Frågor och svar om Autism [Sammanfogad //Mod] (tidigare: "Frågor och svar om Asperger")

Sent: Monday, August 18, 2003 9:22 PM
Subject: Asperger's Syndrome?

Dr. Baughman,

Are you familiar with a new "pervasive developmental disorder"
called Asperger's Syndrome? Apparently, if a subject does
not enjoy making vacuous small talk about pop culture, has
interests which differ from an (unspecified) approved
list or shows in-depth interest in any topic, displays
"excessive" knowledge while answering a question, is not
overly concerned with what others think and is resistant
to peer pressure, then the subject is considered to have a
disability and in need of psychotropic drug therapy.

It seems as though admirable qualities of an independent,
serious minded, intelligent mature individual have now
been turned, Orwellian style, into deficiencies which
require drastic remediation.

I have found your commentary on ADHD quite useful and was
wondering what you thought of Asperger's Syndrome.
Could you comment?

Sign me,
A Concerned Parent
####@aol.com
[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD: this variant of autism is not associated with a demonstrable brain/body abnormality, is not a disease/abnormality, does not therefore require, justify medical treatment. fb]

Attwood "Discovery" Criteria

1. A qualitative advantage in social interaction, as manifested by a majority of the following:

• Peer relationships characterized by absolute loyalty and impeccable dependability
• Free of sexist, "age-ist", or culturalist biases; ability to regard others at "face value"
• Speaking one’s mind irrespective of social context or adherence to personal beliefs
• Ability to pursue personal theory or perspective despite conflicting evidence
• Seeking an audience or friends capable of: enthusiasm for unique interests and topics; consideration of details; spending time discussing a topic that may not be of primary interest
• Listening without continual judgment or assumption
• Interested primarily in significant contributions to conversation; preferring to avoid "ritualistic small talk" or socially trivial statements and superficial conversation.
• Seeking sincere, positive, genuine friends with an unassuming sense of humour.

2. Fluent in "Aspergerese", a social language characterized by at least three of the following:

• A determination to seek the truth
• Conversation free of hidden meaning or agenda
• Advanced vocabulary and interest in words
• Fascination with word-based humour, such as puns
• Advanced use of pictorial metaphor

3. Cognitive skills characterized by at least four of the following:

• Strong preference for detail over gestalt
• Original, often unique perspective in problem solving
• Exceptional memory and/or recall of details often forgotten or disregarded by others, for example: names, dates, schedules, routines
• Avid perseverance in gathering and cataloguing information on a topic of interest
• Persistence of thought
• Encyclopaedic or "CD ROM" knowledge of one or more topics
• Knowledge of routines and a focused desire to maintain order and accuracy
• Clarity of values/decision making unaltered by political or financial factors

4. Additional possible features:

• Acute sensitivity to specific sensory experiences and stimuli, for example: hearing, touch, vision, and/or smell
• Strength in individual sports and games, particularly those involving endurance or visual accuracy, including rowing, swimming, bowling, chess
• "Social unsung hero" with trusting optimism: frequent victim of social weaknesses of others, while steadfast in the belief of the possibility of genuine friendship
• Increased probability over general population of attending university after high school
• Often take care of others outside the range of typical development