Asperger's Syndrome

Asperger's Syndrome:

Psychology 111 Term Paper

Did you know that some of the world's greatest minds were speculated to have Asperger's Syndrome? Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Henry Ford were few of the very long list of many successful and accomplished people that were diagnosed with Asperger's.

What Is Asperger's Syndrome?

Asperger's syndrome also known as Asperger's Disorder is a disorder that affects mental behavior. "It was formerly characterized as a high functioning form of autism."(Asperger's Syndrome, 2013)"The only difference between Asperger's and autism is that children with Asperger's syndrome don't have speech or cognitive delays." (Asperger's Syndrome, 2013) Like Autism, Asperger's is a lifelong learning disability.

Characteristics of Asperger's

People who are diagnosed with Asperger's are often average or above average intelligence. They may develop an intense interest in a narrow amount of subjects. (Asperger's Syndrome, 2013) Children with Asperger's want to know every little detail about their topic and their conversations with others will be about little else. They are sometimes very eccentric and have a high level vocabulary but lack in motor skills making their movements look uncoordinated and clumsy. Where Asperger's is really distinguished is in the difficulties with social skills. Where as someone without Asperger's can carry on a conversation by reading facial expressions and coherently moving from one topic to another, someone with Asperger's will have a difficult time understanding gestures, facial expressions, or your tone of voice. Most people with Asperger's are very withdrawn. They may desire to hold a personal relationship with someone but because of their "social awkwardness" they struggle to maintain a friendship. They may come off as rude or weird because they