High Functioning Autism vs. Aspergers

Monday, January 14, 2008
High Functioning Autism vs. Aspergers
I watched a special on PBS last night about an amazing guy with Aspergers. DH and I watched it together with fascination, horror and hope. It is interesting how Aspergers and autism are different. Aspergers is not just simply a higher form of autism. It is different. A.J. is higher functioning than the guy we watched on TV who had aspergers, and she simply has autism.

I'm going to break it down in what I have observed:

Aspergers.....no problem learning to talk (even if a bit delayed in starting to talk)
A.J...Started to talk early but problems with putting sentences together and also learning abstract concepts...such as pronouns and "wh" questions.

Aspergers...can not read social cues
A.J....can read social cues very well and has a hard time dealing with them (throws herself on the floor when "O" gets hurt)

Aspergers....talks all the time and doesn't know when to stop...all about "me"

A.J.....doesn't talk all the time and is socially aware that it is difficult for her to have conversations. (Although she was very outgoing as a toddler, she is now shy after loosing confidence as a result of the onset of suddenly losing gross and fine motor skills and language at age 2.) From age 2 to 4, she had difficulty with the concept of "self" and for a while there, I wondered if she even knew she existed and was not just an observer. She seemed to not realize that anything was specifically for her benefit. But now she does. She likes to look at herself in the mirror and admire her hair.

Aspergers.....tries to express themselves constantly and you can easily read a their emotions in their faces.
A.J.....rarely tries to express herself and it is very very very hard to read her emotions in her facial expressions and gestures. It is hard to know that she understands anything as she won't make eye contact and she either seems to ignore, walk away, or talks/mutters over you while you try and have a conversation with her.

So I try and gauge her level of understanding by thinking of how much my friend's "typical" daughter, who is 6 days younger than A.J., can understand stuff. Before I try and talk to A.J. about anything with importance I think to myself, "Would Maddie understand this?" If the answer is yes, I go ahead and attempt the conversation with A.J. and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. (See mom tip number one post for an example of a conversation I had with her that she understood...and I didn't know if she would.)

It is kind of weird that I don't even know how much A.J. understands as I am her mom...so how can I expect other people to ever truly understand that she is brilliant..when I can't even tell except for when I get blindsided by it? (I'll give you an example in a later post.) Also, it is so easy to talk as if she isn't in the room as she never glances over, even when you mention her name. But I know for sure that she soaks things in. Sometimes I will hear a sentence that I say to DH, be immediately repeated in the other room as a conversation between her dolls.

OK, back to the breakdown...

Aspergers.....hyper
A.J.......a bit lethargic.

Both have trouble with eye contact.


I am still learning and I could very well be wrong about the differences. I don't even know if A.J is simply classic autism. These kids are all over the "spectrum" and all have something different going on with them. That probably has something to do with the body's break down of proteins and food intolerances...we don't know.

Feedback is appreciated. I want to listen and learn...I'm thirsty for it!!!
me.