Posted by Sara T on June 18, 2000, at 17:25:38
In reply to Little Professor Syndrome - Asperger's - long..., posted by dj on June 18, 2000, at 11:06:29
> I'm curious about the link between the following and depression...
>
> The Little Professor Syndrome
>
dj -
My son, age 8, going into 3rd grade, is one of those little prfessors. He has Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, and LD. He is very bright with a high IQ, but his social skills are abismal most of the time.AS (short for Asperger's Syndrome), like all of the Autistic Spectrum disorders fall under the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorders in the DSM IV, and it is a neurological disorder. It is pervasive because it affects so many different spheres of their functioning.
Some of the things they didn't touch on much in the NYTimes article but learning disabilities such as dysgraphia (handwriting problems), and the inability to decode incoming language (people speak too fast and the listener can't process what they say) and executive function capabilities being impaired are a few.
Sensory hypersensitivy is common, as well as large and fine motor coordination problems. My son cannot stay in his regular ed classroom because the noise really gets to him. And the lunchroom, there's a minefield. Clothing textures bother him, heat and cold, and he only likes about two foods other than sweets.
Due to their obsessive way of thinking, transitions of going from one activity to another are hard and often provoke tantrums than can go on for hours and become violent at times. Their level of tolerance for frustration is very,very low.
You wondered about the link between depression and AS. It is common in this population especially as they become adolescents. The pressures of socialization become intense for them and they often cannot handle it. Suicide is a concern. My son was evaluated at age 6 because of depression, he wanted to burn himself up, go somewhere dark and bury himself. He couldn't take school. He couldn't handle the noise, the sitting, he couldn't focus on the work due to attentional problems. And demands were being placed on him that hit all his areas of weakness.My son's story is a common one for many parents. It is hard to get a diagnosis and harder to get proper educational supports. The school cited in the Times article is a very unusual place and not many of those exist. I have heard many horror stories of kids that have had to be hospitalized for depression because schools would not recognize that they needed help. I am fighting for my own son's future with that too.
But to put it in perspective, I think that there simply aren't places in our society for those who function on the margin, or are a bit strange. ADDer's have the same problem, read Thom Hartman's HUNTERS IN A FARMERS WORLD. There may have been in the past actually more ways for those people to be absorbed into society. In Uta Frith's book, THE ENIGMA OF AUTISM, she has a chapter on the history of autism and cites characters in literature back to the middle ages whose behavior was very bizarre and autistic-like.
I do think, however, it isn't as simple as saying, well, these people are just different. There are serious impairments to their functioning and because of that they are more suseptible to comorbid mental illnesses. They are also more suseptible to Tourette's Syndrome, and Seizure disorders because of the neurological damage.
If you are interested in knowing anymore about Asperger's or Autism, there are many sources. One of the best I recommend is OASIS, which is at the following URL;
http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/
Sorry for the long ramble, it's just that for me its not so much a philosophical question as it is a very concrete issue in my life.
Thanks for bringing it up though, dj.
Sara T.
poster:Sara T
thread:37688
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000610/msgs/37715.html