Symptoms of Asperger's syndrome (AS) and autism, most often, have been interchanged considering the many similarities in behavior that are apparent in children with these developmental disorders. It is said that Asperger's syndrome is a classification of autism and that is the reason some traits that are commonly associated with children with autism are visibly present in children with Asperger's disorder. Like autism, studies show that Asperger's is predominant in males than in females.

Usually, children diagnosed with these disorders have poor imagination when it comes to play time, are very sensitive to sound and noise, and may produce weird vocal intonations. They may also exhibit aggressive and destructive tendencies, are generally restless and prone to excessive hand gestures and movements, but have poor eye contact, and may suffer from lack of social skills due to their non-interest in emotions and ideas, among others.

To distinguish one from the other, children with AS generally have normal to above average level of intelligence. They have no language development problems, in fact, have a wide vocabulary, and are already very fluent by the time they reach the age of five unlike autistic kids who experience delays in the development of their language skills or do not acquire speech skills at all. Likewise, their interest in people grows as they reach adulthood, but for autistic kids, they remain detached and do not demonstrate curiosity in others.

Then why is AS considered a behavioral disorder? The primary reason is these children have difficulty in relating and interacting with other people. They may have well-developed language and speech skills, but communication is a problem for them. Following are examples of situations where they display their deficiency in social skills.

Relationships. Understanding the need for companionship or establishing relationships with others is difficult for them. They have little understanding of the concepts of love, trust, and sympathy, and cannot seem to put them into practice. Thus, they seem remote and aloof towards people.

Expression of Emotions. They cannot recognize one emotion from another, and because they cannot communicate their feelings well, they usually come across as frank and tactless. At other times, they also have a tendency to overreact even when a situation does not require such response.

Recognition of Contextual Meanings. They may have a strong vocabulary, but the problem is, they lack the ability to understand the meaning behind the language. As a result, they take things plainly and fail to read behind the lines.

Generalization of Instructions. Despite their language facility, children with AS find difficulty in applying instructions on a variety of situations. For example, if you tell them not to talk to strangers when they are in the streets, they understand that instruction plainly as relevant only when in streets and not when in other public places.

Fixation on Things. Children with AS may be obsessed with a skill, a toy, or a hobby. Thus, they can go on and on talking about this passion, without considering the need for communication or listening to another person's reactions.

Following Rules. Structure and organization is very important for children with Asperger's syndrome. Thus, they strictly adhere to instructions and routines, and tend to get frustrated when others do not follow or break set rules.

This disorder is manageable and controllable through behavioral rehabilitation. However, of primary importance is acceptance of parents and other family members of the situation. They must also be educated about the disorder so they will know how to address the needs of a child with Asperger's syndrome.

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