism

Autistic behaviour links into my Framework theories, as it seems to be related to development of the brain. The brain of Austic people doesn't seem to be defective in any way, it is the way the brain has developed. Autism and Aspergers Syndrome are developmental disorders - the brain has not developed in the same way as everyone else. Those with severe Autism do appear to be handicapped, but there is a class of "High Functioning Austism" including Aspergers Syndrome and PDD-NOS which I will describe below and it is to those conditions that these pages are written for. High Functioning Autistics live in society alongside the 99.5% who are not on the Austic spectrum, and some make significant contributions to the betterment of society.

Aspergers Syndrome

There are many forms of "mental" conditions that affect the vast majority of the population at some point in their lives. Some are temporary conditions such as depression; others have phobias that arise under certain conditions; and then there are syndromes and autistic conditions that affect an indivual to a greater or lesser extent for their entire lives. There are many pages on the web about Autism and Aspergers Syndrome - refer to links on the right. Many are for parents trying to cope with raising difficult children. These pages take a different approach, and are aimed at those with high functioning autism who are striving to understand more about the condition.

Autism reality 10 minute document on Youtube (from Wrongplanet, includes an interview with Temple Grandin)
Check out Temple Grandin at the Emmys 2010!

Terminology and related Syndromes

It should be understood that Autism is a spectrum. There are no nice little boxes that people are placed in. Tony Attwood has said that if there were 100 oddities or idiosyncracies that were defined, everyone would have 20 - 30 of them. But 20 - 30 is "normal" (ie you are an NT). Some people may have 35 or 40, and they are a little odd, but still normal. People with Aspergers would have 60 - 70 of these idiosyncracies. That is the difference really, an extreme form of normal.

ADHD - Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder - these children are usually highly social and are not classified as autistic in any way.
Asperger's Syndrome - whilst this is named after Hans Asperger, it was recently pointed out to me that the name means "to sprinkle with holy water or blood" (when translated from French).
Aspie = a person with Asperger's Syndrome (affectional term)
Bipolar - modern name for manic-depressive illness. Recurrent episodes of significant mood changes.
HFA = High Functioning Autism. Aspergers is a form of High Functioning Autism
Kanners Syndrome - extreme form of Aspergers, or classic Autism (Temple Grandin was initially diagnosed with Kanners syndrome)
NT = Neuro-Typical, a person without Autism, Aspergers or related disorder
OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - these people have recurrent thoughts and repetitive rituals (eg hand washing), though one beneficial side affect is that they may overly meticulous about their work duties, and especially tidy. Aspergers often shares some of these characteristics.
PDD = Pervasive Development Disorder - applied to children who have difficulties with social/language/motor or cognitive development. This is generally a milder form of Autism or Aspergers.
PDD-NOS = Pervasive Development Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified - diagnosis applied to children with social development problems. It is not clear whether this is different to Aspergers.
Savant - this is a more extreme form of autism, having developmental, social and mental disorders but some extraordinary mental abilities. The Dustin Hoffman film "The Rain Man" was about a Savant. For example, some can memories an entire telephone book. There is also Daniel Tammet who can recite Pi to over 22,000 digits.
Schizophrenia - as depicted in the film A Beautiful Mind. Mental condition resulting in a different perception of reality, often including auditory or visual hallucinations.
Tourette Syndrome - one of a number of tic disorders, affecting motor or speech. Some Aspergers people also have motor tics typical of Tourette syndrome.

Tests

Getting a formal diagnosis is quite difficult, as there are few psychiatrists qualified to accurate diagnose Aspergers and related disorders. There are a number of online tests, the most poplar being the AQ (or "geek") test which you can try to get an indication of whether you have Aspie characteristics or a similar disorder.

Autism Spectrum Quotient or AQ Test
Another Aspie Quiz (this one is quite comprehensive)
EQ and SQ tests
Gaia test

Prevalence in Population

The percentage of people with Aspergers disorder is not fully understood. Approximate statistics that I have gleaned from different sources are as follows:

4 people in every 10,000 have autism
35 people in every 10,000 have Apsergers Syndrome (about 10:1 ratio of male to female, though the lower incidence of women may be due to their ability to mask the condition and remain undiagnosed)
15 in every 10,000 have another type of PDD (Pervasive Development Disorder)

This means approx 0.5% of the population has some sort of Autistic condition. In the UK it is estimated that:

Around 325,000 people with autism or aspergers
10% of these are in long-term full-time employment
80% never marry or form stable long-term relationships