Exams Tests and Places to Get Help For Those With Asperger's Syndrome

The doctor will take a medical history and ask questions regarding the child's development including his or her motor development, language development, and any special interests that the child has expressed.

The doctor will take a medical history and ask questions regarding the child's development including his or her motor development, language development, and any special interests that the child has expressed. Social interactions will be noted and a history of the pregnancy and any family medical history or medical conditions will also be ascertained.

Exams and tests will be performed to help determine if Asperger's syndrome is the correct diagnosis for your child.

Testing will probably include a Psychological Assessment, a communication assessment, and a psychiatric examination. The psychological assessment will look at intellectual function, learning style and intelligence quotient (IQ) as well as an assessment of motor skills. Personality assessment tests may also be performed. The communication assessment involves speech and formal language evaluations where the child will be tested to see how well they understand the use of language and how to communicate ideas. The child will also be tested regarding the ability to understand non-verbal communication and nonliteral language skills, such as humor or metaphor. The child's voice regarding volume, stress, and pitch will be evaluated.

Asperger Syndrome Just because people with Asperger Syndrome are not good at social skills does not mean that they can't learn how to deal with social situations with practice and time. They particularly have difficult time dealing with parties, public transportation and situations like school where they have to mingle with others and relate to them. Having Asperger's Syndrome affects how a person interacts with the world around them. Asperger Syndrome

The psychiatric examination will include the child's family, peer relationships, reactions to new encounters and the ability to understand and respond to the feelings of others, and also the ability to interpret indirect communication such as sarcasm or teasing. Your child may be observed at home and at school. Signs of conditions such as anxiety and depression will be watched for during observations. Medical personnel will be looking for signs of compliance with the criteria set for Asperger's Syndrome in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is a publication of the American Psychiatric Association and used to be a standard for diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome and other Mental Disorders.

Many times a child is misdiagnosed with other conditions prior to be correctly diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Like most diseases and conditions it is often necessary to rule out other conditions and disorders when making a determination of a diagnosis. It is often a team effort that involves doctors, parents, teachers, psychiatrists, and others who have observed the behavior and communicative abilities of the child.

Places to get help for those with Asperger’s Syndrome:

There are many resources available to gather information concerning Asperger's Syndrome online and offline.

Online you can find information by going to Aspergerinfo.com or to the Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support Website located at:

 http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/
 

Other organizations that can give support and information about Asperger's Syndrome are:

Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership located in New York, USA and also online at:

http://www.grasp.org/

Families of Adults Afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome (FAAAS) located in Centerville, MA USA and on the Web at:

http://www.faaas.org/
 
MAAP Services for Autism and Asperger Syndrome located in Crown Point Indiana and on the Web at:

http://www.maapservices.org

Asperger's Syndrome

01/31/2012
Student with Asperger’s syndrome speaks against changing definition of autism
In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association is scheduled to make changes regarding the diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, Autistic Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

Student with Asperger’s syndrome speaks against changing definition of autism

01/20/2012
Proposed changes to autism definition may mean new diagnoses for people with Asperger's
Proposed changes to American Psychological Association's diagnostic manual may stop skyrocketing autism rates, experts said

Proposed changes to autism definition may mean new diagnoses for people with Asperger's

02/03/2012
'Best Practices': Learning To Live With Asperger's
David Finch was 30-years-old when he discovered that he was on the autism spectrum. In Journal of Best Practices, he describes how he learned to manage the disorder — and become a better husband and father in the process.

'Best Practices': Learning To Live With Asperger's

01/09/2012
Asperger's group seeks to demystify diagnosis
AMESBURY — For those diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at an early age, the teenage years can be especially challenging. The same goes for parents, teachers and anyone else who comes in contact with the neurological condition that affects the way sufferers socially interact with others.

Asperger's group seeks to demystify diagnosis

02/01/2012
Family: Boy, 15, shot to death after threatening, cutting police had autism disorder
Police in Calumet City shot and killed a 15-year-old boy with an autism disorder in his home after his family called police and he threatened officers and cut one with a knife, police and the boy's family said.Stephon Watts, 15, suffered from Asperger's syndrome, and family called police this morning after he became upset and did not want to go to school, said his mother, Danelene Powell-Watts ...

Family: Boy, 15, shot to death after threatening, cutting police had autism disorder