In order to answer your question, I'll start with some background information.
Pervasive Developmental Disorders (or PDDs) are a wide spectrum of neurobiological disorders, including Autism and Asperger Syndrome, which are characterized by a delayed or lack of development of communication and social skills. They are sometimes referred to as autism spectrum disorders. There are many characteristics that people with PDDs share, including: difficulties using and understanding language, difficulties relating to others, they may ignore the facial expressions of others, and they may not make eye contact with others.
Of the PDDs, Autism is the most well known. It was first identified almost 50 years ago and occurs in approximately 1 or 2 out of every 1,000 people. There are no physical features that make an autistic person "look" different than anyone else, however their behavior will make them stand out. People with Autism seem withdrawn and are unable to relate "normally" to their peers. Unlike children with other PDDs, those with Autism often cannot be coaxed out enough to be communicative. Many times children with Autism can be non-verbal and because they cannot explain what they need or want they sometimes can become frustrated and violent. If they are verbal, they are often unable to start a conversation, and are often characterized as talking "at" someone rather than "to" someone, e.g .they may monologue about a particular topic continually despite the efforts of another to interject. There are some people with Autism who are referred to as being "high-functioning", these individuals are able to communicate with others and participate in most of the daily activities that people who do not have Autism participate. They are often seen by their peers as being different or odd based on their behaviours which could be more similar to an individual with Aspergers.
Some characteristics of people with Autism are:
- resistance to change
- repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
- laughing (or crying) for no apparent reason showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
- preference to being alone
- tantrums
- little or no eye contact
- unresponsive to normal teaching methods
- sustained odd play
- spinning objects
- obsessive attachment to objects
- apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to painno real fears of danger
- non responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf
- flapping of hands or arms (either clapping, shaking, or flapping)
Asperger Syndrome is included in the Autism spectrum disorders. It is named after Hans Asperger. In 1940 Asperger first described a set of behavior patterns he observed in some of his patients. These behaviors include poor social interactions, obsessions, odd speech patterns, few facial expressions, and they may have sensitivity to sensory stimuli (light, sound, touch-clothing, taste). People with Asperger Syndrome are usually high functioning and generally have high I.Q.s. Think of Raymond from the movie "Rain Man" in which Dustin Hoffman plays a man with Asperger Syndrome. This is a relatively accurate portrayal of an adult with Asperger Syndrome (keep in mind it is a movie, and in it Raymond has been in an institution for several years). With Aspergers, an infant may be developing seemingly well even up until they are 3 years of age and then begin to regress especially in terms of speech and social interaction. In general, people with Aspergers are capable of functioning fairly well in life, however others may see them as odd or eccentric.
Some characteristics of people with Aspergers Syndrome are:
- abnormal nonverbal communication
- failure to develop peer relationships
- lack of seeking to share enjoyment, interests or achievements with other people (e.g. by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
- impaired expression of pleasure in other people's happiness
- inability to return social or emotional feelings
- difficulty with changes in routines or rituals
- repetitive finger flapping, twisting, or whole body movements
- obsession with specific areas of interest. Some examples are obsession with bus schedules, phone books, maps, or collections of objects
- repetitive behaviors, possibly including repetitive self-injuring behavior
- no general delay in language
- no delay in cognitive development, or in curiosity about the environment
It is important to keep in mind that people with PDDs are just that, people, they are individuals and the signs may not be the same in every case. The causes of PDDs are not known but scientists are working on finding them. They believe that they may be genetic and since DNA is so complex, it may take a while to determine the causes. In the past, like many other disorders, psychologists blamed the mother and/or the environment the child was growing up in, and we know that that is obviously not the cause.
You can check out these sites for more information:
http://www.driveforrebecca.org/resources.htm
http://www.autism-resources.com
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/learning/pervasive_develop_disorders.html
http://health.allrefer.com/health/aspergers-syndrome.html
http://health.allrefer.com/health/autism-info.htm
