Asperger Syndrome

NAVIGATION PANEL

Asperger Syndrome
Asperger & Social Skills
 Test For Asperger's
Getting A Diagnosis
Personal Accounts
 Career & Autism
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Links

www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/aswhatisit.html

Asperger Syndrome is named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger. In 1944, he published a paper a behavior in several boys who had normal intelligence and language, but exhibited autistic-like behaviors and deficiencies in social and communication skills. Though published in the 1940's, it wasn't until 1994 that Asperger Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and recognized by professionals.

Asperger's Syndrome has a variety of characteristics and can range from mild to severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest.

They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It's important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently. Therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness, bad behavior, or "improper parenting".

Persons with AS can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context. A child may have a wonderful vocabulary and even demonstrate hyperlexia but not truly understand the nuances of language and have difficulty with language pragmatics. Social pragmatics also tend be weak, leading the person to appear to be walking to the beat of a "different drum".

Motor dyspraxia (inhibited coordination) can be reflected in a tendency to be clumsy. In social interaction, many people with Asperger's syndrome demonstrate gaze avoidance and may actually turn away at the same moment as greeting another. The children I have known do desire interaction with others but have trouble knowing how to make it work. They are, however, able to learn social skills much like you or I would learn to play the piano.

Many of the weaknesses can be remediated with therapy aimed at teaching social and pragmatic skills. Anxiety leading to significant rigidity can be also treated medically. Although it is harder, adults with Asperger's can have relationships, families, happy and productive lives.

There is growing evidence that Asperger Syndrome may be caused by a variety of factors that affect brain development and sensory perception. It is not uncommon for a child who was initially diagnosed with ADD or ADHD be re-diagnosed with AS.

Common Traits:


  • Excellent rote memory
  • Generally anxious and unable to cope with any form of criticism or imperfection
  • Can be the victims of teasing in a school environment, which may cause them to withdraw into isolated activities
  • Often appear clumsy and may have an unusual gait or stance
  • Often have a good vocabulary but have dificulty in non-literal social communication.
An example of the "literal" type of communication used by someone with Asperger's: He referred to a hole in his sock as "a temporary loss of knitting".

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Other Points

  • Fluorescent lighting causes severe problems for many autistic people, because they can see a sixty cycle flicker. Household electricity turns on and off sixty times each second, and some autistic people see this. Problems with flickering can range from excessive eyestrain to seeing a room pulsate on and off.
  • People with autism require much more time than others to shift their attention between auditory and visual stimuli, and they find it more difficult to follow rapidly changing, complex social interactions. "If I relate to people too much, I become nervous and uncomfortable." Using videotapes to observe people's emotional & social reactions helps develop this area.
    Career Issues:

  • greater need for sensory stimulation
  • disinclined to extemporaneous speaking
  • resists change to working procedures
  • disinclined to "office politics" (doesn't recognize hierarchical routing, seeks direct communication with the person having information)
  • trouble recognizing or generating customary business/social "lies"
  • disinclined to use of metaphors
  • difficulty in recognizing questions as "rhetorical"


Social Skills

www.baltimorepsych.com/aspergers.htm

Social Skills Training: This is one of the most important facets of treatment for all age groups of people with Asperger's. The individual needs to learn body language the way an adult learns a foreign language. People with Asperger's must learn concrete rules for eye contact, social distance and the use of slang. Global empathy is difficult, but they can learn to look for specific signs that indicate another individual's emotional state. Social skills are often best practiced in a small group setting. Such groups serve more than one function. They give people a chance to learn and practice concrete rules of interpersonal engagement. They may also be a way for the participant to meet others like himself. Individuals with Asperger's do best in groups with similar individuals. If the group consists of street-wise, antisocial peers, the Asperger's individual may retreat into himself or be dominated by the other members.

Social Differences

Edited from: wikipedia

People with AS lack the natural ability to see the subtexts of social interaction. They have trouble communicating their own emotional state, (resulting in well-meaning remarks that may offend), or finding it hard to know what is "acceptable". The unwritten rules of social behavior that mystify so many with AS have been termed the "hidden curriculum". People with AS must learn these social skills intellectually rather than intuitively.

