About the Spectrum

FAQ

This is a growing list!

If you are an individual diagnosed on the spectrum and would like to
submit an entry (that both asks the question and answers it), we would love to review it for possible inclusion on our "FAQ" page.

Send the submission to info@grasp.org writing the words "FAQ Submission" in the subject field.

If selected, you will receive a credit showing your name as the author,
but GRASP reserves the right to edit as we feel is necessary in order to maintain our site.

What is the difference between Asperger Syndrome and Autism?
Autism was described almost simultaneously by Leo Kanner in the United States and Hans Asperger in Austria. Kanner was interested in lower-functioning children and Asperger in higher-functioning children, but they saw children all along the spectrum, and their descriptions of the condition were very similar. Kanner called it “infantile autism” and Asperger dubbed it “autistic psychopathy.” Kanner was more pessimistic about the prognosis of these children than Asperger, who felt that autistic children had strengths as well as deficits.

—Allen Markman

Asperger's Syndrome provides a window on other forms of autism, as well as other human variations. People with Asperger's Syndrome have a unique "outsiders" view on humanity, together with the ability to communicate with the larger neurotypical (NT) segment of society. We can serve as bridges or as interpreters between the NT world and various marginalised groups. This is perhaps one of our greatest gifts.

—Joni Pinkney

The way they're spelled.

—Quoted from Tony Attwood's "Asperger's Syndrome"

Are the Diagnoses on the Autism Spectrum Mental Illnesses?
No, and not every condition listed in the DSM is a mental disorder! The autism spectrum differs from mental illness in that it is believed to be present from birth (or from a very young age) and it doesn’t go away with treatment or spontaneously the way mental illnesses do. While most of the manifestations of the autism spectrum are behavioral there is no specific drug treatment that can make an autistic person less autistic. Mental illnesses are often readily treatable, and mentally ill persons may have long periods of remission and recovery. The autism spectrum is not like this at all.

—Allen Markman

Even though Asperger's Syndrome or other diagnoses on the spectrum are not mental illnesses many people with a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome may also have co-morbid diagnoses such as Obessive Compulsive Disorder, Chronic Depression or Anxiety Disorder.

—Catriona Tyrrell

Can This be Cured?
No, since it is not a disease it cannot be cured in the same sense as an infection can be cured. Nor do all of us want to become neurotypical. Many parents of highly-challenged or non-verbal children with Kanner’s type autism believe that their children have a disease that research will eventually find a cure for, or at least a method of prevention. We support scientific research on brain development. However, we believe that autism is a complex genetic condition that imparts strengths as well as weaknesses. At best, parents might be told that there is an increased chance that they will have a child on the autism spectrum. Some people believe it would be a marvelous thing to be able to predict before birth which autistic children will be gifted, and which will be non-verbal and intellectually impaired, but whether this is likely to happen or not, there are deeper ethical issues at stake.

—Allen Markman

Can This Be Treated?
Children and adults with autism spectrum diagnoses may have many problems in living caused by their condition or by society’s reaction to their odd behavior.

Anxiety, depression, gastrointestinal problems, and a whole slew of other medical and psychiatric conditions can accompany autism spectrum diagnoses. In addition, we do not fit into neurotypical society. Since we are often viewed as odd and not as socially disabled, we are expected to function in a social capacity like anyone else. Due to widespread ignorance of our condition, people do not understand that social functioning is largely separate from IQ. So we may have very high general intelligence, but a profound social and emotional handicap. We are often seen as willfully disobedient, while in truth we are less capable of understanding social subtleties than neurotypicals. Children and adults will benefit from treatment of their comorbid conditions, especially if it is understood that they are part of a larger syndrome and not just medical conditions that appear “out of the blue.” Behavioral treatments given to severely autistic children may also benefit higher-functioning children. Adolescents and adults may benefit from psychotherapy practiced by therapists who are knowledgeable and experienced with autistic people. Lastly, medications may help adults cope with depression and anxiety.

