Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Uta Frith provides the English translation of Asperger's paper, and shows how much adaptation, learning and personal development is possible if there is a sensitive understanding of the precise problems involved.

Is Asperger syndrome a syndrome in its own right or is it a form of autism? Sufferers from the syndrome are like autistic individuals in that they show the same kind of impairments from early childhood; yet they are unlike them in being far more verbally articulate and socially adapted. They can be highly intelligent and reminiscent of eccentrics with their unusual interests, special skills and unworldliness. In this volume several of the major experts in the field discuss the diagnostic criteria of the syndrome, named after Hans Asperger who first described the condition in the 1940s, and illustrate their views with case studies drawn from their clinical practice. They also provide surprisingly practical suggestions on the education and management of autistic children. Current opinion on Asperger syndrome and its relationship to autism is fraught with disagreement and hampered by ignorance. This book gives the first coherent account of Asperger syndrome as a distinct variant of autism.

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; 1. Asperger and his syndrome; 2. 'Autistic psychopathy' in childhood; 3. The relationship between Asperger's syndrome and Kanner's autism; 4. Clinical and neurobiological aspects of Asperger syndrome in six family studies; 5. Asperger syndrome in adulthood; 6. Living with Asperger's syndrome; 7. The autobiographical writings of three Asperger syndrome adults: problems of interpretation and implications for theory; Name index; Subject index.