You said you were concerned about how your child gets along with other
children. You may also have been concerned that your child some of the following problems:
Has an odd way of dealing with other children which leads to problems making or keeping friends
Speech is strange or unclear
Unable to use words as well as other kids' his/her age to communicate
Does the same movement over and over
Makes sounds or words without purpose
Needs to have things done or said in exactly the same way over and over
You also said that your child has 2 or more of the following social problems:
Trouble making eye contact; Trouble making the right
facial expressions when talking to others
Trouble making and keeping friends
Does not show interest in things that others may like to do
Trouble with taking turns in conversations or play
Your child also has at least one of the following problems:
Very interested in one or more topics
Trouble dealing with changes in schedule or routine
Hand/finger flapping or twisting
Too interested in parts of objects
Some children with these types of problems have Asperger's Disorder.
Asperger's is a problem seen in some children with poor social skills. In the past,
many children with Asperger's Disorder may have been thought to have Autism or some other problem.
Children with this disorder learn to talk at the same time as most other children.
Their patterns of speech, however, are often odd. They also have trouble getting along with
other kids. They may keep to themselves a lot. Often they act in odd or unusual ways.
For example, a child may spend hours counting cars as they go by. Another child may watch one
movie and repeat all the lines over and over.
The cause of Asperger's Disorder is not yet known. There is some evidence
that it runs in families.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (1999). Facts for Families® series: Asperger's Disorder. [online] .
Available: http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/69.htm.
(April 1, 2004).
American Academy of Pediatrics (1996). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care. Elk Grove Village, Illinois: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author
