Memories, detail-oriented, with a knack for math: what it’s like to live with Asperger’s syndrome

Every February 18 is celebrated International Asperger Syndrome Day, a neurodevelopmental condition that is in the spectrum of autism. According to the Argentine Asperger’s Association (AsAAr), it is “one more variant of human diversity that accompanies people throughout life. It influences the way they make sense of the world, process information and relate to others ”.

Like other neurodevelopmental disorders, Asperger’s Syndrome is a disease that often goes unnoticed or is unknown in the community. In this context, the event seeks to disseminate and raise awareness of this condition and thus work for the non-discrimination of those who present it.

Although Asperger’s syndrome is considered in autism spectrum disorders, the symptoms that develop are far from those expected in a more compromised picture of autism. “People with this disease have an onset of speech within the expected age and tend to speak precisely, almost like adults, although they are short; which leads the family to confuse them with gifted or extremely adult people ”, began by explaining Andrea Abadi, psychiatrist and director of the child and youth service at Cites Ineco.

The prevalence of the syndrome in childhood is estimated to be between 0.02% and 0.03%, but the difficulties that children with this disease are accustomed to teaching seldom lead to a diagnosis since they are generally considered to be particular behaviors. . So, It is only with better knowledge and visibility of this disorder that its early detection can be stimulated to avoid a feeling of incomprehension in people who have it.

At this point, Francisco Musich, head of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychology of the Ineco Foundation, pointed out that, In the case of women, this is all the more frequent as they often present more subtle and attenuated characteristics and greater capacities of camouflage with the social environment. This combination of more subtle aspects, better abilities to go unnoticed in their social environment, and interests on many occasions very similar to those shared by others creates great challenges for their identification and subsequent assistance in a timely manner.

In general, although each person is unique, Dr María del Pilar Carnicer, of the Child and Youth Mental Health Service at the Southern University Hospital, explained that individuals “are distinguished by their capacities related to hard, rational, unambiguous and hyper-logical intelligence, such as memory, attachment to detail, ease of mathematics, technology and logical thinking”, among others.

The specialist assured that these were people recognized for their altruism, honesty and loyalty with high human values. And he explained that “the difficulty arises in specific situations in which it is necessary to read and classify several variables at the same time, in areas related to emotional intelligence where the plurality of meanings is abundant and which are indispensable when ‘we operate in social environments. “

Among the characteristics that accompany them in their development and which must be taken into account in the therapeutic approach are the lack of social reciprocity and the absence of the ability to understand jokes or metaphors.. “The symptomatic conglomerate is characterized by a lack of capacity for empathy and by difficulties in communicating with one another, beyond presenting perfect language,” said Abadi.

Thus, there are problems in the perception of non-verbal aspects of language. Carnicer explained that people with Asperger’s syndrome “tend to be literal and have limitations in interpreting jokes and metaphors, so they need help to be able to access this information from others. means”.

However, just as they can represent certain limitations such as those mentioned, they also manifest certain positive strengths or characteristics that distinguish them. and that they should be able to promote greater inclusion of people with Asperger’s:

– Their particular interest in infrequent topics or the level of depth and thoroughness with which they study the content.

– The ability to store large amounts of information, especially on topics of interest.

– The ability to learn in a self-taught way, to be able to generate new solutions to problems.

– The tendency to speak the truth, even in an evil way and to follow rules, stipulated by the company or the context.

These qualities can be very different in positions that require organization and adherence to strict guidelines.

To the extent that we as a society can be open to understanding them as unique individuals, with skills to develop and strengths to discover, people with Asperger’s syndrome can find a place of social inclusion, school, professional and family without inconvenience. With the right supports and interventions, it is possible to de-stigmatize this condition and work for a more inclusive community.

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