Asperger's Syndrome

A reader, Danielle, posted the question below as a comment to a post I wrote a few weeks ago. Because I felt the question was an especially important one, I've moved it here and tried to offer a brief answer that I hope will be enough to point Danielle in the right direction. Please feel free to post other ideas, suggestions, and resources if you have some knowledge of this topic.

Joel,

I am new to the world of gifted children. I work at a center for children with autism but came head on to a child with severe behavioral problems none of which are related to autism.

This child speaks as an adult and is very inquisitive and knowledgeable about concepts I find hard to grasp. He is also is very defiant, runs away, and always knows just the right thing to do wrong (if that makes sense). I have a feeling this child is very intuitive because he sees whole concepts without needing to see the sequence of events. Also, he is very inquisitive and always wants to know how things work.

He is five years old and on the verge of getting kicked out of school. The only power I have is to talk with his teachers on how to promote good behaviors and challenge him.

What should I say? What difference can I make when the parents would laugh at me if I even brought up the fact that he was possibly gifted.

Thanks for reading and I would appreciate any input you could give me.

Danielle

Hi Danielle. It sounds like you have your hands full. I want to commend you for taking such a caring interest in the child you write about. It does sound like this child has some special needs.

I am not qualified to diagnose a disorder and I'm drawing my conclusions from the small amount of information about the child included in your post, so I could be a bit off base with the following suggestions. However, let me suggest that you gather some information about a form of Autism called Asperger's syndrome. Wikipedia offers a concise introduction to Asperger's syndrome that you may find of value.

I've excerpted the following information from Wikipedia; however, you will find much more on the subject on the Wikipedia Web site:

Asperger syndrome — also referred to as Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's, or just AS — is one of five neurobiological pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) that is characterized by deficiencies in social and communication skills. It is differentiated from other PDD's in that a person with AS also has normal to above normal intelligence, . . . and standard language development compared with classical autism. The diagnosis of AS is complicated by the lack of a standard diagnostic screen, and the use of several different screening instruments and sets of diagnostic criteria. The exact cause of AS is unknown and the prevalence is not firmly established, due partly to the use of differing sets of diagnostic criteria.

I would explore the the Wikipedia page and scroll down to the page's "External Links" section. You will find several recommended external links there.

Also, please visit the Autism Society of America's Web resources devoted Asperger's syndrome. This organization offers a really reliable and informative introduction to the topic.

Certainly, there may be more going on with this child than Asperger's would explain, but this information may offer a start. Armed with a bit of information about Asperger's syndrome, you may be better able to talk to the child's parents and other teachers about this child's special needs and some interventions that might help him.

We have a book coming out in May 2007 titled, School Success for Kids With Asperger’s Syndrome by Stephan Silverman, Ph.D., and Richard Weinfied. So, keep an eye out for that book's release next spring. I'll be posting more about the book and the topic as we get nearer to it's release date.