Pervasive developmental disorder - Asperger syndrome; Autistic spectrum disorder - Asperger

People with Asperger syndrome become over-focused or obsessed on a single object or topic, ignoring all others. They want to know everything about this topic, and often talk about little else.

• Children with Asperger syndrome will present many facts about their subject of interest, but there will seem to be no point or conclusion.
• They often do not recognize that the other person has lost interest in the topic.
• Areas of interest may be quite narrow, such as an obsession with train schedules, phone books, a vacuum cleaner, or collections of objects.

People with Asperger do not withdraw from the world in the way that people with autism withdraw. They will often approach other people. However, their problems with speech and language in a social setting often lead to isolation.

• Their body language may be off.
• They may speak in a monotone, and may not respond to other people's comments or emotions.
• They may not understand sarcasm or humor, or they may take a figure of speech literally.
• They do not recognize the need to change the volume of their voice in different settings.
• They have problems with eye contact, facial expressions, body postures, or gestures (nonverbal communication).
• They may be singled out by other children as "weird" or "strange."

People with Asperger syndrome have trouble forming relationships with children their own age or other adults, because they:

• Are unable to respond emotionally in normal social interactions
• Are not flexible about routines or rituals
• Have difficulty showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people
• Do not express pleasure at other people's happiness

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Asperger syndrome Overview

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Asperger syndrome Treatment

Review Date: 04/26/2010
Reviewed By: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)