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Understanding people with Asperger’s syndrome
Asperger syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder that affects the person’s social life, their sensory perceptions, but also their motor skills.
Here is a scenario to better understand their difficulty in daily life. Imagine that you are traveling to a distant country where you know neither the language, nor the traditions, nor the culture. It is quite possible that at the start you will make a few “blunders”.
Indeed, all the little things in life that were so easy to accomplish in your country become more delicate. Saying hello, connecting with people, social codes and rules can be totally different from yours. For example, pointing can be seen as an insult in other countries. This lack of knowledge of the culture and expressions of the language can therefore put you in relatively delicate situations.
We realize that each country, each culture has its own codes and social rules. We learn them naturally from a young age. They are passed down from generation to generation. For example, in France we can shake hands with a person to say hello but in other countries people bend their backs so as not to disrespect them.
People with Asperger’s Syndrome can learn some of the simplest social rules on their own because they imitate them from childhood. However, they do not have the analytical finesse to detect the implicit nature of human relationships. They have difficulty detecting and understanding nonverbal communication behaviors. For example, they may be awkward in a conversation because they do not know when to speak or do not detect when someone is not interested in what they are saying and continues talking.
The causes of Asperger’s Syndrome are not yet definitively defined, however the hypotheses of neurological dysfunction and hereditary influence seem likely.
To summarize, Asperger’s Syndrome is an impairment of communication and social interactions. These difficulties can be accompanied by social isolation because they do not know how to communicate with others. These people may also encounter difficulty concentrating, understanding instructions, being autonomous, grasping the implicit and abstract, and coping with unforeseen events and changes. They have restricted interests (transport, computers, imaginary world, etc.) which can take an important or even too invasive place in their daily life.