I posted this a while ago, but I'm assuming many new members/viewers who haven't seen this would probably find this of value. It's a breakdown of the observations by Hans Asperger of the children he saw (note many of the symptoms of Kanner's Autism, especially the sensory sensitivities that are often neglected in Asperger's today, as well as aloof behaviour with some of his children):
Quote:
Abnormal eye gaze
* Hardly ever does the glance fix on a particular object or person.
* The gaze goes past the other person or, at most, touches them incidentally in passing.
* Glance does not meet glance as it does when unity of conversational contact is established.
* Does not generally bother to look at the person who is speaking.
* Faraway glance
* The gaze becomes extremely expressive and eyes light up when he is intent upon some malicious act.
Abnormal facial and gestural expression
* Has a paucity of facial and gestural expression.
* While talking, the face is mostly slack and empty.
* Sometimes has a tense, worried look.
* There is a paucity of other expressive movements/gestures.
Abnormal Social Relationship
* Increased personal distance.
* As if alone in the world.
* Dwells among people as if a stranger or an alien.
* Is oblivious to the surrounding noise and movement and seems to take no notice of what happens
around him.
* Sits preoccupied, perhaps apart in a corner, or even in the middle of a happy, noisy group of siblings
or peers, and is inaccessible in his preoccupation.
* Is irritated if someone breaks into his isolation.
* May demand a service or simply start a conversation on a theme of his own choosing. (All this goes
without any regard for differences in age, social rank or common courtesies just as he unconcernedly lean
on others.)
* Has an obsession of going his own way in all circumstances and exclusively use of his own self-invented procedures.
* Follows only his own wishes, interests and spontaneous impulses, without considering restrictions
or prescriptions imposed from outside
* Is disobedient and has frequent negativistic reactions including refusing to do what one is required to do
or doing exactly the opposite
* Lacks any respect for the other person.
* Jumps and rampage around the room, infringe other people's space.
* Has a genuine defect in understanding of other person.
* Never tries to flatter or tries to be nice.
* Is aggressive and annoying.
* Is spitefulness and cruelly tormented his little brother.
* Has calculated acts of malice. (With uncanny certainty, he manages to do whatever is the most unpleasant
or hurtful in a particular situation.)
* Does not seem to be able to sense how much he hurts others, either physically or mentally.
* Has a sadistic trait and sometimes has distinctly sadistic acts.
* Has a particular sensitivity for the abnormalities of other children.
* Is often tormented and rejected by his classmates simply because he is different and stands out from
the crowd. (His conduct, manner of speech and, not least, often grotesque demeanor cries out to be ridiculed).
* Does not have a sense of humor.
* Does not understand jokes, especially if the joke is on him.
Abnormal Speech
* The voice is soft and far away.
* The voice sounds refined and nasal.
* The voice is too shrill and ear-splitting.
* Has sing-song voice.
* The voice does not go down at the end of a sentence.
* The speech sounds like exaggerated verse-speaking.
Abnormal or Unusual Language
* Has unnatural language that provokes ridicule in the naïve listener.
* Language is not directed to the addressee and is often spoken as if into empty space.
* Has a special creative attitude towards language.
* Has a spontaneous way with words and can produce novel but apt expressions.
* The choice of words can be quite unusual.
Unusual Interests and knowledge of certain topics
* Has a particular interest in certain subject (e.g., natural sciences, chemistry,).
* Has specialised technological interests and knows an incredible amount about complex machinery.
* Has specialised interests in experiments which create noise and smells.
* Was obsessed with poisons and had a most unusual knowledge in this area (and possessed a large
collection of poisons).
* Was preoccupied by numbers.
* Has crackpot interests which are of no practical use (e.g., knows the name of the saint for every day
of the year, or knows all the train lines of a city with their terminals, or shows other feats of rote memory.
* Has the ability to see things and events around them from a new point of view, which often shows
surprising maturity.
* Has a rare maturity of taste in art.
* Thinks about problems that are usually far beyond the interests of other children of the same age.
* Complex calculations were naturally easy for him without being taught.
* Astonishes teachers with advanced and clever answers but fail miserably at lessons.