—Allen Markman

Should Children Be Put on Medication?
This is a very controversial subject. Some children with autism spectrum diagnoses are very difficult to raise for a variety of reasons. They may have harmful obsessional interests, be aggressive towards other children and display self-injurious behavior. There may be no appropriate school available for them in the community. Parents may have difficulty coping with their child’s difficult or impossible behavior. Psychiatric drugs, we believe, should be used as a last resort. This is because the effects of these drugs on the developing brain are not well-understood. There is no evidence that medicating children will normalize their brain development, and some evidence that it will impair their brain development. As children with autism spectrum diagnoses age, problem behaviors once seen as intractable often moderate or even disappear. Finally, these powerful medicines were developed for and tested on adults, and they are indicated for the treatment of mental illnesses in adults. Their use in children is considered “off label”; that is to say, doctors who prescribe these drugs to children cannot rely on the information provided by the pharmaceutical company because it does not apply to children.

—Allen Markman

What About Complementary Medicine?
Complementary, or alternative, medicine has become a big business in America, partly as a result of Americans’ dissatisfaction with mainstream medicine and its limitations.

GRASP does not endorse any specific alternative treatments for autism spectrum diagnoses, but we offer guidelines to their use. We urge people to maintain a healthy skepticism towards all unproven remedies. At the same time, do not assume that all dogmatic assertions made by physicians and scientists are true. Consider the benefits and risks of any treatment, and use reputable sources of medical information. Special diets such as lactose-free or sugar-free or organic are probably not harmful, and might be helpful. Vitamin supplements, unless they are taken to extremes, are unlikely to harm people. Unproven remedies such as chelation therapy, detoxification with colonics, hypnosis, biofeedback, removal of amalgam fillings, and herbal remedies have a higher probability of causing potential harm. In other words, be especially wary of anyone who claims to know what causes autism, and claims to have found a miraculous “cure” or panacea.

—Allen Markman

What Causes an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis?
Autism spectrum diagnoses are now known to be largely genetic in origin, and runs in families. Twin studies have uncovered many examples of identical (monozygotic) twins having autism spectrum diagnoses. One may have autism and the other AS, but when one identical twin is autistic, the other one is as well. If autistic conditions were not genetic, this would probably not happen. Studies of fraternal twins (dizygotic) have shown that when one twin has an autism spectrum diagnosis, the other one usually does not. If autism were caused by conditions in the mother’s womb, this would not occur. The rate of autism spectrum diagnoses in fraternal twins is the same as the rate in siblings. Since the severity of the autistic condition may vary in identical twins, this tells us that there is some environmental influence, but scientists don’t know yet what it is. Psychological theories abound. One of the major ones is called Theory of Mind (TOM). This holds that autistic people have an impaired ability to think about other people as having unique minds with different thoughts than their own. This theory is very controversial and is vigorously disputed by many able autistic people and some psychologists.

—Allen Markman

What Do All Autistic People Have in Common?
Social Deficit. Regardless of where we fall on the spectrum, we are less able to function socially and to intuit the meanings of social behaviors and non-verbal communications. This is the one thing that all autistic people share by definition.

—Allen Markman

Clumsiness. This is not universal, as a very select few of us have proven dance capabilities. But there seems enough of a predisposition towards motor problems amongst us to warrant mention.

—Jerry Newport, mjc, and others

Sensory integration difficulties. Difficulty screening out background noises or understanding speech (auditory). difficulty recognising faces, finding our way around places that "should" be familiar, finding an object among similar objects (visual), difficulty with or preferance for certain textures or scents, etc.

—Joni Pinkney

How Are We All Different?
We vary in nearly every other way possible. Autism spectrum diagnoses are very “heterogeneous.” Each one of us is a unique individual with a unique personality. We are much more than our diagnosis.

—Allen Markman

Why is an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis Special?
It’s special because it is one of the few, if not the only condition that imparts strengths as well as weaknesses. People with autism spectrum diagnoses have normal to very high IQs, and many have special skills. A few of us have remarkable and even extraordinary abilities. These people are called prodigious savants. Many of us have islands of ability and what are known as splinter skills. In other words, we are very bad at social things but very good in a particular narrow area, for example, engineering, computer programming, music and mathematics.