Non-autistics intuitively gather information about other people's cognitive and emotional states from clues in the environment and other people's facial expressions and body language, but, in this respect, people with AS are impaired; this is sometimes called mind-blindness.

A person with AS can have trouble understanding the emotions of other people: the "messages" from facial expression, eye contact and body language are often missed. This caused problems in their showing empathy with other people. They are usually shocked, upset and remorseful when told that their actions are hurtful or inappropriate. It is clear that people with AS do not lack emotions. Emotions are not usually shown in a conventional way. Sometimes, the opposite problem occurs: the person with AS is unusually affectionate to a significant other and misses or misinterprets signals from the other partner, causing the partner stress.

"Professorial" Speech...


People with AS typically have a highly pedantic way of speaking, using a far more formal register of language than appropriate for a context. A child with this condition may regularly speak in language that could easily have come from a university textbook, especially if it's their special area of interest. Individuals with AS may use words idiosyncratically, including new coinages and unusual juxtapositions. This can develop into a rare gift for humor (especially puns, wordplay, doggerel and satire).

In written language skills, no significant differences were found between standardized scores of AS & non-AS children; however, in hand-writing skills, the AS participants produced significantly fewer legible letters and words than the neurotypical group.

Narrow, intense interests


Asperger Syndrome can involve an intense and obsessive level of focus on things of interest. For example, one person might be obsessed with 1950s professional wrestling, another with computers, and another with building models out of matchsticks. Many of these are normal interests; the difference in people with AS is the unusual intensity of their interest. Repetitive interests in people with autism are more often in the domain of "how things work" and less often in the domain of "how people work", suggesting that the obsessions are not arbitrary, but reflect the AS focus on objects over people.

Sometimes these interests are lifelong; in other cases, they change at unpredictable intervals. In either case, there are normally one or two interests at any given time. In pursuit of these interests, people with AS often manifest extremely sophisticated reasoning, an almost obsessive focus, and a remarkably good memory for trivial facts. Hans Asperger called his young patients "little professors" because he thought they had as comprehensive and nuanced an understanding of their field of interest as university professors.

In school, they may be perceived as highly intelligent underachievers or overachievers, clearly capable of outperforming their peers in their field of interest, yet persistently unmotivated to do regular homework assignments. This proclivity toward intense interests can lead to unusual behavior, such as greeting a stranger by launching into a lengthy monologue about a special interest rather than introducing oneself in the socially-accepted way.

In general, orderly things appeal to people with AS. Some researchers mention the imposition of rigid routines (on self or others) as a criterion for diagnosing this condition. It appears that changes to their routines cause inordinate levels of anxiety for some people with this condition. Some people with AS experience varying degrees of sensory overload. Some may even be pathologically sensitive to loud noises.

Hans Asperger


In 1944, Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger observed four children in his practice who had difficulty integrating socially. Their intelligence appeared normal but they lacked nonverbal communication skills, failed to demonstrate empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy. Their way of speaking was either disjointed or overly formal, and their all-absorbing interest in a single topic dominated their conversations. Dr. Asperger called the condition "autistic psychopathy" and described it as primarily marked by social isolation. He also stated, "exceptional human beings must be given exceptional educational treatment, treatment which takes into account their special difficulties. Further, we can show that despite abnormality, human beings can fulfill their social role within the community, especially if they find understanding, love and guidance".

Asperger's observations were not widely known until 1981, when English doctor Lorna Wing published a series of case studies of children showing similar symptoms, which she called "Asperger's" syndrome. In 1994, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) included AS, making it a distinct diagnosis.

Asperger - Getting a Diagnosis What the Indicators Are

The "Triad of Impairments:"
http://www.brookdalecare.co.uk/www/asdinfo.php?mm=5&sm=16

  1. Impairment of social relationships
  2. Impairment of social communication, and
  3. Impairment of imagination*
* "Lack of imagination" refers to difficulty imagining alternative outcomes and finding it hard to predict what will happen next. It doesn't refer to creative ability.

The way that each individual is affected by the triad is along a continuum: one person may have more deficits in the area of imagination than in social relationships or social communication.