* Learns only with the help of elaborate rules and laws.
* Has a surprisingly sophisticated understanding, being able to distinguish between art and kitsch with great confidence.
* Has a special understanding of works of art which are difficult even for many adults. (Can judge accurately the events
represented in the picture, as well as what lies behind them, including the character of the people represented and the
mood that pervades a painting.
* Has clarity of vision.
* Has abstraction ability.
Cognitive Function
* There are numerous unequivocally ret*d people who show the typical and unmistakable characteristics of
autistic psychopathy.
Stereotypies
* Often engaged in stereotypic activities (e.g., rhythmic rocking, monotonous play with a shoelace which
goes on for hours or with a particular toy, for instance, a whip or an old doll, which is treated almost
like a fetish).
* Often enjoys rhythmical beating and hitting, and forming patterned rows with toys, for instance,
sorts toy bricks according to color, form or size, or according to some other unfathomable rule rather
than building with them.
* It is usually impossible to tear him away from his play or preoccupations.
Abnormal Affect
* Tends to become nervous and anxious.
* Is rarely relaxed and carefree.
* When in a merry mood, often strikes one as unpleasant.
* The mood is exaggerated and immoderate.
* Lack the displays of affection.
* Often turns nasty when one tries to be nice to him.
* Has most severe tantrums at any attempt to take away the object of such passionate attachment.
* There are serious rows when the mother dares to throw anything away.
Abnormal Response to Sensory Stimuli
* In the sense of taste - very pronounced likes and dislikes.
* There is often a preference for very sour or strongly spiced food.
* Often there is an insurmountable dislike of vegetables or dairy produce.
* With the sense of touch - abnormally strong dislike of particular tactile sensations for example, velvet,
silk, cotton wool or chalk; cannot tolerate the roughness of new shirts, or of mended socks.
* Cutting fingernails is often the cause of tantrums.
* Washing water can often be a source of unpleasant sensations and, hence, of unpleasant scenes.
* There is hypersensitivity against noise. Yet the same child who is often distinctly hypersensitive to noise
in particular situations, in other situation may appear to be hypo-sensitive. They may appear to be
switched off even to loud noises.
* Has no sense or feeling and may run his fingers over complete strangers as if they were a piece of furniture,
so he imposes himself without shyness on anybody.
Problems with Personal Hygiene
* Does not have a proper attitude towards his own bodies. It is often impossible to teach him the numerous
requirements of cleanliness and physical care.
* Tends to walk about unkempt and unwashed.
* Tends to be extremely messy eaters. (May smear or 'paint' with food while being preoccupied with some strange problem).
Abnormal Relations to Objects
* He takes no notice of the objects in his environment, for instance, he takes little interest in toys.
* He has abnormal fixations. Perhaps he fixates on a whip or a wooden brick or a doll that they never let out
of their sight, and cannot eat or sleep when the 'fetish' is not there.
* The relationship to things is limited to collecting. He accumulates things merely in order to possess them,
not to make something of them, to play with them or to modify them.
* In adulthood the passion for collections often becomes more interesting and selective, in short,
more 'rational', and their mental attitude to collecting improves.
* Has undoubted emotional attachments to animals and to particular people.
Attentional Difficulties
* Follows his own ideas and does not like to be distracted from his thoughts.
* Not interested in directing his attention to outside stimuli (what the school wants him to attend to).
* Obeying only spontaneous impulses and never paying attention to social demands lead to learning failure.
* Prone to being distracted from within.
* Appears like an absent-minded professor.
* Moves constantly and the movements are mostly stereotypic and have no expressive value.
Eating and Sleep Difficulties
* Has a frequent eating difficulty.
* Has frequent sleep difficulties.
Abnormal Sexuality
* Is not interested in heterosexual relationship.
* Does intensive and obstinate masturbation and is difficult to stop.
* Masturbates in public, exhibitionistically, and cannot be made to desist.
* Has homosexual acts.
* Has a tendency to use obscene words
* There is often a definite disharmony, either a weakness or precocity and perversion, but no
harmonious integration of sexuality into the developing personality.
17 Dec 2008, 11:12 am