—Allen Markman

Why is an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis Special?
Individuals with autism spectrum diagnoses are by no means the only marginalized community on the planet. However, given the tendency of individuals on the spectrum to have proportionately higher IQs, it is probable that spectrumites pose a huge potential gain for society if real and equal inclusion were made possible.

—mjc

What are other differences between females with Asperger's, versus males with the condition?
A girl with Asperger's Syndrome may be more likely to withdraw, take out her frustrations on herself, or become depressed, whereas a boy might more readily act out, cry, or otherwise display his frustration.

Little girls in our society are under pressure to talk in a pleasant manner, so a girl may be more sensitive to criticism regarding her voice and her conversation skills. She may decide it's better to be quiet than cause a scene, and thus her issues may go undetected, whereas a boy may be more likely to jump into a conversation – not realizing he’s interrupting or his voice is too loud or he’s missing the point. A girl might also be more likely to act like she “gets it” to avoid conflict, ridicule, or danger.

Girls in our society are encouraged to be sensitive to other people’s feelings, so a girl with AS might be more acutely aware of other people's reactions to her than a boy. She may try desperately to smooth over the problems she perceives herself to be causing, to avoid conflict or disruption at all costs, or to appear to be a “nice” girl anyway, despite her perceived or real deficits. Boys with AS experience this as well, though perhaps not to the same degree.

Autistic boys and men do report feeling lonely, and having trouble fitting into "male culture" as it is defined in this society. But an autistic boy might be able to gain some respect from his peers if he knows everything about the Yankees, or if he can fix electronics, or if he has every single Star Trek collector’s card. He has avenues in boy culture that he can, with adult guidance and input, use to make a bridge to the other boys. But girls form friendships through sharing their identities and relating to each other’s emotions. It’s not just that Asperger’s girls struggle, like boys, to understand how to navigate the social landscape. It’s that girls form their very identities based on how well they navigate. Several women on the spectrum have expressed deep frustration at being unable to join the friendship networks that are a crucial element of adult female life in our society, and report extra frustration and depression, especially around adolesence when social success becomes an integral part of a girl's self-definition.

Lastly, parents, mental health professionals, and educators may respond differently to girls on the spectrum, much to their detriment.

In short, girls and boys with AS have the same core problems and deserve the same access to resources and support. But girls may display certain symptoms differently. The challenges associated with social deficits may have a different meaning for girls, and may impact the lives of girls differently than boys. As well, society's response to a girl in trouble may affect her ability to find the help she needs.

—Zosia Zaks

What is the difference between a Female Aspergers child or adult
versus being a male Aspergers child or adult?
Females do exhibit different qualities and differences then males do. Females are less conspicuous then males. Researchers contribute this to the more sophisticated language development of Females versus males. In essence, since Females are developed more intelligently in this area of the brain-they are able to "Make up for or mask " their disability if you will. This does not mean it is any less tiring or involved then Male Aspergers.

—April Malone

Are all people with Aspergers brilliant, gifted people?
NO. Aspergers come in all IQ's. It ranges from below average , average, and above average. It is also a myth that all people with Aspergers are good at Math and computers. In fact, people with Aspergers can have learning disabilities such as discaculia. They may be a great artist but horrible at operating a computer. Each individual is very person specific. Sadly, we only hear about the gifted individual which gives a false picture of what Aspergers is and excludes everyone else.

—April Malone

How can I tell my life concurs with the Autism Spectrum?
Visit a support group and see whether or not you fit in.

—A doctor with AS who wishes to remain anonymous

Once I sensibly understand that I am in concurrence with the Autism Spectrum manner of living, is there any means of changing it?
No.

—A doctor with AS who wishes to remain anonymous

Once I have sensibly incorporated this clearer view of my own behavior am I obligated to help others come to a similar realization?
That depends. Being autism spectrum is not being you, but merely being limited in certain ways you are. Therefore you may not need to ever attend another autism spectrum support group meeting once you realize your manner of living is consistent with the autism spectrum or you may become a facilitator of such a group and even the president of an organization devoted to helping those with autism spectrum diagnoses do as well as they possibly can.

