Is Asperger's considered a disability?

Within the past year there have been news reports that many great minds of our civilization may have had autism, the high functioning form called Asperger's. Da Vinci, Newton, Einstein, and even Bill Gates have had stories written about them saying their behavior was consistant with Asperger's/Autism. Being a completly psychological diagnosis there is no way of saying a definate yes you have it or you are normal, as with diagnosing ADD/ADHD.

So does the medical world look at Asperger's as a disability or just another psychological disorder to go with the countless other function mental disorders out there?

I know for a fact that society/the social world looks at autism the same as mental retardation, which just shows how the masses or ignorant.

[edit on 15-7-2004 by jrod]

You won't get government benefits for having it here in the UK, so it's a disorder, not a disability, I think.

I know a guy who has it, he seems normal.
I read an article recently that said many trainspotters had it.

I am from Australia and I have a friend who's daughter has asperges and she has her on glyconutrients (Ambrotose) which is having fantastic results with her speech. You have nothing to loose. Its a food supplement, which works at a cellular level.

Originally posted by Zzub

I read an article recently that said many trainspotters had it.

I also heard that dungeon and dragons hardcore fans have it and any other fans of an obsessive hobbies. My friend in fife has it and seems normal at first but is almost obsessed with work which is the only characteristic I notice from him but apart from that normal.

My brother has been diagnosed with aspergers. Basically, it is on the autism spectrum but not anywhere NEAR the rainman-esque stereotype. My brother attends the 4th grade but he has no friends his own age and has a hard time relating to his classmates. He loves to talk to adults, and does math on a high school level. He has difficulty reading between the lines and tends to take things very seriously. He also repeats statements multiple times, mostly to himself.

What makes his case unique, is that his Aspergers is coupled with generalized seizures. He has them at the same time every month, give or take a day. You could set your clock by it. I don't know for a fact if this is related or not.

Just like autism, Aspergers patients are on a spectrum. Meaning that the symptoms very in intensity from mild to completley detatched.

Asperger's, as has been already mentioned, is on the autism spectrum, but lies closer to the normal side than your "Rainman"s. They tend to have autism/idiot savant like qualities in that they have one talent that is ridiculously enhanced, be it drawing, math, you name it. They also are prone to social inadequacies, in that they are very clumsy when it comes to social involvements. Examples include lack of eye contact when speaking, or inability to pick up on social cues (like laughing at someone's joke, things like that), but otherwise are very normal in their everyday activities. I actually do functional neuroimaging researach, and one of the labs I help out is actually looking at functional and structural differences in asperger brains versus normal and schizophrenic brains using fMRI and MEG modailties. Not much is really know about Asperger's, as it is still relatively new disorder in psychiatric and neuroscience circles. So the long and short- it's a disorder at this moment (US at least), and as far as research is concerned, it's still trying to gain momentum like the other neuroscience based research genres gained in the mid to late 90's...

Originally posted by Zzub

I read an article recently that said many trainspotters had it.

I knew there had to be a medical explanation for that. It's just too bizarre. Apparently Glenn Gould had it too. (Though a post mortem diagnosis of this kind is entirely subjective)

Originally posted by Panamint
Asperger's, as has been already mentioned, is on the autism spectrum, but lies closer to the normal side than your "Rainman"s. They tend to have autism/idiot savant like qualities in that they have one talent that is ridiculously enhanced, be it drawing, math, you name it. They also are prone to social inadequacies, in that they are very clumsy when it comes to social involvements. Examples include lack of eye contact when speaking, or inability to pick up on social cues (like laughing at someone's joke, things like that), but otherwise are very normal in their everyday activities. I actually do functional neuroimaging researach, and one of the labs I help out is actually looking at functional and structural differences in asperger brains versus normal and schizophrenic brains using fMRI and MEG modailties. Not much is really know about Asperger's, as it is still relatively new disorder in psychiatric and neuroscience circles. So the long and short- it's a disorder at this moment (US at least), and as far as research is concerned, it's still trying to gain momentum like the other neuroscience based research genres gained in the mid to late 90's...

Yep Panamint, if you read my post, you will notice my brother having most of those symptoms. Namely, the i"nability to pick up on social cues" and the awesome skill in math.

You say that you work at a lab that is working with images of Asperger's brains. Is there any evidence of anything that might linked the generalized seizerus that my brother seems to exhibit?

I would have to concur that Asperger's is a form of Autism. I had a former roommate that was both afflicted with Asperger's and Obsessive/Compulsive disorders.

Normally a very sweet soul, but he had difficulty with complex social circumstances. He also would freak out(I don't mean this in a mean way...) over mundane situations, such as spilling a drink, tripping over something, breaking something valuable(if he even notices), or being (god forbid) rejected by someone. He was a very educated and enlightened person who would move heaven and earth to help a fellow person, but if it meant a distinct inconvienence he would instantly become rather avoidant, expecting someone else to handle it.

