Autism+and+Aspergers+Syndrome

Welcome to The Autism Spectrum Disease: Aspergers page (completely done by Loren H., with no assistance...)



Nature of the Genetic Difficulty
The nature of Aspergers, since it is such a complex and an intricate disease, is relatively unknown to most scientists. Though it is unknown whether or not the disease is genetic, ample amounts of research are available that indicate that it is genetic in nature. Research has been done in order to find out that the above circled chromosomes are likely candidates for places. However, though there are many that believe that Aspergers has a stronger genetic case for it than other Autistic Spectrum Diseases (ASD's), most scientists and researchers believe that "...most recent research indicates that there are most likely a common group of genes whose variations or deletions make an individual vulnerable to developing AS. This combination of genetic variations or deletions will determine the severity and symptoms for each individual with AS."

Basic Facts of Disorder
Aspergers was given it's namesake from Hans Asperger in 1944, when he started studying children who had social disorders that are related to cognitive development. He was the first to associate the development of Aspergers in human beings, specifically tracing it to children that are between the ages of 4-7.

As of 2011, 77 years after the disease was first diagnosed, scientists still have little idea of the nature of the disorder besides the few suppositions that scientists often associate with it, including:

1. The fact that a vast majority of scientists believe that it is genetically caused

2. The fact that a good amount of scientists believe that it is attached to multiple different genetic factors, and not merely the defect of some gene

3. The fact that a sizable minority hold the consistent belief that chromosome defects and altercations are one of the root causes of the disease, rather than birth with extra chromosomes or a lack of a particular chromosome

4. The fact that no scientists disputes (except a very foolish one) that most Aspergers cases develop in children during critical stages of development (again, 4-7)

5. The fact that many disorders get misdiagnosed as it, and it gets misdiagnosed as many other disorders (see below)

Symptoms/A Testimony From Loren Hansen
"I was diagnosed with Aspergers Disorder when I was about 6 years old. Before the symptoms of my diagnosis became apparent, I was a normally functioning child whose only interests included the T.V. show Rugrats, beginning kindergarten, and Sock'em Boppers (food was also there, but that was a constant. I was a talkative baby who easily related to other babies, until around my 6th birthday. Around that time, from my mother and father's point of view, I began to regress. My speaking had become less frequent, a lot of my basic motor functions retracted (which explains my atrocious handwriting) and my ability to play with other children my age was a forlorn story of the past.

My Mother and Father tried to learn as much as possible about the disease. Since I was one of the babies who had gotten the 3 vaccine cocktail that many anti vaccine critics believed was the cause of the disease, they did research into vaccines in order to find out whether or not the 3 vaccine cocktail's mercury content caused Autism/Aspergers. Though they found evidence of mercury, which they abhorred, they found none of Aspergers.

Another common symptom of Aspergers is a slight degree of obsessive compulsive disorder and obsessive thoughts. Initially, as a child, this merely translated into stacking blocks in order, putting my pencils in order, and memorizing the names of trains from Thomas The Tank Engine (one of the other traits of an Aspergerian youth is an obsession with a certain passion, mine was trains). In middle school and high school, Asperger's and the baggage that goes along with it his been the cause of social isolation, the breaking of social norms that are not supposed to be broken, isolation from people who I considered to be my closest friends for completely fickle reasons, and, ultimately, many instances and past attempts at suicide. Aspergers has also given me support from a unique group of individuals, relationships that have gone far beyond the superficial (whether or not people like that or not), a different view and perspective on issues that both astound and offend people, and a general understanding of the world that people would love and loathe to have.

Anyways, after filing many torts and arguing before the court that I had Aspergers, I was put through severe cognitive therapies both inside/outside of school. For one, I used to have a speaking impediment that kept me from properly pronouncing "th's" "sh's" and "s's" correctly. Now, the only time that my speaking impediment comes out is when I am tired, lazy, or in the wrong state of mind. The other issue, and the elephant that is still in the room today, was social development. Though I think that the therapies and development treatments worked, I honestly feel as if they were unnecessary if my parents had pushed me to be more social person, I would have become a more social person.

I left the world of therapies and social training in 6th grade, due to the fact it had been polluted with a lot of kids who claimed that they had ADD, but were in fact a bunch of ingrates who hated school. Since the end of 6th grade, I have had no social training and no therapies, and have only been to Tri-County Regional Medical Center in the last year because I had not gone in the last decade.

If I had known that I was going to get Aspergers, with the knowledge that I had now, and I had the choice to alter it, I would not. At the risk of sounding close minded, I believe that man is born with a set of cards, and needs to learn how to play the best hand with them, not steal cards from the dealer or bring a friend's cards to the table. I ultimately accept who I am as a human being, and hope that others accept me for who I am as well."

Loren Hansen

For boring rote facts that I already mentioned in my speech, Click Here

Prognosis
Once diagnosed with Aspergers, a patient often keeps this diagnosis for the rest of his life (unless he/she is misdiagnosed & actually has a different social/physical disorder, such as schizophrenia or depression). The biggest problem that individuals with Aspergers often has is a sort of social disconnect from the rest of humanity, which often perpetuates the stereotype of the cynical loner that is unable to find any friends. In order to alleviate this problem, therapies and drugs (though I would not recommend drugs personally) are often used in order to dampen the effects of Aspergers. I personally DO NOT believe that Aspergers is a disease, and will never refer to it as that. Even disorder is a scanty term. I like to use the term ANT (Aneurotypical) in order to describe my position because being an ANT is a small part of me, and because it pisses me off when people think that "different" is abnormal or wrong in any way.

Famous Individuals that may have/have been diagnosed with Aspergers
A fun website if you make free time between school and Facebook

A few highlights:

Bill Gates

Albert Einstein

The Inventor of Pokemon

Abraham Lincoln

Jim Henson

George Orwell

Beethoven

Dan Akroyd

Woody Allen

Mark Twain

Henry Ford

Thomas Jefferson

Sources Cited/Interesting Links
Basic Information About Aspergers

Another good website on Aspergers, where I got my celebrity info

An Asperger Forum I used to post on regularly until 2nd Semester

Mecca of Aspergers info (sorry Muslims)

Autism Speaks, and organization that every sane person should know about/fear

Loren H.