Download Asperger’s Disorder

Asperger’s Disorder
Ashleigh Pogue and Kayla Roth
What is Asperger’s Syndrome?
Considered to be a subtype of Pervasive
Development Disorders
Characterized by limited interests or a
preoccupation with a certain subject that leads to
exclusion of other activities
Also involves language and communication
skills impairment
Is part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder
-
Autism, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and PDDNOS
Overview of Asperger’s
First observed in children by Hans
Asperger in 1944
Young AS children generally have normal
development in language skills
Motor development delays are usually the
first to indicate the disorder
Boys are three to four times more likely to
have AS
Symptoms
AS children are usually of normal to aboveaverage intelligence
In addition to a specific interest, the disorder is
characterized by differences in speech patterns,
poor expression recognition and
underdeveloped motor skills
Are more social than children with classic autism
but are frequently rejected because if their
eccentric behavior and narrow interests
Asperber’s if frequently comorbid with anxiety,
depression, ADHD, tic disorders and OCD
Causes
A genetic component exists but a specific gene
has not yet been identified
Recent research suggests that there are specific
interactions between multiple mutated genes
The varied genes produce brain abnormalities
which have been found to cause AS
Brain defects are due to abnormal migration of
embryonic cells
These cells later form the neural connections for
thought and behavior
Diagnosis and Treatment
Diagnosis criteria is included in the DSM-IV
Some doctors consider AS to be a form of highfunctioning autism (HFA) and not a separate
disorder
Treatment focuses on 3 core symptoms:
communication skills, repetitive routines and
clumsiness
The most effective treatments includes
numerous therapies, medication and parental
training and support
DSM-IV Criteria
Diagnostic criteria for 299.80 Asperger's Disorder
A. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
(1) marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial
expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction
(2) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
(3) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other
people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
(4) lack of social or emotional reciprocity
B. Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as
manifested by at least one of the following:
(1) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest
that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
(2) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
(3) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or
complex whole-body movements)
(4) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
C. The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other
important areas of functioning.
D. There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g., single words used by age 2
years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years).
E. There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of ageappropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about
the environment in childhood.
F. Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia.
Medication Treatment
Often problematic to treat because of the
difficulty in distinguishing AS symptoms from
comorbid problems
Research suggests that medication is effective
in treating comorbid symptoms
A complete medical assessment must be
performed and the patient must be closely
monitored for side effects
Stimulants, antidepressants, anti-anxiety
medications and treatments for Tourettes’ and
sleep disorders have been found to be effective
Medication Treatment
Additional Treatments
Social-Behavioral Learning Strategy
SODA Strategy: Stop, Observe, Deliberate, Act
Developed to help children with AS learn social
cues, process cues, and utilize social skills in
activities
A baseline was used to compare behavior
without SODA to behavior with SODA
Three dependent measures of replacement
behavior: participate in cooperative learning,
play a board game with peers and visit one or
more peers while eating lunch
SODA Results
A significant result was found more all
dependent measure
Social interaction with peers increased in all
areas
Long-term memory of the program was found to
exist and participant continued to use SODA
even after the study ended
May help adolescents to use metacognitive
processes to understand the mental state of
others
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Summer program that compared two
treatment types: social skills instruction
(SS) only versus social skills instruction
with behavioral treatment (SS+BT)
Dependent measures included social
skills, adaptability and atypicality
The Skillstreaming curriculum was used to
address the specific problems associated
with AS
Results
Significant main effects were found for each of
the dependent measures or the parent’s ratings
Staff ratings found significant main effects for
social skills and atypicality
Provides evidence a cognitive-behavioral
approach is a promising approach for
developing social skills
The significant increase in social skills ratings
was found to exist even after the program ended
Parent’s reported social skills improvement,
better adaptability and a decrease in odd or
unusual behavior
Teaching Emotion Recognition
Involved an emotion recognition pretest, 10
week intervention and posttest
Mind Reading software was used to present
material in the form of photographs, movie and
audio clips
Significant results were found
All children demonstrated increased skill in
recognizing emotion in facial expressions and
voice
They were also found to be able to better
recognize emotion in voices not used in the
program suggesting that their learned skills can
be generalized
References
http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/a
sperger.htm
http://www.autism.com/treatable/form34qrasperg
ersyndrome.htm
Lopata, Christopher, Marcus L. Thomeer, Martin
A. Volker, and Robert E. Nida. Effectiveness of a
cognitive-behavioral treatment on the social
behaviors of children with Asperger disorder.
[Electronic version]. Focus on Autism and Other
Developmental Disabilities 21.4 (Winter
2006): 237(8).
References
Tsai, Luke Y. Asperger syndrome and medication
treatment. [Electronic version] Focus on Autism
and Other Developmental Disabilities 22.3 (Fall
2007): 138(11).
Bock, Marjorie A. A social-behavioral learning
strategy intervention for a child with Asperger
syndrome: brief report. [Electronic version].
Remedial and Special Education 28.5 (Sept-Oct
2007): 258(8).