Asperger’s Syndrome is named after Hans Asperger; an Austrian physician who studied the case in 1944. According to his findings, children who have Asperger’s Syndrome are typically clumsy. In addition, most of them exhibit the lack of non-verbal communication skills and shows little up to no empathy with their friends; hence they became the subject of scrutiny and the laughingstock of the class. Although the cause of Asperger’s is still an enigma, scientists claim that Asperger’s autism is probably the result of malfunctioning of the genes (Klin, Volkmar & Sparrow, 2000). Because of their complex personality, sometimes children and adults who are diagnosed with Asperger’s do not have many friends. Most of them spent their childhood miserable due to peer bullying mainly as a result of extreme shyness on their part. Children with Asperger’s also display a peculiar interest on common things that most people tend to ignore. For example, a children with Asperger’s tend to imitate unusual things such as washing machine machine propeller; or sometimes they curiously look at things that captures their interest. Their peculiar trait are the roots of public scrutiny, cases of child bullying have been reported in the schools especially the ones who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Aside from the school, the community and the household also play an important role in shaping the personality of the Aspies. Parents of the Aspies sometimes do not know how they will interact with their special children, which lead to misunderstandings. The community such as the environment they lived in shape the way Aspies think about themselves. If the society deems their existence as a negative, then there is a high possibility that these special fellows will get sad and upset about their existence in the world (Attwood, 2006). The purpose of this paper is to spread and inform that although Asperger’s is incurable, people who have it should also be treated like a normal person capable of doing anything.
Parents have no patience in dealing with their Aspie children. At some point, understanding Aspies is indeed a very difficult task. It requires patience, understanding and knowledge about the disability itself. Peter Szatmari, a Canadian psychologist talked the importance of parental communication in his book entitled, “Mind Apart”. Of course, having a child with autism spectrum certainly puts an unseen barrier between parents and their children. “It is important to focus on real experiences as a way of understanding. But communicating that experience can be a daunting and difficult task. The difficulty surely lies in the fact that children with ASD use a secret language to communicate; they see the world from a unique perspective and experience themselves and others differently” (Szatmari, 2004). Szatmari suggests that in order for parents to fully understand the mind of their Aspie child, they must have a ‘passport’ for them to travel to that foreign country of a ‘mind apart’. Effective communication between parents and their special child forms an intimate bond that highly benefits the child the most. For instance, if the child is bullied at school, parents should take a step forward in understanding the behavior of their child. By keeping them company, listening and allowing them to vent out all of their frustrations, children with Asperger’s can easily feel comfortable communicating their feelings towards other people. In this way, parents can cross the distant mind of their kids. Furthermore, it is highly suggested that a child with Asperger’s should be enrolled in a class wherein they can mingle with kids who also belong to the ASD spectrum; this is called group therapy. Group therapy allows children suffering from extreme shyness to overcome it by constantly mingling with other children through activities. In a usual group therapy session, a clinical psychologist groups the Aspies before giving them the instructions about the activity. Not only it will enhance their interpersonal skills, but it will also hone the critical thinking of the children with Asperger’s.
People with Asperger’s are also human beings. Although they are quite eccentric based on society standards, they also have human feelings as well. They are more sensitive and touchy. Asperger’s people are the best friends one could ever had because they are loyal and caring. Other people might perceive their actions as a form of weakness, however, it is their way of showing their emotions and how they truly care for the people they truly love. The same goes for the children; parents should never treat them as different. Parents should see Aspies as normal people. By training them to do household chores, they can learn responsibility at an earlier age.
Szatmari argues that it takes an imaginative leap to understand children with Asperger’s. In order to fully understand the context of Asperger’s, the most powerful tool and highly suggested method for the parents is to take time to learn and read books particularly about Asperger’s. Because knowledge clears away misunderstanding, restores hope and sense of control over one’s destiny (Szatmari, 2004).
References
Attwood, T. (2006). The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Klin, A., Volkmar, F., & Sparrow, S. (2000). Asperger syndrome. New York: Guilford Press.
Szatmari, P. (2004). A Mind Apart: Understanding Children with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. New York: Guilford Press.
