My ASD Child

Given the lack of consensual definitions of diagnosis until recently, it is not surprising that the prevalence of Aspergers is unknown, although a rate of 2 to 4 in 10,000 has been reported. There is little doubt that the condition is more prevalent in boys than girls, with a reported ratio of 9 to 1. In the past few years, there have been a proliferation of parent support groups organized around the concept of Aspergers, and there are indications that this diagnosis is being given by clinicians much more frequently than even just a few years ago; there are also indications that Aspergers is currently functioning as a residual diagnosis given to normal-intelligence young people with a degree of social disabilities who do not fulfill criteria for autism, overlapping in this way, with the DSM-IV term PDD-NOS. Possibly the most common usage of the term Aspergers is as synonymous or a replacement to autism in children with normative or superior IQs. This pattern has diluted t

Aspergers  is characterized by impairments in social interaction and restricted interests and behaviors as seen in autism, but its early developmental course is marked by a lack of any clinically significant delay in spoken or receptive language, cognitive development, self-help skills, and curiosity about the environment. All-absorbing and intense circumscribed interests and one-sided verbosity as well motor clumsiness are typical of the condition, but are not required for diagnosis. In 1944, Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician with interest in special education, described four kids who had difficulty integrating socially into groups. Unaware of Kanner's description of early infantile autism published just the year before, Asperger called the condition he described "autistic psychopathy", indicating a stable personality disorder marked by social isolation. Despite preserved intellectual skills, the kids showed marked paucity of nonverbal communication invol