{"id":62,"date":"2010-03-29T07:00:34","date_gmt":"2010-03-29T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aspergersparent.wordpress.com\/?p=62"},"modified":"2011-11-04T10:33:54","modified_gmt":"2011-11-04T14:33:54","slug":"definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/","title":{"rendered":"Definitions of Asperger&#8217;s Syndrome"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So what is Asperger\u2019s Syndrome?<\/p>\n<p>Those of us who have AS or are close to someone with AS are positive we know what it is \u2014 but what is Asperger\u2019s Syndrome, really?<\/p>\n<p>A few definitions from the Web:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Asperger&#8217;s syndrome is a developmental disorder that affects a child&#8217;s ability to socialize and communicate effectively with others. Children with Asperger&#8217;s syndrome typically exhibit social awkwardness and an all-absorbing interest in specific topics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align:right;\"><a title=\"Mayo Definition\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mayoclinic.com\/health\/aspergers-syndrome\/DS00551\" target=\"_blank\">Asperger&#8217;s syndrome &#8211; MayoClinic.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Autism Speaks is not my favorite organization, and <a title=\"Autism Speaks Definition\" href=\"http:\/\/www.autismspeaks.org\/navigating\/aspergers.php\" target=\"_blank\">their definition<\/a> of AS \u00a0below shows why. Pretty bleak, no?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201c\u2026is a neurological disorder \u2026 difficult to identify and express their feelings\u2026challenging, even impossible, to connect with others, \u2026 many kids flap their hands\u2026 many parents wind up with a multi-pronged approach to treating Asperger&#8217;s Syndrome \u2026 your child will likely be able to live independently\u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If you have time, this is a <a title=\"BRASS artcle\" href=\"http:\/\/www.co-brass.com\/page2_purple.html\" target=\"_blank\">comprehensive article on AS<\/a>, courtesy of BRASS, Bend Redmond Asperger Syndrome Support. Here are some short excerpts:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Symptoms of AS include: impaired ability to utilize social cues such as body language, irony, or other \u201csubtext\u201d of communication; restricted eye contact and socialization; limited range of encyclopedic interests; preservative, odd behaviors; didactic, verbose, monotone, droning voice; \u201cconcrete\u201d thinking; over-sensitivity to certain stimuli; and unusual movements.<\/p>\n<p>It is necessary to realize that we are discussing a variety of symptoms with AS, and that not every characteristic will manifest itself in each individual.\u00a0 Some traits may not apply in your particular case.<\/p>\n<p>In regular school, the child does not seem able to have conversations with his age-peers \u2026 As a teenager, the lack of organization and spikes of interest continue.\u00a0\u00a0 The Aspie becomes the brunt of jokes and the victim of bullies. \u2026 As an adult, the individual has self-taught mechanisms to protect themselves.\u00a0\u00a0 Some Aspies may have learned to lie, while other Aspies continue to be exceedingly truthful throughout their life.\u00a0\u00a0 The Aspie may have learned to explode in rage \u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Here is a link to the <a title=\"DSM Definition\" href=\"http:\/\/www.autreat.com\/dsm4-aspergers.htm\" target=\"_blank\">official definition of Asperger\u2019s<\/a>, from the DSM IV, the official diagnosis manual for psychological and neurological conditions, courtesy of the ANI website. Go ahead and read it, it will open in a new window.<\/p>\n<p>There are hundreds of definitions online, I\u2019ve deliberately picked some that are quite different from each other. Some imply that AS is a children\u2019s issue, others realize it is a lifelong condition. Some highlight only the disabling symptoms, others show that Aspies have strengths uncommon in NT folk. Some talk about treatments to alleviate the \u201cpain and despair\u201d, others revel in the glory of being different. The DSM seems to be the bleakest of all, listing only the severe symptoms of AS as a disorder. [Though to be fair, the DSM is used to diagnose, not define, and is used only for people who are disabled by their AS.]<\/p>\n<p>What do you think? Do any of these definitions ring true for you? Are there others you like better? Please add your responses in the comments below.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;Liz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So what is Asperger\u2019s Syndrome? Those of us who have AS or are close to someone with AS are positive we know what it is \u2014 but what is Asperger\u2019s Syndrome, really? A few definitions from the Web: Asperger&#8217;s syndrome is a developmental disorder that affects a child&#8217;s ability to socialize and communicate effectively with [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,18,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aspie-parent","category-general","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Definitions of Asperger&#039;s Syndrome - Polymath Solution<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Liz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Liz\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8aadd911e62a97bd7a148b88033d0225\"},\"headline\":\"Definitions of Asperger&#8217;s Syndrome\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-03-29T11:00:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-11-04T14:33:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/\"},\"wordCount\":506,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Aspie Parent\",\"General\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/\",\"name\":\"Definitions of Asperger's Syndrome - Polymath Solution\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-03-29T11:00:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-11-04T14:33:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8aadd911e62a97bd7a148b88033d0225\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Polymath Solution\",\"description\":\"Interesting things, stuff and items\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8aadd911e62a97bd7a148b88033d0225\",\"name\":\"Liz\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd57a0579485d7d6e60f0db24ad3ee4bcadcb98c442e23f93311423ffd52d67a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd57a0579485d7d6e60f0db24ad3ee4bcadcb98c442e23f93311423ffd52d67a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Liz\"},\"description\":\"Professional polymath, currently earning a living in web and graphic design and development. Also available to teach knitting or chain mail, fix furniture, help design your house, give a lecture on gifted or special education in public schools, or help you with a science fiction con. \\\"Specialization is for insects\\\" and \\\"We also walk dogs\\\", two quotes from Robert Heinlein.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\"],\"url\":\"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Definitions of Asperger's Syndrome - Polymath Solution","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Liz","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/"},"author":{"name":"Liz","@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8aadd911e62a97bd7a148b88033d0225"},"headline":"Definitions of Asperger&#8217;s Syndrome","datePublished":"2010-03-29T11:00:34+00:00","dateModified":"2011-11-04T14:33:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/"},"wordCount":506,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Aspie Parent","General"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/","url":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/","name":"Definitions of Asperger's Syndrome - Polymath Solution","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-03-29T11:00:34+00:00","dateModified":"2011-11-04T14:33:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8aadd911e62a97bd7a148b88033d0225"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/29\/definitions-of-aspergers-syndrome\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/","name":"Polymath Solution","description":"Interesting things, stuff and items","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8aadd911e62a97bd7a148b88033d0225","name":"Liz","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/polymathsolution.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd57a0579485d7d6e60f0db24ad3ee4bcadcb98c442e23f93311423ffd52d67a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd57a0579485d7d6e60f0db24ad3ee4bcadcb98c442e23f93311423ffd52d67a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Liz"},"description":"Professional polymath, currently earning a living in web and graphic design and development. 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