Asperger's syndrome
Above is a documentary about a man named David, whom is living with Asperger's Syndrome. This video gives a look into his life, living with Asperger's.
Characteristics
Child with Asperger's Syndrome.
Asperger's Syndrome and autism are two different expressions of impairment within Autism Spectrum Disorder. The characteristics of a child with Asperger's Syndrome are quite the opposite than those characteristics of autism. A few characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome are described as:
- having a great vocabulary
- lack of empathy
- lack of the ability to form relationships and friendships
- clumsy in nature
History
Dr. Han Asperger with a child with Asperger's Syndrome.
At the same time as Doctor Leo Kanner was studying autism in the United States, Doctor Han Asperger was studying a similar group of children in Austria. During their research both doctors were noticing the same characteristics with their patients but while Dr. Kanner was studying individuals that had limited speech, Dr. Asperger studied individuals with a vast vocabulary and were functioning at a higher level.
These two doctors did not know each other and Dr. Asperger's research went "undiscovered" until the 1970's because of WWII. Dr. Asperger is credited with defining the spectrum idea we know today.
Neither Dr. Kanner or Dr. Asperger "discovered" autism, they simply defined it.