Hans Asperger defined the indicators as:

  • Social impairment - extreme egocentricity
  • Speech and language peculiarities
  • Repetitive routines
  • Motor clumsiness
  • Narrow interests
  • Non-verbal communication problems


"Social" Triad of Impairments:

  • Aloof - over-formal or stilted in social contact, to schizoid and isolative behavior, including becoming electively mute and complete withdrawal from interpersonal interactions. In extreme circumstances individuals may neglect all aspects of personal care and hygiene, some decompensate into a psychotic state.
  • Active but odd - own needs seen as priority. Little or no concept of consensus or compromise. Little or no understanding of social rules and societal norms. These difficulties are compounded by deficits in interpreting non-verbal behaviors, abstract concepts and complex social language.
  • Passive - accepts social approaches with indifference, will often comply with all requests, therefore making them vulnerable to exploitation. May show some pleasure in social contact, but make no spontaneous approaches. Has difficulties dealing with stress and changes in routines.

Getting A Diagnosis

From: www.autistic-spectrum-disorder.com/about11.html

Because Asperger syndrome has only really been recognised within the last 25 years, and barely heard about at all until during the last 15 years, many adults are still only just getting diagnosed after a lifetime of being different and not knowing why.

There are many different routes to getting a diagnosis, but one of the first places you could try is your family doctor.


Step 1 - Be Prepared

Read the diagnostic criteria and make notes of some examples relevant to yourself.

If you are an adult seeking a diagnosis for yourself, be ready to give examples of AS traits from your childhood. Recall reactions from parents, teachers, and other kids, to these traits.

You won't need to give the GP a life story. They just need to know that you have valid reasons for suspecting you meet the diagnostic criteria and that it has been life-long, not just a stage you are going through.

Practice talking about the issues you want to raise. If you haven't got someone to talk to, then just practice saying them out loud to yourself or writing them down. Take some notes along with you to refer to.


Step 2 - See Your GP

Make an appointment to see your GP specifically about Asperger Syndrome. (Don't try and tag it on to the end of a consultation about something else.)

Your GP will not diagnose you himself. What you are asking for is a referral to a specialist. The doctor won't do this unless he feels there is good cause to do so. They will want to know:

  • how you found out about Asperger syndrome
  • some examples you can give meeting the diagnostic criteria
  • why you want a diagnosis

Some doctors might be suspicious of your motives and be reluctant to refer you, so it is important to be persistent and quite clear about how important it is to you. He may actually be willing to refer you but not be sure who to refer you to.


Step 3 - The Referral Appointment

The term "diagnosis" is misleading, as it is more like a professional opinion that you are obtaining. The value of the opinion depends on the experience of the professional who gives it. A diagnosis certainly isn't is a pass or fail test.

A number of different doctors and health professionals may be involved in the actual diagnosis. You may have more than one appointment and see more than one specialist. It could take a long time until you get anything confirmed. It is important to ensure that whoever and whatever the consultant and/or diagnostic team is that they have some experience of diagnosing Asperger Syndrome.

Referral appointments can vary:

  • Sometimes they will just interview you
  • Sometimes they will want to speak to family
  • They might do some simple psychological tests

It can be a difficult experience. But if it really matters to you, then commit to pursuing the matter until you get the results you're seeking.


CHARACTERISTICS THAT CLINICIANS USE TO DIAGNOSE ASPERGER SYNDROME

This is from the "Australian Scale for Asperger Syndrome". Though it is directed toward diagnosing children, the symptoms are similarly relevant to adults with AS. As there is more interest in treating children, it is a bit more work for an adult to pursue a serious and accurate diagnosis. But take note of the criteria described here and apply it to pertinent examples from your life both in childhood and as an adult.

[A version of the original can be found on: www.aspennj.org/atwood.html ]

A: SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ABILITIES

1. Does the individual lack an understanding of how to play with other children? For example, unaware of the unwritten rules of social play

2. When free to play with other children, such as school lunchtime, does the individual avoid social contact with them? For example, finds a secluded place or goes to the library.

