Symptoms of Asperger's

Asperger syndrome, or Asperger's, is a developmental disorder similar to high-functioning autism, characterized primarily by social interaction deficits but relatively normal cognitive development and functioning.

Language

• Few technical language deficits are associated with Asperger's, aside from some individuals' unusual intonation and loudness. Rather, the language symptoms of Asperger's have an abstract quality exhibited in speech patterns over time.

  Individuals with Asperger's may have a hard time understanding figurative speech like metaphors, fail to grasp humor and will often speak extensively on a limited subject in the fashion of a monologue.

Empathy

• A lack of natural empathy, the ability to identify and react to others' emotions, is a defining symptom of Asperger's. People with Asperger's do not respond to the social cues presented in other people's reactions. For example, an individual with Asperger's in a conversation would be unlikely to realize if and when the other person was restless or uncomfortable with the topic, and continue to talk.

  However, because individuals with Asperger's tend to have average cognitive function, they can often learn to distinguish social cues to exhibit greater empathy.

Specificity

• Individuals with Asperger's often have specific interests and activities. They will focus all their attention on a narrow subject such as a particular animal, learning all they can about that one animal, but will have little interest in animals or nature in a broader context.

  Because this narrow focus is common in young children---fascination with dinosaurs or horses, for example---it is often only in later years that this behavior may be noticed as abnormal.

Repetition

• People with Asperger's, like those with various degrees of autism, often have repetitive physical behaviors, and will move their hands or limbs in a particular way. These repetitive motions are more elaborate and controlled than involuntary tics such as an eye flutter.

Sleep

• Asperger's can cause individuals, particularly children, to have a harder time falling asleep than someone without the syndrome, and have more trouble staying asleep through the night.