—A doctor with AS who wishes to remain anonymous

I have some many questions to ask, I do not know where to begin...
Check out the library, or bookstores or on-line list serves, or go to a support group until you find out how to get the answers to your questions on your own.

—A doctor with AS who wishes to remain anonymous

Why didn't I (or my son/daughter) get the right diagnosis a long time ago?
The diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome was not recognized in the United States until 1994 when the American Psychiatric Association included it in their classification of disorders. Even in the years immediately after that, many mental health and education professionals had not heard of the term. People with AS who went through their childhoods prior to that time period would not have gotten an accurate diagnosis if they sought help from the education or mental health professions. Those at the higher end of the spectrum would not have been seen as autistic at all, while those with more prominent symptoms would have been labeled "PDD-NOS" or as having "autistic-like features." Most would not have gotten the types of educational or mental health supports that they needed. This was not because their families and schools did not care or did not try to help, but simply because good programs had not yet been designed in this country.

—Dr. Valerie Gaus

Is it too late for me (or my adult son/daughter) to learn the skills needed to improve the quality of my life?
The current thinking in developmental psychology is that human beings do not stop developing at age 21. All human beings develop, grow and learn throughout the lifespan. While there has not yet been research done on this question in the AS population, there is no reason to believe people with AS do not also continue to develop, learn and grow throughout adulthood. While the developmental course is obviously different for people with AS, they can learn new strategies to capitalize on strengths and compensate for areas they struggle with. With the right kind of help, an old dog CAN learn new tricks

—Dr. Valerie Gaus

What is cognitive-behavioral therapy and how can it help me?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an approach that was first developed in the late 1960's and early 1970's to treat neuro-typical people who were suffering from depression or anxiety. The assumption behind it is that, for all people, cognitions (thoughts, beliefs and perceptions) profoundly affect how they feel and behave. CBT teaches a client how to recognize and modify maladaptive thoughts, beliefs and perceptions which then results in positive changes in mood and behavior. People with AS can benefit from this type of therapy in that they often struggle with social cognition: that is the processing of social information. CBT strategies can teach new ways to "read" social situations and make new meaning of the information that is coming in from other people.

As far as where to get CBT: Any clinic or private practitioner offering psychotherapy may be asked if they are trained in those techniques. When initiating contact for therapy, you may ask the therapist if they have that orientation because that is what you are looking for. There is a website for a national group called the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy (AABT) which has a list of practitioners around the country. I believe you can search the list by region. The website is www.aabt.org

—Dr. Valerie Gaus

What is Sensory Integration Dysfunction?
SI Dysfunction, sometimes called DSI, is associated with Autism Spectrum diagnoses, but can also be a stand-alone condition or co-exist with other diagnoses, including ADHD and Cerebral Palsy. Although unproven, some Occupational Therapists and other professionals who work with individuals with the disorder believe it is a symptom of the brain's inability to sort and prioritize information coming in from the various senses in a typical fashion.

These senses include Vision, Hearing, Smell, Taste, Tactile (touch), Vestibular and Proprioceptive. Proprioception is the sense that tells your muscles where they are in relation to each other, and monitors internal body awareness, such as hunger and the need to go to the bathroom. The Vestibular System tells your body where it is in space. Any of these can be over-responding, under-responding, or variable in its input. A person with an under-responsive vestibular system might spin for hours, without ever getting dizzy. A person with an over-responsive vestibular system might get carsick.

Sometimes, people with SI dysfunction are hypersensitive and hyposensitive in the same sensory system, at the same time. In the tactile system, this might mean that a person startles and has an aversive reaction to light touch, but does not respond in the usual fashion to deep pressure, including that which would cause a pain reaction in a person with a typical tactile system.

