By Jessica Szabo
WINNEMUCCA - Asperger's syndrome is a disorder characterized primarily by difficulties in social interaction.
A person with Asperger's syndrome will likely experience a great amount of difficulty interpreting non-verbal communication. While someone without Asperger's would seem to automatically understand that rolling one's eyes indicates irritation and a broad smile on a relaxed face means comfort and happiness, a person with Asperger's would have great difficulty correctly interpreting these cues.
This struggle with non-verbal communication extends to spoken language. Asperger's individuals struggle to correctly interpret tone of voice, pitch and word choice. They find it difficult to grasp humor, misinterpret sarcasm and may not pick up on figurative expressions and slang. Both their word usage and interpretation of others' words tend to be extremely literal. They might not realize that someone who "picked up" something at the store bought it rather than just lifting it off the shelf, or that "what's up?" means "what's happening in your life?" not "what's above you?"
Michael John Carley, executive director of The Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership, Inc, explained that using direct and literal speech is helpful when communicating with a person with Asperger's syndrome.
"We like text and we like clarity," he said. "While no two individuals with Asperger's will present identically in functional ability or personality, 'reading between the lines' is not our strong suit."
Asperger's syndrome is sometimes called "the professor" or "the little professor" syndrome due to a tendency to engage in one-sided, lecture-like conversations. Because they struggle to see the world through the eyes of others, those with Asperger's fail to realize other individuals are not always interested , or to correctly interpret social cues that indicate the topic is causing the listener distress.
This seeming indifference to the emotional state of others may lead observers to believe that people with Asperger's do not have a conscience or genuinely wish to harm others, but this is not true. People who deliberately dismiss the well-being of anyone else are called "sociopaths." Sociopathy and Asperger's syndrome are very different. Sociopaths are actually very adept at reading and interpreting social cues and seeing things from the viewpoint of other people. They hone these skills in order to use, manipulate or harm others for their own gain. Individuals with Asperger's may prefer to be alone or they may long for genuine, deep friendships, but they appear to brush aside others' needs because they have such difficulty comprehending them, not through cold indifference or a desire to cause pain.
Asperger's individuals are often intensely interested in only one or two narrow topics. Intellectual impairment is not a feature of Asperger's, and people with the disorder may become brilliant on the topics of their choice.
"As children, spectrum kids (Asperger's is on the autism spectrum) can latch onto trains, dinosaurs, or sadly, pro wrestling," Carley stated. "But as adults, if the person has grown up in a supportive environment, that ability to hyper-focus can morph into quantum physics, marine biology, music, engineering. They might even contribute to that great monument of Asperger achievement known as Silicon Valley."
Other social difficulties for a person with Asperger's stem from an intense need for routine. Something that might cause only minor irritation or even be a welcome break for most people, such as going to the movies with the family on Friday night instead of having their usual TV night at home, might cause extreme distress in a person with Asperger's syndrome. They may also insist upon a strict adherence to rules, even when it would be more socially appropriate to temporarily bend or ignore those rules.
Extreme sensitivity to touch, smell, taste, texture and color may also occur with Asperger's syndrome. This may lead to additional social difficulties, as the person may refuse to allow others to touch him or her, or be considered odd because they only wear certain fabrics, need a great amount of quiet time or become upset when they look at certain colors.
Carley stressed the importance of doing away with negative terminology, such as calling Asperger's a disease, saying that people "fight" Asperger's, or calling it an "epidemic." "Always try to focus on what folks can do, not what they can't," he suggested. "These are folks who can hear what's being said about them and read what's being written about them, and all that negative stuff effects the self-esteem of folks who are at a psychological disadvantage enough as it is."
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