What is Autism?

Autism was first defined as a condition in the early 1940’s and is still a relatively unknown disability. Autism Spectrum Disorders are considered to be a neurobiological condition of the brain that impacts upon development, influencing an individual’s capacity to interact with the world around them and the ability to understand situations they occur. ASD’s are not culture specific: they are found in all societies around the world.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. The condition affects people from birth or infancy and leaves them unable to form normal social relationships or to develop normal communication. Their ability to develop friendships is generally limited as is their capability to understand other people’s emotional expressions.

People with Autism can often have accompanying learning disabilites but everyone with the condition shares a difficulty in making sense of the world. People with Autism generally experience three main areas of difficulty; these are know as the ‘Triad of Impairments’. They include:

• Social Interaction – Difficulty with social relationships e.g. lack of social perception, lack of behaviour appropriate to cultural norms, unresponsive to individuals.
• Social Communication – Difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication, e.g. unusual speech and incongruence in for example, intonation and facial expression, monotonous speech, mute- may use pointing, Makaton, hand on hand leading.
• Imagination – Difficulty in the development of interpersonal play and imagination, e-g lack of creativity, having obsessional interests, repetitive rituals, inability to pretend.

In addition to the triad, repetitive behaviour patterns and resistance to change in routine are often characteristic.

What is Asperger Syndrome?

Aspergers Syndrome is a form of Autism and is characterised by a lack of social skills and difficulties in relationships with others. People with AS find it more difficult to read the signals which most of us take for granted and therefore find it difficult to communicate and interact with others. They have adequate language skills, however, language can be overformal and social complexities are not always understood. People with AS tend not to have the accompanying learning disabilites associated with Autism and are often or average or above average intelligence.

Asperger Syndrome shares many of the same characteristics as Autism.

• Social Interaction – Many people with AS want to be sociable and enjoy human contact unlike people with ‘classic’ autism who appear withdrawn, however they still find it difficult to understand non-verbal behaviours such as gestures, facial expressions and body posture.
• Social Communication - Although they may have adequate language skills they tend not to take much notice of others around them and may talk on and on regardless of the listeners reaction.
• Imagination – They may have difficulty of understanding in abstract or literal ways but may excel in learning facts and figures.

What is the difference between Autism and Asperger Syndrome?

It’s widely believed that the main difference between a person who has autism and a person who has AS lies in language development. An individual with AS tends to develop language in what is viewed as a more typical manner than an individual with Autism.