Asperger’s Syndrome

Asperger’s Sydrome is a neurological disorder that affects mostly males. It is on the autism spectrum, but is considered a much milder case of it. Asperger’s or AS for short, is a rarer disorder on the spectrum and comes with its many gifts but also many curses. Aspies, or people with AS, often have the intellect and language ability of a normal person, something that differentiates them from the more severe cases of autism. They have great visual and auditory processing skills and have an extensive vocabulary. This intelligence makes many people with AS go into and graduate in the STEM program. The biggest downside of having AS is a lack of social abilities. Aspies tend to not understand nonliteral language, such as irony and sarcasm. Many Aspies also avoid making eye contact and have trouble starting small conversations. Aspies can obsess over small things and when those things are brought up in a conversation, they will talk about them for long periods of time. People with AS also have issues with making new friends and will often stay and talk with the people they trust the most. People with AS are often stereotyped as weird or nerdy and that makes them a target for harassment and bullying. Normal people also often confuse people with AS with people further down the autism spectrum. Asperger’s is a very misunderstood disorder. The people with Asperger’s are great people if you get to know them, which unfortunately is hard for them to know you.