Asperger's Case Study

Words: 1175
Pages: 5

Nora, nine years old, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when she was four. However in 2013, Asperger’s was not considered a syndrome separately from autism anymore, according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ("Asperger's Syndrome | Autism Society”). Now at school, Nora isn’t included with the autistic children that get extra aid during learning periods. She is very smart, but can not get her thoughts on paper or out of her mouth. In addition, Nora is too nervous to talk to people and she doesn’t know how to approach them. While Asperger’s is a less severe case of autism, they are still a little different. However, children with Asperger’s still don’t have a developed sense of communication competence. In 1944, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders included …show more content…
Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), have all been put under the same umbrella, Autism Spectrum Disorder ("DSM-V: What Changes May Mean | Autism Research Institute). There are three different levels that come with the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The levels are varied of how much the disorder is affecting the patient, some patients have a more severe case than others. There is more criteria to meet when talking about level three, they have updated the criteria and changed things from the old criteria. Doctors are looking for symptoms like repetitive behaviors, fixated interests, etcetera. Why they changed this was to hope to have a better idea of what autism is and not leaving the parents questioning what their child has. They want the disorder to be more understandable and reliable ("DSM-V: What Changes May Mean | Autism Research