3. Does the individual appear unaware of social conventions or codes of conduct and make inappropriate actions and comments? For example, making a personal comment to someone but the individual seems unaware how the comment could offend.

4. Does the individual lack empathy, i.e., the intuitive understanding of another person's feelings? For example, not realizing an apology would help the other person feel better.

5. Does the individual seem to expect other people to know their thoughts, experiences and opinions? For example, not realizing you could not know about something because you were not with the child at the time.

6. Does the individual need an excessive amount of reassurance, especially in changing situations or when thing go wrong?

7. Does the individual lack subtlety in their expression of emotion? For example, the individual shows distress or affection out of proportion to the situation.

8. Does the individual lack precision in their expression of emotion? For example, not understanding the levels of emotional expression appropriate for different people.

9. Is the individual uninterested in playing competitive sports or activities with other children?

10. Is the individual indifferent to peer pressure? For example, does not follow the latest craze in toys or clothes.

B. COMMUNICATION SKILLS

11.Does the individual take a literal interpretation of comments? For example, is confused by phrases such as, "get your act together," "looks can kill," or "pull yourself up by your bootstraps".

12. Does the individual speak using unusual intonations? For example, the individual seems to have a "foreign" accent or monotone that lacks emphasis on key syllables.

13. When talking to the individual, does he appear uninterested in your side of the conversation? For example, not asking about or commenting on your thoughts or opinions on the topic.

14. When in a conversation, does the individual tend to use less eye contact than you would expect?

15. Is the individual's speech over-precise or pedantic? For example, talks in a formal way or like a walking dictionary.

16. Does the individual have problems repairing a conversation? For example, when confused by the speaker's choice of words, he does not ask for clarification but either switches to a familiar topic, or takes ages to think of a reply.

C. COGNITIVE SKILLS

17. Does the individual read books primarily for information not seeming to be interested in fictional works? For example, being an avid reader of encyclopedias and science books but not keen on adventure stories.

18. Does the individual have an exceptional long-term memory for events and facts? For example, remembering the neighbor's car license plate from several years ago, or clearly recalling events that happened many years ago.

19. Does the individual lack social imaginative play? For example, other children are not included in the child's imaginary games, or the child is confused by the pretend games of other children.

20. Is the child fascinated by a particular topic and avidly collects information or statistics on that interest? For example, the child becomes a walking encyclopedia of knowledge on vehicles, maps, or league tables.

21> Does the individual become unduly upset by changes in routine or expectation? For example, is distressed by going to school by a different route.

22. Does the individual develop elaborate routines or rituals that must be completed? For example, lining up the toys before going to bed.

E. MOVEMENT SKILLS

23. Does the individual have poor motor coordination? For example, is not skilled at catching a ball.

24. Does the child have an odd gait when running?

F. OTHER CHARACTERISTICS

Does the person display any of the following characteristics: (Check all that apply)

a. Unusual fear or distress due to:

  • ordinary sounds, e.g., electrical appliances
  • light touch on the skin or scalp
  • wearing particualr items of clothing
  • unexpected noises
  • seeing certain objects
  • noisy, crowded places, e.g., supermarkets
b. A tendency to rock backward and forward when excited or distressed

c. A lack of sensitivity to low levels of pain

d. Late in acquiring speech [more associated with basic Autism than with Asperger Syndrome]

e. Unusual facial grimaces or tics.


Getting Diagnosed as an Adult - National Autistic Society (UK) http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=255&a=3341

Personal Accounts

From: www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=120&a=2202
...Normal people seem to put a great deal of emphasis on independence, despite the fact that they are much more socially dependent than I am. I have lived independently now for most of the last 7 years. I really don't think total independence is all it's made out to be.... people have called Asperger Syndrome "nerd disorder" because it is a higher-functioning form of autism...I have a very good "guest mode" where I can appear quite normal; however, being forced to sustain guest mode for an extended period can, and has, lead to a serious breakdown. My ability to behave near normally at times has led others to believe that I can do it all the time and if I don't then I am lazy, unmotivated, manipulative, and deliberately annoying. No one expects a tightrope walker to do it all the time...

