Asperger's Syndrome Research Paper

Asperger's syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder, which is part of a distinct group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by social impairment, communication difficulties, and restrictive, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behaviors. The syndrome is named after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger who, in 1994, studied and described children in his practice who lacked nonverbal communication skills, demonstrated limited empathy with their peers, were physically clumsy, and possessed limited motor skills. In 1981, the modern definition of Asperger's was developed and by the 1990s scientists were researching a cure. He noted that their speech was either disjointed and underdeveloped or extremely formal, and their obsession …show more content…
They often lack the ability to modulate the volume of their voices to match their surroundings, which can create awkward situations. For instance, when you enter a library with a person affected by Asperger's syndrome, you have to constantly remind them to keep their voice levels down, as you would a small child. Unlike the severe withdrawal from the rest of the world that is characteristic of autism, children with Asperger syndrome tend to be isolated because of their poor social skills and narrow interests. Children with the disorder will gather massive amounts of factual information about a specific topic (i.e. molecular formation) and chatter mindlessly about it for hours, but the conversation will never have any real direction. Scientists have long suspected that genetic and environmental components are linked to Asperger's syndrome and the other Autism Spectrum Disorders because they have a tendency to run in families and their high concordance with twins and other sets of multiples. A specific gene for Asperger's syndrome has yet to be identified. Instead, the most recent research indicates that there are most likely a common pool of genes whose variations or deletions make an individual vulnerable to developing Autism Spectrum …show more content…
Although no specific gene has been identified as of now, multiple factors are believed to play a role in the expression of autism, given the phenotypic variability seen in children with Asperger's. Additional research has shown that there have been higher incidences of family members of people with Asperger's displaying some of the behavioral symptoms associated with Asperger's syndrome, but to a much lesser

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