The Chairman
05-01-2003, 06:30 PM
I find this one of the most interesting diagnoses in the field of psychiatry/psychology. In fact, I was discussing it with a few Board members just the other day.
And now it's making headlines.
I'm not going to break out the textbook jargon here. Rather, I will describe Asperger's Syndrome (AS) in basic terms, as I've seen it.
AS can be essentially described as a form of autism characterized by the individual having a lack of empathy. The individual is often very intelligent and not learning impaired, and may, in fact, have exceptional talents or skills. Scientists have recently postulated that Einstein and Newton had AS. On the other hand, remember that doctor who killed patients with rat poison? He most certainly had AS.
A person with AS often has trouble making small talk, is impatient with the intellectual slowness of others, is narcissistic and is passionate for his/her mission in life. These traits often make the individual isolative and difficult to deal with. AS people often are hot tempered and have difficulty making eye contact.
For example, lack of empathy: The AS individual has difficulty seeing the world as others see it and cannot see it in another person's shoes.
A "little person" walks by you or me. We say, "wow, that must be difficult to be that small." An AS person might say, "that table is 3 feet off the floor and that person is two inches higher than the table, so that person must be 3'2".
You or I go to a comedy show and the comic is bombing and we feel sorry for the person and force a few laughs. The AS person might heckle but certainly isn't sweating through the bomb performance. They are more likely saying "I'm so much funnier than that."
An AS person might land a great job due to his or her intellect or educational background, but they may start picking their toenails in the middle of a meeting, come back from the bathroom and tell colleagues how bad their shit stank up the bathroom, or start picking their nose when meeting a new client. It's because they don't see how their actions may gross out others. While they come across as being less than pleasant people to be around, they certainly will give you an honest opinion. "Do I look fat?" They will tell you and not even realize they may be insulting you.
In most cases, AS people experience extreme difficulty in holding a job and making friends. They often will curse out or tell off their boss, because they think they are better and have an inability to realize that cursing out their boss might be taken badly by the boss. They overestimate their contribution to people or society, and might brag about being close to someone who is just using them.
AS people are often disliked intensely by individuals they think are their friends. They come off as narcissistic, as if they are God's gift to whatever they are involved in, often acting like (whatever) could not be successful without them while overinflating their own worth.
They may come off as hot tempered and extremely jealous at the success of others without AS. It is unfortunate. AS people are smart, but they often are perceived as "weird" "eccentric" or a "dick."
This diagnosis is one of the "hot ones" these days, just like ADHD, Panic Disorder and Eating Disorders have been previously, and you're going to hear more and more about it.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030501/od_nm/science_autism_dc_5
http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/
http://www.faaas.org/
<img src = http://atamichimpo.50megs.com/images/blink1027stinkssig.jpg>
2%
Chairman of the Message Bored
Loved or hated...but never ignored.
slanted and enchanted...
The Chairman uses Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and skidmark sigpics.
And now it's making headlines.
I'm not going to break out the textbook jargon here. Rather, I will describe Asperger's Syndrome (AS) in basic terms, as I've seen it.
AS can be essentially described as a form of autism characterized by the individual having a lack of empathy. The individual is often very intelligent and not learning impaired, and may, in fact, have exceptional talents or skills. Scientists have recently postulated that Einstein and Newton had AS. On the other hand, remember that doctor who killed patients with rat poison? He most certainly had AS.
A person with AS often has trouble making small talk, is impatient with the intellectual slowness of others, is narcissistic and is passionate for his/her mission in life. These traits often make the individual isolative and difficult to deal with. AS people often are hot tempered and have difficulty making eye contact.
For example, lack of empathy: The AS individual has difficulty seeing the world as others see it and cannot see it in another person's shoes.
A "little person" walks by you or me. We say, "wow, that must be difficult to be that small." An AS person might say, "that table is 3 feet off the floor and that person is two inches higher than the table, so that person must be 3'2".
You or I go to a comedy show and the comic is bombing and we feel sorry for the person and force a few laughs. The AS person might heckle but certainly isn't sweating through the bomb performance. They are more likely saying "I'm so much funnier than that."
An AS person might land a great job due to his or her intellect or educational background, but they may start picking their toenails in the middle of a meeting, come back from the bathroom and tell colleagues how bad their shit stank up the bathroom, or start picking their nose when meeting a new client. It's because they don't see how their actions may gross out others. While they come across as being less than pleasant people to be around, they certainly will give you an honest opinion. "Do I look fat?" They will tell you and not even realize they may be insulting you.
In most cases, AS people experience extreme difficulty in holding a job and making friends. They often will curse out or tell off their boss, because they think they are better and have an inability to realize that cursing out their boss might be taken badly by the boss. They overestimate their contribution to people or society, and might brag about being close to someone who is just using them.
AS people are often disliked intensely by individuals they think are their friends. They come off as narcissistic, as if they are God's gift to whatever they are involved in, often acting like (whatever) could not be successful without them while overinflating their own worth.
They may come off as hot tempered and extremely jealous at the success of others without AS. It is unfortunate. AS people are smart, but they often are perceived as "weird" "eccentric" or a "dick."
This diagnosis is one of the "hot ones" these days, just like ADHD, Panic Disorder and Eating Disorders have been previously, and you're going to hear more and more about it.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030501/od_nm/science_autism_dc_5
http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/
http://www.faaas.org/
<img src = http://atamichimpo.50megs.com/images/blink1027stinkssig.jpg>
2%
Chairman of the Message Bored
Loved or hated...but never ignored.
slanted and enchanted...
The Chairman uses Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and skidmark sigpics.