by Ralph Yancy

Created on: September 28, 2010   Last Updated: September 29, 2010

Asperger’s Disorder is a neuro-psychiatric disorder characterized by specific delays and deviance in social, communicative and cognitive development, with an onset typically in the first years of life (Kennedy, 2002).  Specifically, the essential features of Asperger’s Disorder are severe and sustained impairment in social interaction and the development of restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities (American Psychiatric Association-DSM-IV-TR, 2000).

The disorder must cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other significant areas of performance.  In contrast to Autistic Disorder, there are no clinically significant delays in early language.  Individuals with Asperger’s Disorder do not have clinically significant delays in cognitive development or in age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior and curiosity about the environment in childhood.  Although observed in Autistic Disorder, Mental Retardation is not usually observed in Asperger’s Disorder.

 Asperger’s Disorder must be distinguished from other Pervasive Developmental Disorder.  Subjects diagnosed with the disorder, fail to develop relationships that are age appropriate, are definitely impaired in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye contact, and lack social or emotional reciprocity.

 Diagnosis of Asperger’s Disorder does not go without event.  Perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of Asperger’s Disorder lies in the fact that many clinicians disregard the DSM-IV criteria and use definitions of Asperger’s that are influenced by literature or popular beliefs.  Various clinical uses of Asperger’s  Diagnosis include higher-functioning autism, sub-threshold pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, and right-hemisphere learning problems (Mayes, Calhoun, and Crites, 2001). This controversy owes its evolution to the symptom similarity for both disorders. Typically, many Pervasive Disorders are almost indistinguishable based on their presenting symptoms.

 Another popular diagnostic controversy is that the DSM-IV positions Autism over Asperger’s Disorder (Volkmar, et al, 2000).  Moreover, many studies demonstrate that the majority of children with the clinical diagnosis of Asperger’s Disorder also meet the DSM_IV criteria for autism.  DSM-IV criteria for Asperger’s Disorder

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