Individuals
with Asperger Syndrome range from people who may be considered a little eccentric
to people who have serious difficulties socially, educationally, and
professionally because they lack basic understanding of human interactions.
People in the latter group often have to learn by rote things that other people
consider common sense, such as how to read facial expressions, tones of voice
(like sarcasm), and verbal expressions (such as “raining cats and dogs”).
Many
people with Asperger’s have brilliant intellects yet are naïve and easily taken
advantage of by others because they interpret situations at face value and miss
social cues. Generally, “Aspies” lack common emotional responses and must learn
appropriate social skills to function within society, but they’re typically
considered high functioning and may never be diagnosed at all. No obvious
language delay comes with Asperger Syndrome; however, language tends to develop
in a unique manner. Professionals dispute whether Asperger’s should even be
considered a disorder. People affected don’t show the same delays in cognitive
development or curiosity about their environment that people with classic
autism do in childhood.
One
well-known person with Asperger Syndrome is Liane Holliday Willey — a doctor of
education, a writer, and a researcher — who realized she had the syndrome only
after her daughter received a diagnosis. In her book, Pretending to be Normal:
Living with Asperger’s Syndrome (Jessica Kingsley Publishers), Willey explains
how an undiagnosed individual often feels different from others but doesn’t
know why. The person doesn’t seek a cure, only acceptance. “No matter what the
hardships,” Willey writes, “I do not wish for a cure to Asperger Syndrome. What
I wish for is a cure for the common ill that pervades too many lives; the ill
that makes people compare themselves to a normal that is measured in terms of
perfect and absolute standards, most of which are impossible for anyone to
reach.” Co-author Stephen Shore was once considered uneducable, but he has
written poignantly about his struggles to understand social protocols that
others take for granted. Now considered to have Asperger Syndrome, Shore has
written two other books and numerous articles.
You
must understand that people with Asperger’s don’t lack feelings; their brains
just function in such a way that they have trouble accessing and expressing
feelings to others in a traditional manner.