... If I was placed in a slight stress situation, words would sometimes overcome the barrier and come out.... a person with autism is: "I am what I think rather than what I feel" ...

When a "normal" person thinks about something, the facts and the emotions are combined into a seamless whole. (I now understood why so many people allow emotions to distort the facts.) As an autist, my mind always separates the two. Even when upset, I scan my mind for "What's the customary response for this type of event/conversation/behavior?"

I keep reviewing the facts until I can come to a logical conclusion. For me, social relationships have been learned solely by intellect and use of my visualization skills. All my thoughts are in pictures, like videotapes. When I encounter a new social situation I scan my data banks for a similar situation that I can use as a model to guide me. My data banks also contain an archive of previous experiences, even news articles about diplomatic relationships between different countries. I use these scenarios to guide me in different situations. I then run videotapes in my imagination of all the possible ways to predict how the other person might act. Other people appear ridiculous to me, unpredictable, emotional unguided missles who's trajectory I have to somehow "predict." I have great difficulty with new social situations if I cannot recall a similar situation to use as a guide. Over time, I have built up a tremendous library of memories of my past experiences, TV, movies, and newspapers to spare me the social embarrassments caused by my autism.

Dr. Asperger noted that autistic children observe themselves constantly. They see themselves as an object of interest. For most people social interactions and emotions are the most important thing in their life. I have emotions but they are more like child emotions and only when I was working on my book, Thinking in Pictures, I realized I'm missing emotional complexity in my life, but I have replaced it with intellectual complexity. I obtain great satisfaction out of using my intellect. I like to figure things out and solve problems. This really turns me on. When I observe emotional complexity in others, it is sort of a rhythm that goes on between a boyfriend and a girlfriend. I often observe this on airplanes. Sometimes I get to sit next to them. It is similar to observing beings from another planet. The relationship is what motivates them; but for me, it is figuring out how to design something.

Self-stimulation, obsessions, rituals etc. are common behaviors in autistic persons. Self-stimulation releases tension and regulates sensory input. It compensates for the lack of interpersonal stimulation autistic people experience. There's often a direct correlation between increases in self-stimulation and decreases in self-injury. When it's necessary to blend-in, self-stimulation needs to be modified, of course. But obsessions are an inherent part of autism, providing the "sense of reality" necessary to maintain one's sanity.

Playground teasing for autistic children is routine due to the way they appear to non-autists. Some people believe they should allow children to be bullied because it will "toughen them up", they need to learn to act normal, they brought it on themselves (by acting weird), or, simply, "kids will be kids". Teasing may not affect the more oblivious autistics. Some autists have very little awareness of other people as kids, let alone whether those people are teasing them.

But as they grow older, the teasing, beating, and social ostracism can lead to depresion, self-injury, and suicidality. Teasing and bullying can have very serious consequences. Training the kid in self-defense is essential. Don't impart the lie that the world is inherently fair. It's WAR, and any parent who doesn't enable their offspring to fight their enemies is leaving their kids' survival in the hands of every mal-adjusted idiot they will encounter.

CAREER & AUTISM

www.leadershipmedica.com/scientifico/sciefebbr03/scientificaing/2sedrane/2sedraning.htm
This brings up the importance of getting autistic people in high school and junior high school interested in something they can turn into a career. They need to build on their talents, such as art work and computer programming. Autistics also need mentors to explain the ways of the world and to help in selling themselves to get a job. In fact, getting and maintaining a job is one of the most difficult steps in the life of a person with autism; often during interviews, people are turned off by our direct manner, odd speech patterns and funny mannerisms.

While I was working at Corral Industries, I learned that being technically right was not always socially right. I criticized some sloppy welding in a very tactless way, and the workers got angry. The plant engineer gave me some good advice: "You must apologize to the workers before a small problem turns into a big one". He made me go to the cafeteria and apologize, and he helped me learn to criticize more tactfully. I quit the job at Corral Industries and continued to write for the Arizona Farmer Ranchman while I started my design business on a free-lance basis.

