PrimeTime: The Complicated World of Asperger's

Oct. 26, 2000 -- Chad Mearhoff is literally mesmerized by trains. Mikki Hebert’s passion is washing machines and dryers. And for Derek Preuss, life is a game show, where he is the host and anyone within listening range is a contestant.

While in many ways, these boys might seem like any other kids, their intense obsessions are early symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome a devastating neurological disorder that makes it nearly impossible for them to make and keep friends, carry normal conversations or feel a full range of emotions. Asperger’s, with many similarities to autism, affects a person’s ability to interact socially, to develop communication skills, and understand emotions. Experts estimate that one in several thousand children live with the condition.

Fred Volkmar of Yale University — one of the nation’s leading experts on the disorder — says people with Asperger’s live in a “world of words.” Although people with the disorder are often bright and very verbal, their brains are wired differently than most, leaving them unable to understand the social and emotional cues of others — which is why they are probably more comfortable talking about objects than relating to people.

Life for children with Asperger’s can be filled with confusion and frustration. Dave Goodrich, 29, has Asperger’s and recalls his childhood experiences at school. “It was very confusing,” he says. “Very aggravating because you knew you were different, you were told you were different, you were made fun of in school. [And] I knew how to say words, but I didn’t know how to talk, in a conversation.”

“These are kids who have a strong desire to make relationships. Who want to fit in. Who want to have friends… and who over and over again have the repeated experience of failure. Because they are not able to bring it off,” says Volkmar.

Building Constructive ApproachesVolkmar and his team are studying the genetic components of Asperger’s and the brains of people with the disorder. One of the interesting things they found by examining the brain activity of the patients is that when they are shown pictures of human faces, the part of the brain that most people would use is not activated. Instead, the person with Asperger’s seems to look at faces with part of the brain that most people use to look at objects. In other words, the rich but silent language of the face, is all but lost on a child with Asperger’s.

To address that deficit, experts say the best strategy to deal with children with the disorder is to use words. “That’s one of the things we try do clinically in terms of teaching kids better ways to cope,” Volkar says. “[We] help kids talk their way through problems.”

If a child with Asperger’s is to receive their schooling at a mainstream school, experts say it is important they have the right kind of support available. They suggest parents visit several schools, seeking one that is willing to learn about the difficulties they and the child will face. Rosalyn Lord, of the Asperger Syndrome Coalition, also suggests the school secure the aid of Special Support Assistants (SSA), for a number of hours each week, in order to help the child with schoolwork and in the development of a social setting in the classroom. The development of a home/school link, she adds, and she suggests the use of a diary which can “prove invaluable [in] giving two way communication on achievements and problems on a regular basis.”

Reasons For HopePeople with Asperger’s can learn to work on their social interactions. Goodrich says he’s learned by spending seven years in the workforce. “It’s almost like learning to play a keyboard or an instrument,” he says.

“You don’t have the instincts, you just have to keep watching other people and eventually you’ll get it right. You might have to make ten times the mistakes… whereas somebody else might do it naturally… I’ll have to think about everything I do.”

Nevertheless experts say that, with training and therapy, people with Asperger’s learn to adapt and, as adults, may have fulfilling lives. Goodrich for example makes his living as a driver and is even raising a 2-year-old son. He says his son gives him great pleasure and, though it is difficult for him to engage in the kind of imaginary play children enjoy, he believes he is able to fully fill his role as a parent. He encourages parents of children with Asperger’s, as those diagnosed with the condition, not to lose hope. “They just really have to have the self-confidence in the first place, and the ambition, and apply themselves and not be afraid to make mistakes,” he asserts. “If they can do that, then they’re gonna be… OK.”