Asperger Syndrome: John Robison
Asperger’s Syndrome
“John Robison has longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclinations to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant’”( Robison,2007). John Robison was diagnosed as having an Asperger’s Syndrome. People living with Asperger’s Syndrome have varying complications from the syndrome. Some complications people living with Asperger’s Syndrome, also known as AS or Asperger’s Disorder, may have are a “lack of social understanding, limited ability to have a reciprocal conversation and an intense interest in a particular subject” (Attwood, 12) (Attwood, 2007). During the 1940’s, a Viennese pediatrician, Dr. Hans Asperger recognized similarities between some of the children’s personalities brought to his clinic. In 1981, Lorna Wing wrote a paper summarizing Asperger’s findings. She is the person credited with coining the term “Asperger’s Syndrome”. In The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome people diagnosed as having AS share common traits such as: * Delayed social maturity and social reasoning * Immature empathy * Difficulty making friends and often teased by other children * Difficulty with the communication and control of emotions * Unusual language abilities that include advanced vocabulary and syntax but delayed conversation skills, unusual prosody and a tendency to be pedantic * A fascination with a topic that is unusual in intensity or focus * Difficulty maintaining attention in class * An unusual profile of learning abilities * A need for assistance with some self-help and organization skills * Clumsiness in terms of gait and coordination * Sensitivity to specific sounds, aromas, textures or touch
Hans Asperger said it best himself, “The nature of these children is revealed most clearly in their behaviors towards other
“John Robison has longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclinations to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant’”( Robison,2007). John Robison was diagnosed as having an Asperger’s Syndrome. People living with Asperger’s Syndrome have varying complications from the syndrome. Some complications people living with Asperger’s Syndrome, also known as AS or Asperger’s Disorder, may have are a “lack of social understanding, limited ability to have a reciprocal conversation and an intense interest in a particular subject” (Attwood, 12) (Attwood, 2007). During the 1940’s, a Viennese pediatrician, Dr. Hans Asperger recognized similarities between some of the children’s personalities brought to his clinic. In 1981, Lorna Wing wrote a paper summarizing Asperger’s findings. She is the person credited with coining the term “Asperger’s Syndrome”. In The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome people diagnosed as having AS share common traits such as: * Delayed social maturity and social reasoning * Immature empathy * Difficulty making friends and often teased by other children * Difficulty with the communication and control of emotions * Unusual language abilities that include advanced vocabulary and syntax but delayed conversation skills, unusual prosody and a tendency to be pedantic * A fascination with a topic that is unusual in intensity or focus * Difficulty maintaining attention in class * An unusual profile of learning abilities * A need for assistance with some self-help and organization skills * Clumsiness in terms of gait and coordination * Sensitivity to specific sounds, aromas, textures or touch
Hans Asperger said it best himself, “The nature of these children is revealed most clearly in their behaviors towards other
Cited: Allman, Toney. Asperger 's Syndrome. Detroit: Lucent, 2009. Print. Attwood, Tony. The Complete Guide to Asperger 's Syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2007. Print. Boucher, Jill. The Autistic Spectrum: Characteristics, Causes, and Practical Issues. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2009. Print. Robison, John E. Look Me in the Eye; My Life with Asperger 's. New York: Crown, 2007. Print. Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Definition." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 18 Nov. 2010. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .