If someone you don't know, and who has no knowledge of the condition, asks you 'what is Asperger's syndrome', how would you answer the question?. I am intrigued to know what your responses might be.
If someone you don't know, and who has no knowledge of the condition, asks you 'what is Asperger's syndrome', how would you answer the question?. I am intrigued to know what your responses might be.
Well, I'd say that nobody really fully understands it yet... just as we don't fully understand the human brain either... though we can agree that both are complex, and that it seems to rarely be advantageous reducing them to sound-bites.
I'd say that while there are numerous associated traits, the defining one is the biological inability to respond to non-vebal communication such as body language and facial expression - which is scientifically demonstrable (albeit with extremely sophisticated, exotic and expensive equipment).
I'd stress it's the biological rather than cognitive inability - that the quite common notion that such individuals are inherently sociopathic ('incapable of empathy') is a fallacy, and potentially a rather offensive one in some ways, given that every time somebody with Asperger syndrome manages to 'successfully' communicate with those around them, this is occuring 'against the odds' as they struggle with the difficulties that they naturally encounter in this context, which the majority of people don't have.
I'd suggest that this defining trait might be comparable to deafness in terms of a pervasive general impairment that affects their daily life, one that without completely shutting out all communication from their immediate (often primarily social) environment, shuts-out a substantial enough portion of it to affect their functioning significantly.
I'd even go so far as to describe it as 'body-deafness' (i.e. being 'deaf' to non-verbal communication) in terms of evoking the difficulties and isolation which can occur for individuals with the condition - and suggest this as an alternative term to that of 'mind-blindness' which can imply a lack of imagination, and the inability to understand other people 'full-stop' rather than a distinct impairment in terms of specific interpretations of social interaction.
Finally, I'd emphasis that apparently, people with the condition are more intelligent on average - suggesting that this distinguishing trait of a negative impairment is only half of the story, with the apparent genetic basis (indicating a natural tendency for the condition to be passed-on) potentially reinforcing this notion.
Then I'd want to question what 'intelligence' is and amounts to, in a social context... probably begin to question the validity and effectiveness of our educational system... and the meaningfulness of the bulk of our employment and so-on... but that's moving beyond your original question of course. :)
Well, I'd say that nobody really fully understands it yet... just as we don't fully understand the human brain either... though we can agree that both are complex, and that it seems to rarely be advantageous reducing them to sound-bites.
I'd say that while there are numerous associated traits, the defining one is the biological inability to respond to non-vebal communication such as body language and facial expression - which is scientifically demonstrable (albeit with extremely sophisticated, exotic and expensive equipment).
I'd stress it's the biological rather than cognitive inability - that the quite common notion that such individuals are inherently sociopathic ('incapable of empathy') is a fallacy, and potentially a rather offensive one in some ways, given that every time somebody with Asperger syndrome manages to 'successfully' communicate with those around them, this is occuring 'against the odds' as they struggle with the difficulties that they naturally encounter in this context, which the majority of people don't have.
I'd suggest that this defining trait might be comparable to deafness in terms of a pervasive general impairment that affects their daily life, one that without completely shutting out all communication from their immediate (often primarily social) environment, shuts-out a substantial enough portion of it to affect their functioning significantly.
I'd even go so far as to describe it as 'body-deafness' (i.e. being 'deaf' to non-verbal communication) in terms of evoking the difficulties and isolation which can occur for individuals with the condition - and suggest this as an alternative term to that of 'mind-blindness' which can imply a lack of imagination, and the inability to understand other people 'full-stop' rather than a distinct impairment in terms of specific interpretations of social interaction.
Finally, I'd emphasis that apparently, people with the condition are more intelligent on average - suggesting that this distinguishing trait of a negative impairment is only half of the story, with the apparent genetic basis (indicating a natural tendency for the condition to be passed-on) potentially reinforcing this notion.
Then I'd want to question what 'intelligence' is and amounts to, in a social context... probably begin to question the validity and effectiveness of our educational system... and the meaningfulness of the bulk of our employment and so-on... but that's moving beyond your original question of course. :)