Free-lancing enabled me to avoid many of the social problems that can occur at a regular job. It meant I could go in, design a project, and leave before I got into social difficulties. I still don't easily recognize subtle social cues for trouble, though I can tell a mile away if an animal is in trouble. However, I would never stress enough how important it is that High Functioning and Asperger people develop their talents. There should be places for these guys to work, making shoes or painting for example: they need to be developed, they need to go to University. It is important to allow these people to get a job and, if there are difficulties at a regular job, you can avoid sensory problems being a free lance and working at home. But, I think also it's important to let all children with autism develop their talents from the beginning.


Career Comments


• "...Most people go into a new job and will be able to sum up the social hierarchy pretty quickly. They watch others to see how they are expected to behave. But a person with Asperger syndrome will probably have all their attention devoted to making sense of their environment and the work they are going to be asked to do."

• Social communication can be a big obstacle at work. You've got: Social bonding rituals like sarcastic banter and teasing; networking and developing rapport with colleagues; the pressure to perform well and impress at after-work social activities; handling bullies and exploiters; and projecting an image of competence and intelligence. Trying to do work and cope with all that at the same time is like doing the same job as the person next to you while blindfolded.


Autistic Spectrum Disorder

www.autisticsociety.org/autism-article562.html

Some of the world's most famous people showed signs of autism or Asperger's syndrome, according to Jo Douglas, of The Spectrum Diagnostic, Assessment and Therapy Centre in Belfast.

"People with autism have an ability to see the world differently and have moved society on," she said.

"People with Asperger's have went on to become mathematical geniuses.

"They also can brilliant actors, as they've a better ability to read a script and adapt the character."

"Asperger's Syndrome provides a plus - it makes people more creative,"said Professor Michael Fitzgerald, a leading expert at Dublin's Trinity College.

Historial Irish writer WB Yeats may have had an autism disorder, the professor believes.

He has just published a new book, about autism and creativity: Is there a Link Between Autism in Men and Exceptional Ability?

Professor Fitzgerald said that Yeats' parents were told he would never amount to much after he failed to get into Trinity College.

Even though he had problems with reading and writing and a poor academic record at school, he went on to write poetic works of art and win the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1923.

Famous people who, according to experts, have displayed signs of Autistic Spectrum Disorders include:

  • Jane Austen (1775 - 1817), English novelist and author of Pride and Prejudice.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), composer of classical music during 18th - 19th century.
  • Alexander Graham Bell (1847 - 1922), inventor of the telephone.
  • Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), scientist who developed the theory of relativity.
  • Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1951), Dutch painter.
  • Woody Allen (1935 - ), US comedian, director and actor.
"Did You Know..."
  • There are about nine males with Asperger syndrome for every one female with the disorder.
Links


"Aspger Syndrome" - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome

http://www.wrongplanet.net/forums.html Messageboard - Multiple threads incl. "singles" - www.wrongplanet.net

http://www.as-if.org.uk/employment.htm - Asperger's & Employment - Sensory overload, Selling yourself, - "...I became overloaded and couldn't even speak. My boss thought I was drunk. The store: blasting music, flashing lights, people shouting for attention... They all thought I was trying to get out of doing the work."

Personal Accounts, National Autistic Society UK- http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=120

aane NE Groups http://users.rcn.com/aane12/support.html . . .
aane Home Page http://users.rcn.com/aane12/

Google: Asperger Groups http://www.google.com/search?q=asperger+meeting+support+group+massachusetts+adult&hl=en&lr=

Google: Asperger, Getting Diagnosed http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=+%22asperger+syndrome%22+%22get+diagnosed%22 . . .
"Diagnosed * adult" http://www.google.com/search?q=+%22asperger+syndrome%22+%22get+diagnosed%22+%22as+*+adult%22&hl=en&lr=&filter=0 . . .
"Get a diagnosis" http://www.google.com/search?q=+%22asperger+syndrome%22+%22get+a+diagnosis%22+%22as+*+adult%22&hl=en&lr=&filter=0

Getting Diagnosed as an Adult - National Autistic Society (UK) - http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=255&a=3341

Google: "Living with Asperger's" - http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=+%22living+with+aspergers+syndrome%22

Google Search: Autism - http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&biw=783&q=%22my+autism%22+aware+communicate