Occupational Therapists trained in Sensory Integration Therapy may be able to provide a person with DSI with advice on how to best manage their symptoms and possibly be able to help with treating a bothersome over-or-undersensitivity. Possible aggravating factors include aspartame (NutraSweet) and artificial colors (such as FD&C Red #40, FD&C Yellow #5, and so on). Removing these from the diet may help reduce symptoms. NutraSweet has been documented to cause or aggravate hypersensitive responses in the auditory system and migraines; links between other artificial ingredients and sensory integration dysfunction rely upon individual reports.

—Tara Marshall

Do people with Asperger's lack empathy?
Yes. But they don't lack sympathy.

There's a difference. Sympathy is being able to understand what another person is feeling and to care about that person's feeling - to be able to replicate the feeling internally in order to generate that caring. Empathy is being able to understand another's feeling without being specifically told about it, and then being able to convey the understanding and care to the other person in a manner they will understand. People with Asperger's often care deeply about another's feeling, but lack the means to express it in a conventional fashion. Sometimes we only care after it has quite literally been explained to us in detail how another person feels. Even when we do understand and care, our lack of social skills and poor non-verbal communication prohibit us from expressing it as NTs do, leading them to believe we simply do not care. It is true that sometimes we actually don't care. But that is only because it never occurred to us that we were supposed to. Perhaps we were too deep into our own world to notice the other person, or maybe we did not see their facial expression and/or interpret it correctly. Still, after we are informed about the other person's feeling, sympathy then just follows naturally . But knowing how to communicate it never will.

- Kristin R. Walz

(The following was not a “proper” FAQ, but rather was a query submitted to us that we answered. But we thought it important enough to include herein.)

I am not sure I am going about this the right way, but I don't see another way listed.

I have a question about AS, but I don't have the answer and I don't have AS myself--a friend of mine does.

Sometimes I'll send him email and such and he'll be quite chatty, but other times he'll act as if I didn't send it--even if I ask him a question.

I don't know if he is uncomfortable with something I said and so prefers to ignore it, or he didn't think it was important enough to respond to or what. The thing is I don't know whether I should address this directly and let him know it hurts my feelings when he just ignores me or if I should just try to accept this about him even though it bothers me.

I realize that there is probably a lot of variation amongst people with AS, but essentially I am trying to determine if he is likely just unaware of what his lack of response means to me. I don't want to bug him about something, but sometimes my IM doesn't work right and I miss a response so I ask again.

Anyway I don't know whether you can give me any insight, but if you can I'd appreciate it because I'd like to stay friends with him, but I have trouble if he ignores me rather than just saying he doesn't want to talk or play a game or what not--I mean I don't know if that is the case or not I am just guessing that could be one reason he doesn't respond to certain emails and IMs.

Please let me know what you think regardless of whether you have any answer or not.

Thank you.

Its a wonderful question, and we definitely have an answer for you.

First off, you MUST know that there is nothing intentionally insulting about what your friend is doing to you. You'd know where the insult existed if it did. This is a habit of his that comes off as insulting only because of the way YOU'RE conditioned, not him. So I say this to you not only to make you feel better (i.e. he doesn't dislike you sporadically and like you sporadically) but also because if and when you approach him about this, he may withdraw if he sees he's hurt your feelings and doesn't understand how he could have.

Folks with AS encounter this a lot (I know I used to). Where someone communicates they've been hurt, and because you had no intention to hurt, you become confused, and you feel lousy because usually you like that person. And when these experiences start to accumulate, you begin to get the sense that they do so because you don't have the power to rectify them. Eventually, you let these relationships go as it seems the only logical thing to do rather than win a fight you've proven lousy at (figuring out how to not hurt the feelings of people you might care about).

I'm not a Freud guy, but Freud had one GREAT message: "If you want someone to change, then you have to change." Know in your heart that no insult was intended, as what your friend is doing is merely prioritizing his time without understanding that it might have negative consequences. So when you go and ask him to pay more attention to this matter (which you CAN do, but only after you've let the Freud lesson sink in) he won't see that he's hurt you and withdraw. With pragmatic reasoning rather he'll be able to listen better, and probably can then change the habit so long as he can see your logic (presented with the trust that he meant no harm).

—Someone we'll call "F," and mjc

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