A Children's Guide to Asperger Syndrome
This guide is for young children, of primary school age, to help them understand the condition without causing any complication. It may be useful for children who need to understand a 'special' classmate who has AS or perhaps they themselves have been diagnosed with having the condition.
Having Asperger Syndrome does not mean that a person is not clever or is bad in any way. Everybody is different, enjoys different activities and is interested in different games. One of your friends may like watching cartoons while you may prefer listening to the radio instead. A person with Asperger Syndrome is different too. Asperger Syndrome is a type of Autism. Autism means that a person has difficulty in communicating with other people and doing certain activities because they can often find life more complicated, confusing and scary than others. If you have Asperger Syndrome it means that you have a special type of Autism called 'High Functioning Autism'. A person with Aspergers has either average or even better than average intelligence. This often means that they are very interested in things like reading and learning and have many skills and if anyone calls you names then they do not understand the condition properly. People who pass you on the street will not be able to guess that you have the condition. It may be a nice idea to explain that you have Asperger Syndrome to some close friends that you feel comfortable talking to.
If somebody has Asperger Syndrome then it means that they have problems with the following things:
Social Communication - this means understanding what to say to people and what they are saying to you. For example, when a boy is chatting to his friends he is holding a conversation and he knows what to say to his friends and they can think of things to say back. Sometimes this can be very hard for a person with Asperger Syndrome. If you find it hard, don't worry because you can get help from your parents and teachers to improve on this.
Social Understanding - How to behave when you are with others and why people behave in certain ways. Such as, sad or happy.
A child with Aspergers may find some phrases confusing. If a friend makes a joke, a person with Aspergers may not understand it or they make take it too seriously. A statement like 'I'm so hungry I could eat my trousers' could confuse a child with Aspergers and they may wonder why anybody would want to eat their trousers! Of course, really the person was just being very silly and telling a joke.
If you have problems making friends or find that your classmates do not talk to you very much it is not your fault. It may be that you do not understand all the social rules and may say something that can be taken as rude, by mistake. Here is an example. If a child with Aspergers is in a shop and they see a strange looking woman they might shout out "That person looks really weird!" This was not a very good thing to say because it might have offended the other person. It would have been a lot better to have not said anything out loud about the person at all, but whispered it quietly to your mum so that you would make sure that they would not have been upset. It is the same with your classmates at school. For example, If you dislike something that somebody is wearing, and you think it looks odd or funny, like a bright red hat or a big yellow bow tie, you should keep this to yourself because if you tell them then they might feel very upset.
You may also have some problems with imagination. Something that you happen to find really interesting and fun, may not be the same for your other friends. For example, you might enjoy talking about your favourite collection of old coins to all your classmates. However, they may not find it as interesting as you. Then, when they read you a story from their favourite book you might become bored because you have difficulty imagining what the characters would look like or how they would sound. Also, you might not enjoy pretending to be something else, at a fancy dress party for example. You may not want to dress up as a cowboy because you may find it hard to imagine how a cowboy would act.
Here are a few more things that people with Aspergers may have difficulties with:
Clumsiness - They might find it hard to run as fast as others, to hop on one leg or ride a bicycle. They could be described as being a bit clumsy. You can practice your co-ordination by doing trampolining or other exercises to improve this.
Dislike Change - If you have a different teacher to the one you are familiar with, or you move to a different house, you may find this upsetting. Some people with Asperger Syndrome like to do the same things every day, like sit in the same seat at lunchtime and eat the same sandwich every day. If this had to change one day, they could become uncomfortable and upset.
Being fascinated by something -You might have something that you are really interested in. Sometimes people may be tired or busy and they do not want to hear about it at that time. Remember to ask people if they would like to hear about your special interest first. Some people with Asperger Syndrome become so interested in their favourite hobby or game that they spend nearly all their time doing it and forget to do other important things like speaking to friends or brushing their teeth.
Finally, Let's answer some important questions:
Can you die from having Asperger Syndrome?
No! Asperger Syndrome cannot harm you in the way that cancer or being hurt in a car accident can. However you still need to be careful because the condition may make you less able to notice when something is dangerous. For example, some children with Asperger Syndrome may walk out into a road without checking for traffic first or stroke the back of a very angry dog, so it is a good idea to listen to your parents in these situations. Your parents and teachers will be able to show you lots of different ways of helping yourself to understand these things better.
Will I always have Asperger Syndrome?
Asperger Syndrome doesn't disappear when you grow up. So a child with Aspergers grows up to be an adult with it. However by the time people are adults, often they have changed a lot and they may have less problems as they did when they were a child.
Remember...you are not alone! Lot's of people have Asperger syndrome. People with Asperger Syndrome can go on to achieve many great things like attending University, getting a job and getting your own house. You will always have Asperger Syndrome but as time goes on you will get better at things you used to find really hard. You might even be able to help other people with the condition!
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