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Asperger syndrome - Symptom

Alternative Names

Pervasive developmental disorder - Asperger syndrome

Symptoms:

Abnormal nonverbal communication such as problems with eye contact, facial expressions, body postures, or gestures
Being singled out by other children as "weird" or "strange"
Failure to develop peer relationships
Inability to return social or emotional feelings
Inflexibility about specific routines or rituals
Lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people
Markedly impaired expression of pleasure in other people's happiness
Preoccupation with parts of whole objects
Repetitive behaviors, including repetitive self-injurious behavior
Repetitive finger flapping, twisting, or whole body movements
Unusually intense preoccupation with narrow areas of interest such as obsession with train schedules, phone books, or collections of objects

Signs and tests:

Physical, emotional, and mental evaluations are usually performed to rule out other causes.

Reviewed last on: 5/8/2008
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.

McPartland J. Asperger's syndrome. Adolesc Med Clin. Oct 2006; 17(3): 771-88; abstract xiii.

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