After hearing that Zoloft was designed for depressed people, I am not surprised that the drug flat lined his personality. I do not think it was a wise decision by his prescribing psychologist(sp?). He recently stopped taking the meds and is able to feel like himself again, but that also includes the negative behaviors too. I wonder, is there a medication that would allow him to experience and enjoy positive circumstances and still block out negative responses?

Originally posted by DreamReality

Originally posted by Panamint
Asperger's, as has been already mentioned, is on the autism spectrum, but lies closer to the normal side than your "Rainman"s. They tend to have autism/idiot savant like qualities in that they have one talent that is ridiculously enhanced, be it drawing, math, you name it. They also are prone to social inadequacies, in that they are very clumsy when it comes to social involvements. Examples include lack of eye contact when speaking, or inability to pick up on social cues (like laughing at someone's joke, things like that), but otherwise are very normal in their everyday activities. I actually do functional neuroimaging researach, and one of the labs I help out is actually looking at functional and structural differences in asperger brains versus normal and schizophrenic brains using fMRI and MEG modailties. Not much is really know about Asperger's, as it is still relatively new disorder in psychiatric and neuroscience circles. So the long and short- it's a disorder at this moment (US at least), and as far as research is concerned, it's still trying to gain momentum like the other neuroscience based research genres gained in the mid to late 90's...

Yep Panamint, if you read my post, you will notice my brother having most of those symptoms. Namely, the i"nability to pick up on social cues" and the awesome skill in math.

You say that you work at a lab that is working with images of Asperger's brains. Is there any evidence of anything that might linked the generalized seizerus that my brother seems to exhibit?

No link that I've seen or heard. The only thing that seems consistently agreed upon is its place in the autism/OCD spectrum. Yet, my background with this stuff is limited, at least from the psychaitric/neurocognitive perspective on neurological disorders; my background is in neurosurgery. I dont think there are any facts to really back my hypothesis, but I have noticed in the past that people with epilepsy/ seizure disorder, especially those who presented at infancy/early childhood, have a tendency to present with their initial onset of seizures after a fever. This infancy/early childhood fever link is also found in schizophrenics (at least early onsetters), and also autistics. Since Asperger's has much in common with both of these disorders, there could be some roundabout link to your brothers seizures and a fever as a newborn to go with his daignosis of Asperger's. Again, just an on-the -fly hypothesis of mine, which gets blown out of the water if your brother never had any bouts with a fever very early on in his life.

You should probably know that I have asbergers.

Aspergers

I am a stay at home Mr. Mom , for an aspergers child. He is 5.6 years old in Kindergarden. He reads at a 3 grade level and his math skills are aound the same. He has trouble with his social skills , IE picking up on cues from other children. When I met him at 3 , he could not speak at all ,only grunt , now he has a vocabulary close to an adult. In school he has been a distrubace to his class and has an aid to help control his behavour.. At least three articals in the local newspaper told us that the parents where mad that there child was in the same class room , because he likes to hug and kiss other children. Still this has been taken care of by us telling him each day not to do this , yet a mother of another child has repeatedly wrote the newspaper against him. I am amazed at what they think of him , I do think that someday he will be something great .When he is with adults he is free and easy with the spocken word , but with children his age just learning the word THE < AND , he does not get along with. Special he is..

I wonder if my son might be autistic.

He just turned 3 a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't talk, though I have heard him babble and we have heard him say a few words--but rarely.

He understands things just fine, though. He constantly points to things, especially letters and numbers, and grunts, wanting you to name them. On the flip side, if you ask him to point to a certain letter, number, or color, he's able to do that.

He hardly has a tantrum, and when he does, it's not for no particular reason, but because he's not getting his way, like a typical 3-year-old. He seems to pick up on social cues--like he'll get this mischievous smirk and start tickling a bare foot. The more you laugh, the more he laughs. He picks up on when you're upset with him for being naughty.

I'm told he's "behind" in his gross and fine motor skills. I'm not sure I even know what that means. I see nothing wrong with him, except that he won't (or can't) talk. He does go to speech and occupational therapies.

I do think he seems to be somewhat disconnected in a way--I don't know how else to describe it. But like I said, he understands commands just fine and generally does what he's told--though if you tell him nap time or bed time, he'll fuss but usually go!

This morning I got nail clippers and told him I wanted to cut his nails. He gave me a hand and held still while I cut his nails. I tell him I want to get his glasses on him (he's farsighted and has a lazy right eye), he'll hold still and let me put them on him--and he'll push them up if he needs to. I can ask him to put water in a cup and he knows how to work the water dispenser. My sister-in-law says he's an easy baby.