Despite obvious differences, Many people continue to confuse autism and asperger's today. It is true that Asperger's has a series of characteristics that are common with autism, since it is considered as a disorder within said autism. Taking into account that they are two disorders that belong to the TEA, a child suffering from autism is not the same as one suffering from Asperger's.
In the following article we are going to help you differentiate clearly autism asperger syndrome.
What is Asperger syndrome?
Until a few years ago, Asperger's and autism were talked about as two different mental disorders. with its own characteristics and differences. However, today, what is known as Autism Spectrum Disorder encompasses both autism and asperger.
This is because despite the fact that there are certain differences between the two disorders, the diagnosis is usually the same or similar for both. The ASD It is going to be a disorder that affects the neurodevelopment of the child, specifically it affects two very clear and differentiated areas:
- Communication and interaction with other people.
- Referent repeating patterns to conduct and the interests.
Characteristics of Asperger syndrome
- They relate better to adults than with the children.
- Prefer play alone.
- Does not like the contact with the people.
- little tolerance to frustration.
- Little empathy.
- Literal interpretation in conversations with other people.
- You have good memory.
- Does not have sense of humor.
- relative problems to writing.
- Has trouble doing daily activities like dressing.
What are the differences between asperger syndrome and autism?
Despite the fact that both are included within the TEA, there are a number of aspects that are different in both disorders and that allow to differentiate them in a clear way:
Diagnosis
In the case of autism, parents may become aware of the disorder during the first months of life. They are slow to respond to certain stimuli compared to other children and its development is much later. In the case of Asperger, the diagnosis usually occurs much later, after 8 or 9 years of age. This occurs because its symptoms are less noticeable than in the case of autism.
Intelligence quotient
Other major differences between the two disorders are those relating to the child's IQ. In the case of autism, the scores on the intelligence test are normal or below average. In Asperger syndrome, children diagnosed with the disorder may get above average scores.
Language
Children who are diagnosed with autism have serious problems when it comes to starting to speak and their vocabulary is quite poor. This causes them to have difficulties to build relationships with others. In the case of Asperger, children with this syndrome usually stand out for a fairly rich and extensive vocabulary. They don't have language problems so their communication isn't bad.
Relationships
Regarding social relationships, there are big differences between autism and asperger. An autistic child does not want to interact with others and prefers to play alone. As for a child with Asperger, he wants to maintain social relationships with other children but the lack of empathy and problems related to established norms cause him to remain isolated. lack of social skills They lead to difficulties in socializing.
motor system
A child with autism does not have any type of problem with the motor system, while in the case of Asperger's the motor problems are evident and represent a problem on a day-to-day basis. The child feels helpless and clumsy something that negatively affects their relationships.
School performance
Autism usually causes problems in the development of the child, something that, as is normal, has a negative impact on their school performance. Given this, it is important to make an early diagnosis to make a series of adaptations that allow the child to perform adequately. On the contrary, a child with Asperger usually does well in school, especially in certain areas in which he stands out, such as mathematics. Said interest can be so great that they can become obsessed with said subject. Either way, children with Asperger's usually do well in school.
Stereotypes
Stereotypes are often another difference between autism disorder and asperger syndrome. An autistic child usually present various stereotypes as it can be the case of the movement of hands. Stereotypes do not usually occur in Asperger.
In short, broadly speaking it can be said that in the case of autism the main difficulty occurs when it comes to developing language in an optimal way. In the case of Asperger, the main problem that the little one encounters occurs when it comes to maintaining good social relationships with other children. The lack of empathy and some difficulty in managing emotions are the main culprits of such socialization problems.
To this day there is still a great fear on the part of parents in relation to the diagnosis that their children could suffer regarding autism or asperger. In any case, it is not good to label a child with ASD in the face of certain signs. Diagnosis is key when confirming if the child suffers from some type of disorder such as autism or if, on the contrary, he only suffers a small delay in learning and development. In the case of being diagnosed as ASD, it is important to indicate that within autism and asperger there are different degrees or types. The important thing in any case is to help the child as much as possible so that she can lead a normal life within the problem she has.